Tony Mordente

Anthony Charles Mordente Jr. was born on December 3, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a beer truck driver. He began studying dance at age thirteen and went on to attend the High School of Performing Arts, where he earned a scholarship to the American Ballet Theater School. It was there that choreographer Michael Kidd discovered him and cast him in his first Broadway role.

Mordente made his Broadway debut in 1956 playing Lonesome Polecat in Li'l Abner, the musical adaptation of Al Capp's comic strip, with Kidd serving as choreographer. The following year he joined the original Broadway cast of West Side Story, in which he played A-Rab. He also appeared in the West End production of the show. When the film version was made, Mordente was cast as Action rather than reprising his stage role, a change he reportedly found disappointing but chose not to question. During the production of West Side Story, he met Chita Rivera, who originated the role of Anita on Broadway; the two married in 1957. Their daughter, actress Lisa Mordente, was born during this period. Lisa Mordente later received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical in 1982 for Marlowe. Tony and Chita Rivera divorced in 1966 but maintained an amicable relationship.

Mordente's third Broadway credit came in 1960 with Bye Bye Birdie, in which he understudied the title role and served as assistant to director and choreographer Gower Champion. He subsequently collaborated again with Michael Kidd on Ben Franklin in Paris in 1964 and Breakfast at Tiffany's in 1966, the latter of which closed during its preview period. In 1968, Mordente received his first sole choreographer credit for Here's Where I Belong, a production that closed on its opening night.

Beyond the stage, Mordente recorded a 45 rpm single as the voice of Oliver Cool, releasing the tracks "Oliver Cool" and "I Like Girls" on Roulette Records. The record did not chart nationally in the United States but reached hit status in Australia in 1961. He also made guest appearances on the television series Combat! and The Outer Limits, and went on to choreograph for television variety programs including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.

Beginning in the mid-1970s, Mordente transitioned into television directing, accumulating an extensive list of credits across multiple decades. He directed twenty-nine episodes of Rhoda, thirty-seven episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger, thirty-three episodes of 7th Heaven, ten episodes of Matlock, five episodes of The A-Team, and four episodes of The Love Boat, among many others including M*A*S*H, Family Ties, and Burke's Law.

In 1978, Mordente married Jean G. Fraser. Together they had a daughter, screenwriter Adriana Mordente. He resided in Henderson, Nevada, in his later years. Mordente died on June 11, 2024, following a brief illness, at the age of 88, less than five months after the death of his former wife, Chita Rivera.