Rita Moreno has worked in the entertainment industry for over 75 years, so it's no shock she's reached a point where very little surprises her — there's no question she hasn't already answered.
However, CBS Sunday Morning Correspondent Mo Rocca will do his best to find a fresh perspective during their live unscripted conversation on Thursday, Nov. 5, at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert.
"I'm not 94 for nothing," Moreno told The Desert Sun during a recent phone interview about her career and what audiences will learn about at the Nov. 5 talk.
According to Moreno, it was her idea to pair up with Rocca, who she described as “very smart.” She was featured in his 2024 book co-written with Jonathan Greenberg, “Roctogenarians: Late in Life Debuts,
Comebacks, and Triumphs,” celebrating historical and living figures who achieved their greatest personal and professional milestones or comebacks later in life.
"We've (Moreno and Rocca) done one gig so far and it was fantastic," Moreno said. "There's enormous mutual respect for each other."
Here's our five biggest takeaways from the interview.
Rita Moreno doesn't want you to forget her dance career
Most people know Moreno as a multi-hyphenate. In 1977, she became the third person — and first Hispanic American — to gain EGOT status, meaning she joined the exclusive club of people who've won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award.
But one aspect of her career hasn't been well awarded until recently. In September, Moreno was named to the Dance Hall of Fame class of 2026, which includes Debbie Allen, George Balanchine, Savion Glover, Mandy Moore, Toni Basil and more. The induction ceremony will be on Dec. 15 at The Eli & Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center.
After studying Spanish dance as a child, when she got into her teens, Moreno began performing in Greenwich Village nightclubs. She caught the eye of Hollywood talent scouts and made her Broadway debut at 13 in "Skydrift." She also had supporting and dance roles in the films "Singin' in the Rain," "The King and I," and "West Side Story."
When asked if she feels her talent as a dancer is overlooked, she said "I think ... people forget, but you know, there's a little movie called 'West Side Story.'"
Moreno was furious with Tom Fontana over an episode of 'Oz'
In 1997, the prison drama "Oz" premiered on HBO as the first hour-long drama series the network had ever produced. The show, which was written and created by Tom Fontana, paved the way for other dramas such as "Six Feet Under," "The Sopranos," "The Wire" and more. It also featured graphic violence, prison sexual assault, full-frontal nudity, and edgier storytelling than mainstream audiences were used to.
Moreno played the role of Sister Peter Marie Reimondo, a nun, counselor and staff member in the prison. She said when Fontana offered her the role, he told her the title but said it was "anything but Oz-like." The idea of being invited to play a nun in a prison was enough to make her say yes.
"I said, 'The nun, huh? We're not going to do a flying nun kind of thing, are we?'" Moreno recalled. "He said, 'Oh no, nothing remotely like that.' Should I have known? Oh my god! But I thought it was a brilliant original show."
However, Moreno recalled that one day on set, she saw something in the script about one of the leads receiving a severed hand of a child in a package through the mail, and she was not happy.
"I was so angry when I read that script that the moment I came to the studio and spotted him, I rolled up a newspaper and started to hit (Fontana)," she said. "He had no idea why I was so upset. I said, 'How could you!' I was almost in tears.'"
Moreno 'loved' her character on 'One Day at a Time'
From 2017 to 2020, Moreno starred in the Netflix reimagining of the original 1970s sitcom, "One Day at a Time." It featured a Latin family, and when Moreno was asked about her character Lydia Riera, she said, "I just loved playing her."
"She was so hilarious. What killed me about her character is that she was always talking about her sex life with her dead husband and nobody wanted to hear it, 'OK mom, that's enough.' I really miss playing her," Moreno said.
After Netflix canceled the show in 2019 following three seasons, Pop TV revived it for a fourth season. Production was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic after six episodes had aired, and the show later ended its run.
The show received critical acclaim for its writing, taking on subjects such as immigration, mental health, depression, and LGBTQ themes while still blending comedy, sincerity and family bonds. It also won two Primetime Emmy Awards. Moreno said the show needed "tender loving care" and described the cancellation as "unfortunate."
"My god, I thought that show had such a huge future, but the fact it was on Netflix was the thing that gave me hope, because Netflix was doing very gutsy stuff. I thought we were safe, but I was wrong," Moreno said.
Moreno is set to appear on 'Finding Your Roots'
Born in Puerto Rico, Moreno moved to the U.S. with her mother when she was 5. She'll be featured in the upcoming season of the PBS ancestral history series "Finding Your Roots" hosted by historian and Harvard professor Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., and she said some of what was discovered during that journey was "very surprising," even to Gates.
"It's going to be a really fabulously entertaining one, having to do with royalty," Moreno said when giving a hint. "This goes way back. My daughter was astounded. That's a lot of heavy work that they did. And (Gates) is really a darling man."
Moreno doesn't shop and tell
Moreno said she doesn't go shopping for new clothes too often, except for when she needs to buy something for a formal event, but promised when she comes to the McCallum Theatre, expect her to come in something fabulous from her closet.
When asked for an idea of what she plans to wear, she said, "I'm not going to tell you!"
"I'm an actress, I've done so many different kinds of events," she said. "So what I'm going to wear remains to be seen, because I have a choice of a number of really terrific looking stuff."
If you go
What: In Conversation with Rita Moreno featuring Mo Rocca
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5
Where: McCallum Theatre, 73-000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert
Cost: Tickets $45 to $145
More info: mccallumtheatre.org
Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Rita Moreno talks career, why she slapped Tom Fontana with a newspaper
