USC refers to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Cinematic Arts Library, Special Collections.
1 “‘Romeo To Receive”: New York Times, January 27, 1949.
2 You’ll never write it”: Nora Kaye, quoted in Arthur Laurents, “The Birth of an Idea,” New York Herald-Tribune, August 4, 1957.
3 “I just loved him”: Chita Rivera, quoted in Deborah Jowitt, Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theater, His Dance (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004), p. 276.
4 Robbins’s fall: One of the more recent of the many accounts of this event, which gives cast member/writer/lyricist/director Martin Charnin as the source, is Barbara Hoffman, “Actors Recall living in Fear of Jerome Robbins—Yet Dying to Work with Him,” New York Post, July 26, 2018.
5 “Oh God” Carol Lawrence, Carol Lawrence: The Backstage Story (New York: McGraw Hill, 1990), p. 2.
6 Reviews of West Side Story: All ran in the named publications on September 27, 1957. “Juke-box Manhattan opera”: comment by John Chapman in The New York Daily News. The New Yorker review ran in the issue of October 5, 1957.
7 Bernstein and Sondheim option: Agreement between Bernstein, Sondheim, and Seven Arts Productions, November 5, 1958. Courtesy of confidential source.
Contractual considerations: Walter Mirisch to author via Larry Mirisch email to author, July 27, 2019.
1 “Let us take”: Boris Leven, undated memo [ca. 1959] to Robert Wise. Boris Leven Collection, USC, Box 9 file 20.
2 “Billy Wilder told us”: Walter Mirisch, I Thought We Were Making Movies, Not History (Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2008), p. 100.
3 “The only person”: Saul Chaplin, interviewed in Max Wilk, They’re Playing Our Song (New York: Zoetrope, 1986), p. 226.
4 “Anyone on the street”: Ernest Lehman, notes taken during New York research trip, Ernest Lehman Collection, USC, Box 27 folder 1.
5 “Unacceptably sex-suggestive”: Geoffrey M. Shurlock, letter to Walter M. Mirisch, June 28, 1960, West Side Story MPAA [Motion Picture Association of America] file, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
6 Johnny Green anecdotes: Saul Chaplin, The Golden Age of Hollywood Musicals and Me (University of Oklahoma Press, 1994), pp 176 ff.
7 “We decided”: Sid Ramin, quoted in Anita Gates, “Sid Ramin, 100, Who Put Music to Broadway Hits, Woolite and Ultra Brite, Too,” The New York Times, July 6, 2019.
1 “Casting the film”: Saul Chaplin, The Golden Age, p. 179.
2 Elizabeth Taylor: George Chakiris, CBS Sunday Morning interview, February 24, 2019.
3 “A very different time”: Rita Moreno, interviewed for In the Thick podcast #44, “The Many Accents of Rita Moreno,” National Public Radio, January 10, 2017.
4 Wise notes: Unless stated otherwise, all the quotes about casting are from Robert Wise’s casting notes, in the Robert Wise Collection at USC, Box 34, file 2.
5 Moreno wrote: Rita Moreno: A Memoir (New York: Celebra, 2013), p. 161.
6 “A United Artists executive”: Mirisch, I Thought, p. 124.
7 “Good voice”: Leonard Bernstein datebook, May 16, 1957, Leonard Bernstein Collection, the Library of Congress.
8 “He might have been chosen”: Chaplin, The Golden Age, p. 181.
9 “Hundreds of dudes”: Nick Covacevich, Our Story: Jets & Sharks Then and Now (Denver: Outskirts Press, Inc., 2011), p. 214.
10 Taffy Paul” Carole D’Andrea, email to author, August 4, 2019; also, Kate Whitehead, “My life: Stefanie Powers,” Post Magazine, December 7, 2013.
11 Russ Tamblyn and MGM: Tamblyn, interviewed in Patrick McDonald, “Stars of ‘West Side Story’ for 50th Anniversary,” www.hollywoodchicago.com, November 24, 2011.
12 “Annamariaspaghetti” and ff Jerome Robbins:, undated letter (ca. April 1960) to Robert Wise, Wise Collection, USC box 34, folder 16.
13 “Ludicrous”: Chaplin, The Golden Age, p. 180.
14 “A fawn in the forest”: Robert Relyea, with Craig Relyea, Not So Quiet On the Set (New York: iUniverse, 2008), p. 151.
15 “It was a test” Robert Wise, interview in West Side Stories, unreleased documentary, 1995.
16 Diane Baker: Diane Baker, email interview with author, August 16, 2019.
1 “Robbins wanted perfection”: Robert Banas, Our Story, 108.
2 “When you think”: “Small Rumble,” The New Yorker, April 2, 1960.
3 Lincoln Square and locations: The website popspotsnyc.com contains a detailed rundown of the shooting sites used for West Side Story, matching frames from the film with actual photos of the neighborhood.
4 Ursaner, Eagle Demolition: Allen K. Wood, memo to Bob Relyea, July 13, 1960, Wise Collection, USC, Box 34, folder 13.
5 “Five or ten thousand”: Robert Wise, quoted in Greg Lawrence, Dance with Demons: The Life of Jerome Robbins (New York: Berkley, 2001), p. 289.
6 “A kind of abstract”: Wise, interview in West Side Stories.
7 “I held his belt”: Robert Relyea, interview in West Side Stories.
8 More cast members and locations: Relyea, memo to Wood, June 6, 1960; New York Location List, (Undated, ca. July 6, 1960), Wise Collection, USC Box 34, folder 13.
