It's like a fairytale! Poor little girl comes to the land of milk and honey, works very hard and evolves into a star. That's the real life story of Rita Moreno in a nutshell. Of course, there's a tremendous amount of hard work, as well as disappointments - - but many more successes than failures

Most currently, she will appear in a glamorous, one-woman performance of song and dance, on Long Island at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Saturday evening, July 12th.

Rita Moreno is most proud of her Oscar (Supporting Actress) in the 1961 film "West Side Story." The two Emmys she won were for TV appearances on "The Muppet Show" (1977) and for a dramatic guest role on "The Rockford Files" (1978). The Tony was for her acclaimed performance as Googie Gomez in "The Ritz" (1973). The Grammy was for her 1972 performance on "The Electric Company" album for children, which was based on the long running television show of the same name.

In a forty-minute telephone interview, this writer felt as though she were renewing a friendship with an old acquaintance. Rita Moreno spoke candidly, easily and enthusiastically about her "wonderful life." Her happiness and contentment with her life choices were apparent in everything she said. And, as evidence of this 71 year old actress' enduring success, she is the only female performer to have been awarded all four of show business' most prestigious awards....an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and a Tony.

During a long career involving stage, screen and personal appearances, it is the latter that she most enjoys now. "What you see is what you get," she declared. She doesn't have an "on-stage/off-stage personality" as do some actors. She measures 5 ft. 3 in., weighs 109 lbs ("soon to be less"), and is olive skinned with "dark hair speckled with gray." She had just finished her regular exercise workout and was wearing sweats when we spoke.

Still working vigorously - but selectively - at her career, she laughed at a question about spare time activities but replied, "I love to cook!" And she does it as much as possible. But now, "having a real life - - being close to my family" is what makes her happiest. "I love being domestic."

Citing her husband of 38 years, Dr. Leonard Gordon, as the most positive influence in her life, Ms. Moreno is ecstatically happy with her life. She has "done it all" in show business and is now able to pick and choose her appearances so that she can devote a larger part of her time to family and home. She confided that she recently turned down three Broadway roles - without even reading the scripts - because it would involve being away from her family and home in Berkeley, California for an extended period of time. And, that is contrary to her plans for the future.

With the support of her husband, "a devoted husband and father," who left his career in medicine because of a heart problem, and who became her manager, she has been able to maintain a terrific balance in her life. She is utterly devoted to her only child, Fernanda, and her two grandchildren, Justin (5) and Cameron (3) who live nearby, in Berkeley, California (not far from San Francisco). "I'm in hog heaven with the little ones. They spend two nights a week at our house and we love having them with us."

"One of the best moves of my life" was moving to Berkeley (not far from San Francisco) five years ago where she and her husband are currently building a contemporary style home with views of the bay and the bridges...and where her daughter and her family will be just down the street. Although Ms. Moreno loves to visit Los Angeles and New York City, where she maintains an East Side apartment, living in the hills of Berkeley gets raves. It is the "best of both worlds" to be able to live on both coasts as each offers something very different...but "watching the sunsets in Berkeley is wonderful."

She is most proud of her Puerto Rican heritage and "would like to be remembered for holding onto my Spanish identity." She champions many Latino causes and contributes her time speaking at Latino-related conferences. She is also supportive of charities related to children and is enthusiastic about Meals on Wheels - - where food is delivered to elderly people unable to market and cook for themselves.

As evidence of her close family life, she and her husband took their young daughter everywhere when they traveled...describing themselves as a "mom and pop" operation. As Fernanda grew up, mother and daughter appeared in regional theatre productions of Steel Magnolias, The Glass Menagerie, Gypsy and The Taming of the Shrew. In addition to caring for her own children, Fernanda now designs and sells custom jewelry made of semi precious stones.

Rita Moreno, at the age of five, came to New York City from Puerto Rico with her mother leaving her father and brother behind. She was born Rosa Dolores Alverio in Humacao, a small town near Puerto Rico's famous rain forest. She saw her father only once after leaving and never saw her brother again, although she tried unsuccessfully to locate him.

