Get your own Free Home Page
[Note: the article was copied as is. Please bear in mind the date of it. The end of the article, which mentioned other childrens' shows was omitted. Reprinted without permission]
By Jennifer Mangan
One generation remembers her Academy Award performance as Anita in "West Side Story." Another may recall her character on PBS' long-running children's show "The Electric Company," which earned her a Grammy in 1972 for her performance on "The Electric Company Album." Then there was the Tony Award for her 1975 triumph on Broadway as Googie Gomez in "The Ritz," which was followed by two Emmys, one for her 1977 appearance on "The Muppet Show" and the other for a performance in "The Rockford Files."
"It's the career than won't die, " says Rita Moreno in a telephone interview from her home in Southern California.
It took some time to catch up with Moreno, who is the only woman to win all four of the prestigious entertainment awards. She was tough to find, but it seemed appropriate considring she is the voice of the elusive international thief in Fox's smash cartoon, "Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?" ...
Moreno, 62, [at time of article] said she is doing "Carmen" for the same reasons she did "The Electric Company": "It is educational and informative beyond belief and at the same time it satisfies the demands of chidlren who need more action and movement on the screen."
According to Moreno, she was the first to be approached as the voice of Carmen but a heavy concert schedule prohibited her from auditioning. "They got someone, then someone else, then yet another Carmen.
"By the time I had returned from my tour, they had completed all 13 episodes and called me again. So I audtioned and they fell in love instantly. I had to go back and synchronize and lip sync each episode because they were already done. It was crazy."
"Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?" thus was late in making its debut. Nonetheless, it was well worth the wait, which is reflected in its ratings. Since the first episode on Feb. 5, it has remained No. 1 in its time slot and continues to be among the top 10 children's shows in all demographics.
Carmen's character is cunning, cool, charming and charismatic with a red trenchcoat tied tight and fedora slyly covering a pair of bright blue eyes. She pits her wits against two teenage sleuths from the Acme Detective Agency, who chase her around the globe, an exercise that subtly teaches kids facts about geography, history and other social studies.
Different from its live-action TV counterpart, "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?", "Where on Earth?" manages to get the educational point across through animation coupled with live action and state-of-the-art graphics.
The actress, who will receive an Owl Media Award in Chicago this month for lifetime achievement, says she is thrilled to be doing something special for kids.
"I was doing some concerts in Puerto Rico last week and my sound engineer's son, who is 10, came with him for this gig because it's such a lovely place to be." Moreno says.
"Nathan had never been all that impressed with me. He saw the show and he thought I was neat and good and all that. A few days ago Nathan and I were taking a swim together in the pool and he said, 'Rita, Dad tells me you are Carmen Sandiego. Boy, I didn't know you were such a big star.' I'm one of those performers who has done everything except juggle and I'm working on that."
[rest omitted]
Return to the Rita Moreno Page
Get your own Free Home Page