Rita Moreno on enduring racism and sexism, the scene that won her an Oscar, and the new "West Side S

Rita Moreno’s “West Side Story” predict... 01:32 Marlon Brando takes up three chapters of Moreno's memoir and eight years of her life. Their stormy relationship nearly killed her. Brando was married when Moreno became pregnant with his child. She says he pressured her have an abortion. Afterward, she attempted suicide. Bill Whitaker: Why did you try to take your life? Rita Moreno: What I was really trying to do was kill that bad side of me that kept going back to him. That bad woman who didn't respect me, who was me, another side of me. Bill Whitaker: Well, thank God you failed. Rita Moreno: You're not kidding. Six months later, in the fall of 1961, people around the world got to see her playing Anita in one of the greatest musical films of all time. Rita Moreno: I wanted that part so badly— Bill Whitaker: Why? What was it about Anita that made you want it so much? Rita Moreno: Oh! It was the part for a Hispanic girl. Rita Moreno: Anita, the one who had a sense of herself. A sense of dignity. And I had to portray that. And it felt really good. Bill Whitaker: Well, you talk about yourself like you're this bundle of insecurities and everything, but what you put on that screen, was anything but. Rita Moreno: I could pretend I had self-respect. I'm an actress. Her performance was electrifying and, she says, one of the hardest things she's ever done. Rita Moreno: I hadn't danced in years. And I didn't dance those kind of dances. That's called jazz. I never was that-- I was a Spanish dancer. Castanets. So, when I went into "West Side Story," I had my work cut out for me. Her most powerful scene required her to dig down into feelings she'd long tried to bury. Rita Moreno: When we did the rape scene during rehearsals when they were mauling me and all that, the boys. I pushed them away, and started to cry, and I could not stop. All of those scars that I thought were healed just opened up. Rita Moreno: I was like a wounded animal when I did it again. Bill Whitaker: Is that on the screen? Rita Moreno: And that is—yes when she says, "Don't you touch me." Rita Moreno: And I thought, "How would Marlon say that as an actor?" And it was through my teeth "Don't you touch me." That is the scene that I know got me the Oscar. In 1962, Moreno became the first Latina to win an Academy Award for acting. Bill Whitaker: So your phone must have been ringing off the hook after that— Rita Moreno: No, the phone wasn't ringing off the hook. After West Side Story I couldn't get a job except in gang movies, lesser ones. Bill Whitaker: Your career did not just take off? Rita Moreno: Hardly. Bill Whitaker: So you took off. Rita Moreno: Yeah. 60 Seconds with Rita Moreno 00:52 She moved to New York and found new love and new roles on Broadway. She married a cardiologist, the late Lenny Gorden and they had a daughter, Fernanda. It was here in the 70s, alongside Morgan Freeman, that Moreno won her first Grammy with the TV show, "The Electric Company." Then, a Tony for her outrageous Broadway creation, Googie Gomez. And with the help of a green frog, an Emmy rounded out the EGOT. If all the puppets and slapstick give the impression Moreno had gone to the light side, look again. In the gritty, HBO drama, "Oz" in the 1990s, she played prison psychologist Sister Peter Marie. Bill Whitaker: A different kind of nun. Rita Moreno: Different kind of nun. Rita Moreno: It was the salvation of me as an actress, not a career. Since "Oz," Moreno has kept working straight into the 21st century: movies, TV, a sitcom with legendary producer Norman Lear. She's been working non-stop for 75 years. And now this. In Steven Spielberg's version of "West Side Story," Moreno plays Valentina, the widow of Doc, who owned the candy store in the original. She's also an executive producer of the film being released December 10. Steven Spielberg: She's part of the ensemble. We talked with Steven Spielberg remotely. Steven Spielberg: I wanted her to really, you know, bridge the legacy of "West Side Story" and to inspire our young cast. And unlike the first movie, Spielberg set a mandate that all Puerto Rican characters be played by Hispanic actors. Rita Moreno: I think Hollywood has changed. I think there are still things yet to be addressed. The representation that Hispanics get is almost nil. There are so many talented people among Hispanics. Jennifer Lopez can't be the only one. That's why Moreno was thrilled to be part of this "West Side Story." Bill Whitaker: She sings? Steven Spielberg: She sings and she acts and even though she doesn't have a dance number, I have home movies of Rita dancing with all the Sharks and the Jets. She has not lost her mojo as a dancer, at all. Rita Moreno recalls her decorated career 02:45 Rita Moreno, who is about to turn 90, hasn't lost a step. She admits she has stumbled along the way, but she has ref

Morenoenduringracism