She began dancing lessons at age six and by the time she was thirteen she had her Broadway debut in Skydrift which starred Eli Wallach. Then, in the true tradition of Hollywood, at age 17 a talent scout arranged a meeting with Louis B. Mayer and she was signed to a contract with MGM.

From that point on her career advanced steadily. She has made some thirty films and appeared in ten Broadway plays. Early in her career she was often typecast as a Mexican spitfire or an Indian maiden. Among the films she made during this period were Untamed, Seven Cities of Gold, The Lieutenant Wore Skirts and Garden of Evil. She was also featured as Tuptim in the classic The King and I.

The wide variety of roles she has played including an Irish teacher, an Italian widow, a reformed prostitute, a lady evangelist, an English lady and a Southern belle, demonstrate that she has broken the role of Latino stereotyping. It was only after she won an Academy Award as Anita in West Side Story, which gained international acclaim, that she was finally recognized as a major talent.

She singled out competing for her role in West Side Story as the most challenging undertaking of her career. It took a "lot of catching up" and preparation to compete successfully against so many young dancers. But, she did it!

In 1962 she moved to London where she was featured in Hal Prince's production of She Loves Me. She then returned to New York to star in Lorraine Hansbury's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window. On Broadway she has appeared as the female lead opposite Robert Shaw in Gantry. She has also starred with Jimmy Coco in The Last of the Red Hot Lovers and received a Tony nomination for her role in The National Health. In 1981 she returned to Broadway once again opposite Jimmy Coco in Wally's Cafe. In recent years she appeared on Broadway in the female version of Neil Simon's Odd Couple. In 1997 she starred in the London production of Sunset Boulevard.

Ms. Moreno's many screen roles included playing opposite Marlon Brando in The Night of the Following Day, with James Garner in Marlowe, as Alan Arkin's girlfriend in Popi, and in Mike Nichol's production of Carnal Knowledge with Jack Nicolson. She went on to do Alan Alda's The Four Seasons with Carol Burnett.

When asked what actor or actress was most agreeable to work with, she replied - without hesitation, Jack Nicolson and Alan Alda.

After a brief hiatus from films, in 1993 she completed the independent film The Italian Movie and then in 1994 appeared in a Columbia Pictures release I Like It Like That which was followed by a role opposite George C. Scott in the feature film Angus. More recently she was the lead in the independent feature film Carlo's Wake.

She has been the guest star on a wide variety of television productions, both here and abroad. She is especially proud to have been a featured artist for many years on The Electric Company, the highly regarded educational television program. She starred in her own TV series, the sitcom version of the film 9 to 5 and also appears on the HBO series Oz. Her credits go on and on.

In 1993 Ms. Moreno was invited to perform at President Clinton's inauguration and later at the White House. She has served on the National Foundation for the Arts and as a commissioner on the President's White House Fellowships, as well as a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

She has received honorary degrees from numerous colleges and universities including Fairleigh Dickinson (NJ), CCNY and Buffalo.

On another personal note, Ms. Moreno said she smoked for a long time. "I don't know why, but there seems to be a tradition of smoking among dancers. When I worked on West Side Story the dancers all smoked at every opportunity. But I gave it up because "it is a horrible, filthy, addiction."

By her own admission, Rita Moreno is "open and accessible, gregarious, and at ease with audiences." She "loves to laugh and make jokes" and gets an enormous, immediate satisfaction from personal appearances. "The spontaneous reactions of the audience are never the same twice. I just love that!"

What does the future hold for this gregarious, dynamic entertainer? 1. She will continue to do cabaret shows on the West Coast. 2. She will star in Master Class with the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and 3. She is appearing in a soon-to-be released film by John Sales called Casa de los Babies. And, last, but certainly not least..... She will enjoy the vistas from her new home in the company of her wonderful family.