Chita Rivera obit

Broadway Icon Chita Rivera Dies at 91

Rivera passed away after a brief illness. 

She was not on the list.

Broadway legend Chita Rivera has died at the age of 91.

Rivera died peacefully on January 30 after a brief illness, according to daughter Lisa Mordente and publicist Merle Frimark.

Born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero in Washington, DC on January 23, 1933, Rivera trained as a ballerina from the age of nine, receiving a scholarship to the School of American Ballet. Her first major role, at the age of 19, was as a principal dancer in Call Me Madam. Her career was dotted with legendary original productions: Guys and Dolls and Can-Can, among them. Her performance as Anita in West Side Story made her a star, and she cemented her reputation as the original Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie and Velma in Chicago. She was a two-time Tony winner for The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman, as well as the recipient of a a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2018.

Among Rivera’s other Broadway roles are Lilliane in Nine opposite Antonio Banderas; Princess Puffer in The Mystery of Edwin Drood; herself in her biographical musical The Dancer’s Life; and Claire Zachannassian in The Visit, which marked her final Broadway appearance in 2015. She earned 10 Tony nominations over the course of her career.

Rivera was awarded a Kennedy Center Honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented by President Barack Obama, and Living Landmark status from the New York Landmarks Concervancy. She toured throughout the world as a cabaret performer, playing sold-out shows at venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to Cadogan Hall. Her career retrospective concert Chita Rivera: A lot of Livin’ to Do was presented on PBS’s Great Performances, and her memoir, Chita, was published by HarperOne in April 2023.

In addition to Mordente, she is survived by siblings Julio, Armando, and Lola del Rivero, along with many nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her parents and older sister, Carmen.

Rivera received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, and a Drama League Award. She was the first Latina and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. She won the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2018.

After making her Broadway debut as a dancer in Guys and Dolls (1950), she went on to originate roles in Broadway musicals such as Anita in West Side Story (1957), Velma Kelly in Chicago (1975), and the title role in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993). She was a ten-time Tony Award nominee, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice for her roles in The Rink (1984) and Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993). She was Tony-nominated for her roles in Bye Bye Birdie (1961), Chicago (1975), Merlin (1983), Jerry's Girls (1986), Nine (2003), and The Visit (2015).

Rivera acted in the film Sweet Charity (1969) and appeared in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), and Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021). She played Connie Richardson in the CBS sitcom The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1973–1974). She also appeared on television in The Judy Garland Show (1963), The Carol Burnett Show (1971), and Will & Grace (2005). Her autobiography, Chita: A Memoir, was published in 2023.

Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson was born in Washington, D.C. on January 23, 1933, the daughter of Katherine (Anderson), a government clerk, and Pedro Julio Figueroa del Rivero, a clarinetist and saxophonist for the U.S. Navy Band. Her father was Puerto Rican and her mother was of Scottish, Irish, and African-American descent. Rivera was one of five children. Rivera was seven years old when her mother was widowed and went to work at The Pentagon.

 

Acting credits

Film

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1969    Sweet Charity Nickie 

1978    Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band            Guest at Heartland     

1983    He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin' Herself            Documentary

2002            Chicago          Nickie            Cameo

2003            Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There   Herself            Documentary

2006            Kalamazoo?            Giannina         

2010    The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! Singer            Voice

2012    Carol Channing: Larger Than Life      Herself            Documentary

Show Stopper: The Theatrical Life of Garth Drabinsky            Herself            Documentary

Ben Vereen: Last of the Showmen            Herself            Documentary

Move   Herself            Documentary

2018    Still Waiting in the Wings            Broadway Diva            Documentary

2021    Tick, Tick... Boom!            "Sunday" Legend        

Television

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1956    The Maurice Chevalier Show            Herself            1 episode

1960    The Gary Moore Show   Herself            1 episode

1963    The Judy Garland Show   Herself            Episode 17

1964    The Outer Limits            Mrs. Dame            Episode: "The Bellero Shield"

1965    The Hollywood Palace  Herself            1 episode

1971    The Carol Burnett Show   Various characters            Episode: "4.22"

1973    The Marcus-Nelson Murders            Josie Hopper            Television film

1973–1974            The New Dick Van Dyke Show            Connie Richardson            Main role; 7 episodes

1977    Once Upon a Brothers Grimm            Gingerbread Lady            Episode: "Hansel and Gretel"

1981    Pippin: His Life and Times            Fastrada            Television film

1982    One Life to Live            Melody Rambo            Recurring role

Strawberry Ice            Performer            Television film

1987            Mayflower Madam            Risa Dickstein            Television film

1997    Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child            Katy            Voice, episode: "Thumbelina"

2004, 2019            Dora The Explorer            The Witch   Voice, 2 episodes

2005    Will & Grace   Lenore Portillo            Episode: "Dance Cards and Greeting Cards"

2008    Johnny and the Sprites            The Queen            Episode: "Johnny Not Invited"

2011            Submissions Only            Gladys Franklin            Episode: "Yore So Bad"

Theatre (selected)

Year     Title            Role            Venue            Ref.

1950    Guys and Dolls            Dancer (replacement)            46th Street Theatre  

1953    Can-Can      Dancer            Shubert Theatre

1955    Seventh Heaven Fifi            ANTA Playhouse        

1956    Mr. Wonderful            Rita Romano            Broadway Theatre    

1957            Shinbone Alley            Mehitabel       

West Side Story    Anita            Winter Garden Theatre           

1960    Bye Bye Birdie            Rose Alvarez Martin Beck Theatre   

1964    Bajour            Anyanka          Shubert Theatre

1975            Chicago          Velma Kelly    46th Street Theatre  

1981    Bring Back Birdie            Rose Alvarez Martin Beck Theatre   

1983    Merlin            The Queen  Mark Hellinger Theatre

1984    The Rink     Anna            Martin Beck Theatre   

1985    Jerry's Girls            Performer      St. James Theatre 

1993    Kiss of the Spider Woman            Spider Woman/Aurora            Broadhurst Theatre     

2003    Nine            Liliane La Fleur            Eugene O'Neill Theatre

2005    Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life            Herself            Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre

2012    The Mystery of Edwin Drood            The Princess Puffer / Miss Angela Prysock            Studio 54       

2015    The Visit     Claire Zachannassian            Lyceum Theatre