A young Rita Moreno tried to imitate Elizabeth Taylor in her appearance, but when it came to her hair she kept her cultural identity.
At the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, 89-year-old Moreno opened up about her early Hollywood years and Gene Kelly’s request to cut her hair for her role as Zelda Zanders in the 1952 film “Singin ‘in the Rain’
“I did something so Latin, because I was the most shy person on earth and I said no,” Moreno, who is the subject of the documentary “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It.”
“And he was really amazed because no one ever said no to Gene Kelly, and I was scared to death after I said that.”
Kelly asked her why, and the Puerto Rican star said she was against her culture.
“Well, we don’t cut our hair where I live, we don’t do that,” she said.
Kelly “put up with it” and tucked it into her red wig, which “delighted” her because she needed light makeup when she was used to being cast only in dark-skinned, accent-rich roles.
“I was playing a white role,” she said, “and I was thrilled because I thought, ‘OK, this is the end of those other parts where I have to talk about accents and all sorts of things.’ Not like this.”
During the discussion, which also featured “Sesame Street” star Sonia Manzano, Morena also discussed fully honestly in her documentary, which meant not wearing makeup despite the presence of a camera.
“Oh, I’m sorry about that,” she joked. “I really am not. I’m kidding, but boy, it’s shocking. It’s shocking – some of those scenes where I don’t wear makeup at all. But I thought it was in line with the promise I made, and I wasn’t going to run to my bedroom … to beautify myself.
Moreno said he has what he would call a “classic actor’s face,” which means he “completely changes” with cosmetics.
“As I put on my make-up, I say to myself, ‘It’s amazing. How do I do that? ‘ I was ready for makeup, “she said. “It’s really fascinating to me.”