In 1961 the movie version of West Side Story was released. Seven months later it was nominated for 11 Academy Awards. Ten Golden Oscars were awarded. The most by a musical and thus setting a record.
And the Oscar goes to…
1.) Best Picture
2.) Best Director (Duel) Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (Jerome Robbins Directed and choreographed the original Broadway production)
3.) Best Cinematography
4.) Best Actor in a Supporting role. George Chakiris (Bernardo)
5.) Best Actress in a Supporting role. Rita Moreno (Anita)
6.) Best Art Direction
7.) Best Costume Design
8.) Best Film Editing
9.) Best Music Scoring
10.) Best Sound
Some fun facts…
Natalie Wood was nominated for Best Actress that year but not for West Side Story. It was for Splendor in the Grass.
Natalie Wood did not have the vocals for her role had Maria. She had a ghost singer Marni Nixon.
Jerome Robbins worked Natalie Wood over 16 hours a day. She begged to be fired from the film.
He was such a task master, that after filming the scene for “ Cool” the dancers burned their knee pads in his office.
Actors Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer couldn’t stand each other. ( No wonder there’s no real chemistry between them in the movie!)
Elvis Presley was Robert Wise’s first choice to play Tony! ( I’d of loved to see that!) Other possibilities for Tony…
Bobby Darin
Tab Hunter
Burt Reynolds
Warren Beatty
Anthony Perkins
Russ Tamblyn
Troy Donahue
All very interesting choices!
Who would you have like to see play Tony on the big screen?
An actual street gang was hired to protect the cast on the streets of New York from being harassed by the locals.
Most of the filming was done on a Hollywood sound stage. However the famous prologue was shot on the streets of Manhattan and Spanish Harlem.
Rita Moreno was the only Puerto Rican among the principal cast.
If you watched this years Oscars she wore the same gown she wore in 1962 to accept her Oscar!
We cannot wait to wow you on the streets of Kankakee this summer!!
