Chita Rivera, the sultry singer, dancer and actress who commanded the Broadway stage for more than a half-century, has died. She was 91.
Rivera died peacefully in New York on Tuesday, following a brief illness, her daughter, Lisa Mordente, shared in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
Known for her long, sleek legs, green eyes and lusty singing voice, the two-time Tony Award winner originated some of musical theater’s most iconic characters.
When West Side Story bowed in 1957, it was Rivera singing about life in America as the fiery Puerto Rican transplant Anita.
As Rose Grant, the long-suffering girlfriend of songwriter Albert Peterson, Rivera received top billing over Dick Van Dyke in 1960’s Bye Bye Birdie.
In 1975, she dazzled in “All That Jazz” as Velma Kelly in Chicago.
The 1993 musical adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman put her in the spotlight as the sexy Spider Woman.
“When she let those limbs loose she was a one-woman showstopper, and every choreographer wanted her,” West Side Story producer Harold Prince said. “There is nobody who can dance, sing and act like Chita Rivera.”
Rivera also in the casts of the original Broadway productions of Guys and Dolls in 1950, Can-Can in 1953, Seventh Heaven in 1955, Mr. Wonderful in 1956, Shinbone Alley in 1957, the sequel Bring Back Birdie in 1981, Merlin in 1983, Jerry’s Girls in 1985 and The Visit in 2015.
In 2005, she partnered with collaborator Terrence McNally for the revue Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life.
She also added class to 2003 revival of Nine and 2012 revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Rivera received 10 Tony nominations, the most of any musical performer in history.
She won twice, both for Kander & Ebb productions — in 1984 for The Rink and in 1993 for Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Her first victory: “My mother had just passed, I had black dress on, and when they announced my name, I remember my mother standing up inside of me. She was taller, so I felt as though I kept going as I stood up. I know my mother was there, so it was a very moving thing for me.”
On TV, Rivera played Mrs. Dame opposite Martin Landau and Sally Kellerman on a 1964 episode of The Outer Limits titled “The Bellero Shield” and had recurring role as the neighbor Connie Richardson (married to Richard Dawson’s character) in 1973 on The New Dick Van Dyke Show.
In 2002, Rivera was the first Latina to receive Kennedy Center Honor, and seven years later she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama.
Sitting alongside recipients Sandra Day O’Connor, Sen. Edward Kennedy and Desmond Tutu, “I thought, ‘How could I possibly be sitting with all these people I’m humbled by?’ It was extraordinary.”
Figuring that Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero was too much for any marquee, she shortened her name to Conchita del Rivero. Three years later, she tightened it even more. “Chita Rivero doesn’t sound as good as Chita Rivera,” she said.
In the 1950s and ’60s, Rivera delighted viewers on such variety programs as Caesar’s Hour, The Dinah Shore Chevy Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Dean Martin Show, The Tonight Show and The Hollywood Palace. Later, she appeared on Kojak, One Life to Live and Will & Grace and voiced a character on Dora the Explorer.
Rivera was married from 1957-1966 to Tony Mordente, actor who became TV director and producer. They had a daughter, Mordente, who received best actress Tony nom in 1982 for musical Marlowe.
