January 23 is the birthday of Chita Rivera (Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson, b. 1933).
I’ll risk getting New Yorkers’ backs up by being overexplainy about who she is, for her legend revolves primarily around Broadway, and much less so on screen. Rivera was the original Anita in West Side Story (1957, replaced in the film by Rita Moreno), the original Rose in Bye Bye Birdie (1960, much less fortunately replaced in the movie by Janet Leigh), toured with Fosse’s Sweet Charity and was in the 1969 film version, was the original Velma Kelly in Chicago, and won Tonys for her performances in the original productions of The Rink (1984) and Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993). She was also the original Mehitabel in Shinbone Alley (1957), and is notable also for her roles in the shows Mr. Wonderful (1956) with Sammy Davis, Jr; a 1981 television production of Pippin; Merlin (1983) with Doug Henning; Jerry’s Girls (1985), Nine (2003); and The Visit (2015). Oh yes, and Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life (2005).
I mean, who is such a mucky muck they get to have their own autobiographical Broadway revue? And as the subtitle title of that show indicates, her reputation rests primarily on her legs, the probable explanation for why she hasn’t much of a screen career as an actress, although racism perhaps played to some degree, especially where Bye Bye Birdie is concerned. Janet Leigh in a black, curly wig? For shame! Surprisingly, Rivera is only half Latina; on her mom’s side she is a mix of black and white. As a girl she studied at Washington DC’s Jones-Haywood School of Ballet, and then came to New York to study with Balanchine. Her first Broadway parts were in the casts of Guys and Dolls (1950) and Can-Can (1953). She also got her talented toe wet (no more) in television, both in variety show appearances and the occasional guest starring acting role.
Her most recent credit, quite wonderfully, was in Tick…Tick…Boom (2021).
Postscript: a week after this was originally posted, Rivera died at the age of 91.
For more on show business history, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous.
(Travalanche) 
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