Way To Go, Screen Actors Guild!

It was such a treat to watch the great Rita Moreno receive her well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild last Saturday evening. Rita gave one of the best acceptance speeches I have ever heard. And she sang part of it – to the joy of everyone attending the SAG Awards event and TV viewers like me.

This versatile actress can sing, dance, and perform both comedy and drama with the best of them. She’s won numerous awards, including an Oscar for West Side Story, a Golden Globe, a Tony and two Emmys. The Internet Movie Data Base lists over 140 film and TV acting credits for Rita. In addition to West Side Story, she’s appeared in such films as Singin’ in the Rain, The King and I, Carnal Knowledge, Marlowe, The Four Seasons, Pagan Love Song, The Ritz, Blue Moon, The Toast of New Orleans, Angus, and King of the Corner. She’s been in numerous popular television shows, and won Emmys for her outstanding work on The Muppet Show and The Rockford Files. Her autobiography, “Rita Moreno: A Memoir,” was published last year and received excellent reviews.

I had the good fortune to talk with Rita when she was one of the guests on our Movie Addict HQ radio show celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Singin’ in the Rain. She’s delightful, candid and remarkably entertaining.

The Screen Actors Guild definitely got this one right!