you had a strong sense of what you wanted to be? very, very. and when i could understand what movies were, i wanted to be a movie star. that was the word. not an actress so much, but a movie star. you went to hollywood during the golden age of cinema, though, didn t you? that s right. and you were bigger than life. what could be bad about that? and when i got my contract at mgm studios, which, by the way, was the studio of my dreams, because that was the studio that made all the great musicals, including, by the way, wizard of oz. so, when i met mr louis b mayer, can you imagine what that meant to this 15 16 year old girl? the man who was responsible for all of those great mgm musicals, and they wanted me to sign a contract with them? it was just unbelievable. unbelievable. do you remember your
reaction at the time? 0h! the first thing he said was, well, she looks like a spanish elizabeth taylor. and that s what i was aiming for. i had her eyebrows. i did her hair like her. i put on a waist cincher, because she had a wasp waist. and he literally said, how would you like to be. ..an actress with mgm studios? and i was truly at a loss for words. i just couldn t. .. i couldn t believe it. this didn t happen to people like me. yeah. just. it was the dream come true. and for a while, it really was, even in california, when we moved there. and i was doing little parts in movies at mgm. but the shock came when suddenly my daddy, louis b mayer, in effect, said, you know what? we don t know what to do with you. we re dropping your contract.
and you were bigger than life. what could be bad about that? and when i got my contract at mgm studios, which, by the way, was the studio of my dreams, because that was the studio that made all the great musicals, including, by the way, wizard of oz. so, when i met mr louis b mayer, can you imagine what that meant to this 15 16 year old girl? the man who was responsible for all of those great mgm musicals, and they wanted me to sign a contract with them? it was just unbelievable. unbelievable. do you remember your reaction at the time? 0h! the first thing he said was, well, she looks like a spanish elizabeth taylor. and that s what i was aiming for. i had her eyebrows. i did her hair like her. i put on a waist cincher, because she had a wasp waist. and he literally said, how would you like to be. ..an actress with mgm studios? and i was truly
at a loss for words. i just couldn t. .. i couldn t believe it. this didn t happen to people like me. yeah. just. it was the dream come true. and for a while, it really was, even in california, when we moved there. and i was doing little parts in movies at mgm. but the shock came when suddenly my daddy, louis b mayer, in effect, said, you know what? we don t know what to do with you. we re dropping your contract. they didn t know what to do with me because my name was rosita dolores alvaro. they changed it to rita moreno. i was a prisoner in their hands, and it really worried me because i was one of those kids who was just afraid to say no to anything. i was afraid they d come up with something i really hated, that i d be stuck with for the rest of my life. so, it wasn t pleasant. so, i grabbed for the first
what movies were, i wanted to be a movie star. that was the word. not an actress so much, but a movie star. you went to hollywood during the golden age of cinema, though, didn t you? that s right. and you were bigger than life. what could be bad about that? and when i got my contract at mgm studios, which, by the way, was the studio of my dreams, because that was the studio that made all the great musicals, including, by the way, wizard of oz. so, when i met mr louis b mayer, can you imagine what that meant to this 15 16 year old girl? the man who was responsible for all of those great mgm musicals, and they wanted me to sign a contract with them? it was just unbelievable. unbelievable. do you remember your reaction at the time? 0h! the first thing he said was, well, she looks like a spanish elizabeth taylor.