Rita Moreno made history in 1962 when she became the first Latina to win an acting Oscar. Joan Crawford was desperate to steal the spotlight.
The Puerto Rican actress won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Anita in West Side Story. And when she stepped off stage to bask in her glory, a screen star was waiting for her. Moreno, 92, recalled the incident in a book by Dave Karger. “50 Nights at the Oscars.”
“Joan Crawford became a Hollywood legend because she stole the hearts of others,” the host of Turner Classic Movies (TCM) told Fox News Digital.
“On that Oscar night, she managed to wait in the wings with a photographer. The moment Rita Moreno came off stage with her Oscar, Joan grabbed her and pulled her into his chest. Like Rita, she tried to comfort her. “She kept saying she didn’t need any comfort. But Joan insisted she would take a great picture at the Oscars.”
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Rita Moreno tearfully accepts the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1961 film West Side Story at the 34th Academy Awards ceremony on April 9, 1962. (Getty Images)
“That’s Joan Crawford for you,” Karger laughed. “I thought this story was interesting and it adds to the legend of Joan Crawford. I was so happy when Rita told me about it.”
At the height of his fame in the ’40s, Crawford “drank vodka like a skunk,” Moreno said.
“Joan Crawford is waiting for me,” Moreno said, as quoted in the book. “I met her for the first time in my life. There was a photographer waiting for her to say hi to me, which she must have arranged, and then she grabbed me and… She pressed my face against her chest. I mean, she was big.’
Maximilian Schell and Joan Crawford pose together at the Academy Awards. (Getty Images)
“The photographer kept saying, ‘Mr. Crawford, I can’t see Mr. Moreno’s face,'” Moreno said. “And she said, ‘Oh, but she’s so upset. There, there, you.’ She wouldn’t let me go, and I said, ‘Oh, I’m so upset. No!” I kept saying. My voice is crushed into her chest and my face is all crushed into her linebacker chest.
“Finally, it took several people to snatch me from her hands, and two weeks later I was back in Manila. [to film], I received this note: “Dearest Rita, I cannot express how thrilled and touched I am that you took the time to stop and say hello to me during the most wonderful moment of your life.” That’s indescribable.” Thank you, darling. It’s Joan Crawford. ”
TCM host Dave Karger has written a new book, “50 Oscar Nights.” (running press adult)
Crawford first rose to stardom in the 1920s. By the 1930s, she was one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses. However, by the ’40s her career began to decline and, to her horror, she was labeled a “box office poison.” She bounced back in 1946 by winning the Best Actress Oscar for Mildred Pierce.
“Joan Crawford claimed she was too ill to attend the ceremony,” Karger said. “But when she won, she accepted her award in bed, with a photographer ready to take her picture.”
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American actress Joan Crawford (1904-1977) wins the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Mildred Pierce while making a phone call from her bed, circa 1946. (Gil Screen Collection)
From the confines of his Brentwood boudoir, a well-dressed Crawford told reporters: “Even if it was ‘Mildred’ that the Academy voters sentimentally gave me the Oscar for, it’s been 200 years. I deserve the award, even if I appreciate the efforts of others.” . ”
Crawford returned to the Oscar spotlight in 1963 when he offered to accept Anne Bancroft’s award on his behalf for “The Miracle Worker.” After giving a speech for Bancroft, Crawford also posed with the other honorees.
Crawford’s rival Bette Davis was nominated that night, but Crawford was not nominated.
Joan Crawford won Best Actress for Anne Bancroft. (Graphic House/Archive Photo)
“Joan didn’t want to give me the Oscar,” Davis later told Barbara Walters, as quoted by the New York Post. “She worked so hard and campaigned so hard and said to all the people of New York, ‘If you win, I’ll take the Oscar.’ I thought I should have done that. … She He cut off his own nose so I wouldn’t win.”
As for Moreno, she made history on a special night for a different reason. She gave one of the shortest speeches at the Oscars. The gushing star told the audience: “I can’t believe it! Lord! I’ll leave you with this.”
Actress Rita Moreno played Anita in the 1961 musical romance drama West Side Story. (Gil Screen Collection)
“She said she wished I had the ability to give a proper speech and talk about the importance of representation and the importance of being a Latina female Oscar winner,” Karger said. Ta. “It’s never too late to make the point she wants to make, and I’m glad she expressed it in this book.
“Just because she didn’t say it then doesn’t mean she can’t say it now. She won an Oscar over 60 years ago, and I’m so impressed that she can remember so vividly everything she felt that day. I was impressed. I was surprised how much she remembered.”
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The rivalry between Joan Crawford (right) and Bette Davis was chronicled in the series “Feud.” (Getty Images)
Crawford died in 1977 at the age of 69.
Moreno’s Oscar statue was kept in a cardboard box for years.
“What really struck me when I was interviewing people for this book was how many people were shy about displaying their Oscars in public,” Karger said. “If I had an Oscar, I’d take it with me everywhere I go. But a lot of these performers, for one reason or another, felt embarrassed about wearing one. Rita Moreno kept her Oscar award in a cardboard box out of sight.
Rita Moreno attends the 90th Academy Awards ceremony held at the Hollywood & Highland Center on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison)
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“Her new husband at the time later found out it was in this cardboard box,” Karger continued. “He said to her, ‘Why? You earned this. You should display it. Be proud of it.'” Rita said, “That’s right.” Ta. Now she is. Rita now has all of her awards on display, including a Grammy, an Emmy, an Oscar, and a Tony. She has them all displayed on her bookshelf. ”
