Rita Moreno: 1931—: Actress, Singer, Dancer

In 1971 Moreno took a hiatus from film and theater to work in television. She had captured the attention of producers of such shows as The Electric Company, of which she became part of the cast for six seasons, and Sesame Street, both highly regarded educational programs. In 1972 she won a Grammy, along with the rest of the cast, for the soundtrack recording of The Electric Company.

In 1975 Moreno received a best supporting actress Tony Award for her portrayal of Googie Gomez in The Ritz. Playwright Terrence McNally based the character on Moreno's own comic portrayal of the stereotypical roles she had always been cast to play. "Googie Gomez was the ultimate send-up," she told National Public Radio. "I was thumbing my nose at all the people who wrote those kind of roles seriously. And I think that everybody understood that on the whole." She would go on to receive Emmy awards for a guest appearance on The Muppet Show in 1977 and the portrayal of a vulnerable prostitute on The Rockford Files in 1978. In 1979 she was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the only performer to win all four top entertainment awards.