Actress and singer Rita Moreno has been entertaining audiences on Broadway and the silver screen for decades. Now, she will join Javelina Nation for the Centennial Lectureship, one of the events geared to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
The Centennial Lectureship will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, April 4, in the Performance Hall of the Music Education Complex, 775 N. Armstrong, on the campus of Texas A&M-Kingsville. Tickets for the event are $75 and they may be purchased at https://www.javelinagiving.org/gala.
Actress and singer Rita Moreno.
Moreno is part of an elite group of entertainers who have received the EGOT or all four of the most prestigious awards in entertainment--the Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Oscar. She received the first of these, an Oscar for her portrayal of Anita in the original film version of West Side Story. She was the first Hispanic woman to receive an Oscar and the first Hispanic to receive the EGOT. In addition to the Oscar, she earned two Emmy awards and one Grammy and one Tony award.
She began her career on Broadway when she was just 13. Since then, she has starred on Broadway and London’s West End, appeared in more than 70 feature films and countless television shows. She has performed in numerous regional theaters including her one-woman show, Life without Makeup at the Berkeley Rep.
Recently, she has starred in several blockbuster films, Fast X and 80 for Brady; a holiday flick for Lifetime-TV, Santa’s Boot Camp; and hosted the 30th Anniversary Special, Beauty and The Beast on ABC-TV.
Moreno also co-starred and served as an Executive Producer in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story. Her documentary, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It, had its world debut at Sundance Film Festival and then released in theaters nationwide. The film also debuted on TV as part of PBS’ American Masters series and is now streaming on Netflix. Moreno also appeared in the widely popular Latinx reimagining of Norman Lear’s classic TV sitcom, One Day at a Time which aired for four seasons.
Recipient of the Peabody Career Achievement Award and the Kennedy Center Honor for her lifetime contributions to American culture, she was also honored by her peers as the 50th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. She has also served as Grand Marshall for both the Rose Parade and National Puerto Rican Day Parade.Moreno was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush and the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama.
Texas A&M University-Kingsville is celebrating a century in service to South Texas as it prepares to continue its legacy of innovation and excellence. It is the first institution of higher learning in South Texas.