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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesTony Mordente, the dancer and actor who appeared in the original Broadway production of West Side Story, died in Henderson, Nevada, in June 2024 at age 88. Most institutional and obituary records give the date as June 11, 2024, though one contemporaneous report gives June 12. He was later known as a choreographer and television director, and he was married to the Broadway star Chita Rivera for a period in the late 1950s and after.
When and where Mordente died
The Television Academy’s biography records his birth in New York City on December 3, 1935, and his death on June 11, 2024. Legacy’s obituary, published June 17, 2024, also places his death on June 11 in Henderson, Nevada, and gives his age as 88. Playbill’s obituary, published June 14, 2024, reports the death as June 12 and says he died after a brief illness. The sources do not establish a more specific cause of death.
![West Side Story (50th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] by 20th Century Fox](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41nAWVEHBbL._SL160_.jpg)
![West Side Story: 50th Anniversary Edition [2 Blu-ray + 1 DVD] (Bilingual)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ip4saUS+L._SL160_.jpg)
![West Side Story: 50th Anniversary Edition [2 Blu-ray + 1 DVD] (Bilingual)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51MPbGVvscL._SL160_.jpg)
| Source | Date reported | Other details |
|---|---|---|
| Television Academy biography | June 11, 2024 | Birth date December 3, 1935 |
| Legacy.com obituary (published June 17, 2024) | June 11, 2024 | Henderson, Nevada; age 88 |
| Playbill obituary (published June 14, 2024) | June 12, 2024 | Brief illness; no specific cause given |
If you need an exact date for a citation, June 11 is the figure supported by the two institutional and obituary records. Playbill’s June 12 is the only conflicting report found.
His stage work in West Side Story
Mordente performed in the original Broadway production of West Side Story as A-Rab, one of the Jets. He later played Action in the 1961 film adaptation, which is the version most readers will know. Both roles were dancing-led parts in a production built around Jerome Robbins’s choreography, and his early training and stage career are the foundation for the work that followed.
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From performer to choreographer and director
Mordente moved into choreography and then television directing. Legacy’s obituary credits him with choreography on productions including Bye Bye Birdie and describes his transition to television directing across several series. The Television Academy biography names Rhoda, 7th Heaven, and Walker, Texas Ranger among the series he directed, and it also covers his choreography for television programs and specials. Legacy’s episode counts are its own figures and have not been independently verified, so this article does not repeat them.
His marriage to Chita Rivera
Mordente met Chita Rivera through West Side Story. The two married in 1957 and later divorced. They had a daughter, Lisa Mordente, who became a performer. The Associated Press obituary for Rivera, published January 30, 2024, confirms the marriage and daughter, and Rivera died earlier that year, months before Mordente. The divorce is the reason readers often describe him as her ex-husband, but the records do not describe the terms or timing of the split beyond the fact that it happened.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A 2007 remark about Jerome Robbins’s Fancy Free
Playbill’s obituary reproduces a statement Mordente gave PBS in 2007, in which he said: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything that changed my life and my career as quickly as that did.” The account connects the remark to his response to Jerome Robbins’s Fancy Free and to his later approach to theater dance.
Quick Recap
Rank #3
![West Side Story Blu-ray [2022] [Region Free]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51cqp7AzwRL._SL160_.jpg)
- The disk has English audio and subtitles.
What the public record does not cover
- The records describe a brief illness but do not name a cause of death.
- No funeral or memorial arrangements were found in the sources reviewed.
- Career totals in the obituaries are descriptive credit counts, not independently audited figures.
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