Rita Moreno turned down Gene Kelly’s request to cut his hair for a movie



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A young Rita Moreno has tried to emulate Elizabeth Taylor in her appearance, but when it comes to her hair, she has retained her cultural identity.

At the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Moreno, 89, opened up about his early years in Hollywood and Gene Kelly’s request to cut his hair for his role as Zelda Zanders in the 1952 film ‘Singin’ in the Rain ”.

“I did something that is so Latina because I was the shyest person in the world, and I said no”, Moreno, which is the subject of the documentary “Rita Moreno: just a girl who has decided to go ”.

“And he was really surprised because nobody ever said no to Gene Kelly, and I was scared of death after I said that.

Kelly asked her why and the Puerto Rican star said it went against her culture.

“Well, they don’t cut my hair where I live, we don’t do that,” she said.

Kelly “put up with it” and shoved it into the red wig, which “delighted” her because she required light makeup when she had been used to being just skin-deep roles. dark that required an accent.

“I was playing a white role,” she said, “and I was overjoyed because I was like, ‘OK, that’s the end of these other parts where I have to speak with accents and all that. kind of stuff. Not so. “

During the chat, which also featured “Sesame Street” star Sonia Manzano, Morena also discussed being completely honest in her documentary, which meant not wearing makeup despite having a camera present.

Rita Moreno appears in her Sundance Film Festival documentary, "Rita Moreno: just a girl who decided to go"
Rita Moreno appears in her Sundance Film Festival documentary, “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go”
Courtesy of Sundance Institute

“Oh, I’m sorry for that,” she joked. “I really am not. I’m kidding, but boy, this is shocking. It’s shocking – some of those scenes where I don’t have any makeup on. But I thought it was true to my promise to myself, and I wasn’t going to run to my room… to beautify myself.

Moreno said she has what she would call “the face of a classic actor” which means it “changes completely” with cosmetics.

“When I put on makeup, I say to myself: ‘This is incredible. How do I do that? ‘ I was made for makeup, ”she says. “It’s really fascinating to me.”

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