Sometimes a book comes along that makes you pause and see the world with fresh eyes. “Hollywood Blackout,” the latest work by Author Ben Arogundade, does just that.
The new book shines a bright, and much-needed, light on the entertainment industry’s “complicated” relationship with racism and discrimiation. Each page pulls back the curtain on the struggles and triumphs of actors of color in Tinsel Town. As readers soon discover, these stars changed the landscape of Hollywood but often at great personal costs. Rita Moreno is one of them.
In “Hollywood Blackout,” we find out what really happened the night Rita Moreno made history at the Oscars. And how Hollywood really responded to her groundbreaking success.
Rita Moreno’s Forgotten Oscar Night Drama
In this exclusive excerpt, provided to Nuestro Stories, Arogundade turns his lens toward the legendary Rita Moreno. We all know the Latina star won an Oscar for her unforgettable role as Anita in “West Side Story.” But few of us know what happened afterward: her surprising encounter with Joan Crawford on Oscar night and the wave of stereotypes Moreno faced despite her historic win.
Here’s a glimpse of the highs, the heartbreak, and the hidden truths of one of Hollywood’s most beloved icons, with this exclusive excerpt from “Hollywood Blackout”:
“In 1960 Susan Kohner, the daughter of a Mexican mother and an Austrian father, became the first Latina Oscar nominee, for Best Supporting Actress in the 1959 remake of ‘Imitation of Life,’ in which she plays a biracial woman who tries to pass for white. The first Latina Oscar was won in 1962 by Puerto Rican star Rita Moreno, for her supporting role as Anita in ‘West Side Story.’ Of the major Puerto Rican characters in the multi-award-winning movie, only Moreno was actually Puerto Rican. The lead, Maria, was played by Natalie Wood.
On Oscar night Moreno was convinced she would not win, and that the Award would go to Judy Garland for her performance in ‘Judgment at Nuremberg.’ When her name was called, she froze with surprise. As she rose to her feet, she was so excited that she struggled to resist the temptation to run up to the podium. Lost for words, she could only muster the briefest response.
‘I can’t believe it! Good Lord. I’ll leave you with that.’ It was one of the shortest acceptance speeches in Oscar history. ‘The one thing I really thought I should have mentioned was my being an outlier, being a Puerto Rican actress in Hollywood and getting recognized and acknowledged,’ she confessed later. ‘It would have been moving and so important. But I truly, truly, did not expect to win.’
As she went into the wings, Moreno began to cry. The actress Joan Crawford was standing there, and she proceeded to hug the new winner tightly. ‘She grabbed me and squashed my face against her bosom. I mean, she was built like a line-backer,’ said Moreno. ‘She would not let me go. And I kept saying, “I’m not upset!” My face was muffled against her bosom.’
Moreno’s Oscar would prove bittersweet. Like African American actors Hattie McDaniel and Louise Beavers before her, Moreno was afflicted by typecasting. ‘After the Oscar I was convinced producers would come pounding on my door with all sorts of exciting parts,’ she said. Instead, she was offered nothing but ‘gypsy fortune- tellers, Mexican spitfires, Spanish spitfires – all those “Yankee peeg, you steal me people’s money” parts’. She quit the business in disgust, only returning a decade later on the television series ‘The Rockford Files,’ opposite James Garner.”
“Hollywood Blackout” by Ben Arogundade is out now.
Feature photo of Rita Moreno at the Academy Awards in 2022, courtesy of Deposit Photos.
