Tony Mordente Iconic West Side Story Actor Dies at 88
Tony Mordente, the actor, dancer and choreographer who starred in the original Broadway and big-screen versions of West Side Story before carving out a long career as a TV director
Mordente, who lived in Henderson, Nevada, died Tuesday, his family announced.
Mordente also worked on Broadway as an actor, understudy and/or assistant choreographer in Li'l Abner
The Brooklyn native portrayed A-Rab on stage in West Side Story, which premiered at the Winter Garden Theatre in September 1957,
He married West Side Story castmate Chita Rivera, who of course played Anita, in December 1957
A Jet marrying a Shark. It was quite a thing," he said in a 1963 interview.
Mordente began directing for television in 1974 and worked on dozens of shows, among them Rhoda
While he was dating Rivera, "the Jet boys didn't speak to me for about two weeks of rehearsal,
"Eventually, I sat down with them in the dressing room and I just said, ‘Hey, look guys, I'm part of the Jets. What l'm doing out there is my personal life. We got to keep our gang together.