9 “Once it’s on film”: Russ Tamblyn, quoted in Lawrence, Dance With Demons, p. 290.
10 “Artistic snobs”: David Winters, Tough Guys Do Dance (Pensacola: Indigo Rivers Publishing, 2018), p. 88.
11 “We were used”: Harvey Evans, interviewed on Theater Talk, CUNY-TV, November 12, 2012.
12 Winters, Mordente, Othon, D’Andrea quotes interviews in West Side Stories
13 “His eyes”: Gina Trikonis, Our Stories, p. 152.
14 “If you worked hard”: David Bean, Theater Talk interview, CUNY-TV, November 12, 2012.
15 “A concentration camp” and ff Chaplin: The Golden Age, p. 187.
16 Tamblyn & Chakiris: McDonald, “Stars of ‘West Side Story’”
17 “We all did”: Bert Michaels, Our Stories, p. 38.
18 “I want the movements”: Jerome Robbins, interview in Bill Becker, “Hollywood Steps,” The New York Times July 3, 1960.
19 “As any riot”: Relyea, interviewed in West Side Stories.
20 “Twenty wild animals”: Relyea, interviewed in West Side Stories.
21 “The casualty list”: Relyea, Not So Quiet, p. 156.
22 “Jerry would say”: Margaret Banks, quoted in Lawrence, Dance With Demons, p. 289.
23 “The hardest time”: Rita Moreno, interviewed in West Side Stories.
1 “How did they”: Tony Mordente, Our Story, p. 30.
2 “Geez Jerry”: Russ Tamblyn, quoted in “Movers and Shakers of Movie Musicals,” People, April 8, 2002.
3 “The New York film”: Harold J. Mirisch, memo to Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, September 12, 1960, Wise Collection, USC, box 34 folder 13.
4 “These items”: Harold J. Mirisch, memo to Wise and Robbins, September 15, 1960. Wise Collection, USC box 34 folder 3.
5 “She wasn’t Chita”: Carole d’Andrea, quoted in Lawrence, Dance With Demons, p. 287.
6 “The wall doesn’t work”: Yvonne Othon [Wilder], interviewed in West Side Stories
7 “You know you think”: Rita Moreno, interviewed in West Side Stories.
8 Garage set: Herb A Lightman, “The Photography of ‘West Side Story’” American Cinematographer, December 1961.
9 “We were supposed”: Gina Trikonis, Our Story, pp. 147-48.
10 “I don’t ever believe”: Relyea, interviewed in West Side Stories.
11 “This is Natalie”: Bert Michaels, Our Story, pp. 39-40.
12 “Awful”: Rita Moreno, quoted in Suzanne Finstad, Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood (New York: Harmony Books, 2001), p. 231. Wood had previously attempted a Mexican accent in the 1956 film The Burning Hills, without great success.
13 Nightclub act: Finstad, Natasha, pp. 186-87.
14 “It looked as if”: Robert Wise, letter to Paul F. Johnson, September 18, 1961. Wise Collection, USC box 34 folder 4, “Congratulatory Letters.”
15 “The entire music department”: Marni Nixon, I Could Have Sung All Night, with Stephen Cole (New York: Billboard Books, 2006), p. 134.
16 “In a way”: Mart Crowley, quoted in Lawrence, Dance with Demons, p. 287.
17 “Very demanding”: Robert Wise, quoted in Lawrence, Dance with Demons, p. 288.
18 “Jerry just didn’t pay”: Mart Crowley, quoted in Lawrence, Dance with Demons, p. 292.
19 By October 10: Shooting script for West Side Story, annotated by Script Supervisor Stanley K. Scheuer. Starting with October 10, Scheuer would list each day’s total of footage and script pages, plus the cumulative totals thus far. Stanley Scheuer Collection, USC, file G no. 11.
20 “Want you to know”: Harold J. Mirisch, memo to Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins, and Al Wood, October 5, 1960, Wise Collection, USC, box 34 folder 13.
21 “Under no circumstances”: Harold J. Mirisch, memo to Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins, and Al Wood, October 11, 1960, Wise Collection, USC, box 34 folder 13.
22 “Print it anyway”: Margaret Banks, quoted in Jowitt, Jerome Robbins, p. 287.
23 “I want to caution you”: Harold J. Mirisch, memo to Wise and Robbins, September 12, 1960, Wise Collection, USC, box 34 folder 13.
24 “Don’t lose”: Tony Mordente, Our Story, p. 27.
25 $6.75 million: Mirisch, I Thought, p. 127. Verified by Mr. Mirisch in Larry Mirisch email to author, July 27, 2019.
26 “Coup… assassination”: Relyea, Not So Quiet, p. 154.
27 “We concentrated”: Mirisch, I Thought, p. 126.
28 “A terrible scene”: and ff Walter Mirisch, I Thought, p. 126.
29 “None of you”: Gina Trikonis, Our Story, p. 154.
30 “Was just sitting”: Mart Crowley, quoted in Lawrence, Dance with Demons, p. 292.
31 “[Ambersons] probably was”: Robert Wise, quoted in Barbara Leaming, Orson Welles (New York: Viking, 1985), p. 293.
32 “The ballet should”: Robert Wise, memo to Bob Relyea, June 13, 1960, Boris Leven Collection, USC, box 14 folder 48.
33 “Just the nature”: Robert Wise, quoted in Lawrence, Dance With Demons, p. 291.
34 “I felt sorry”: Tony Mordente, quoted in Lawrence, Dance With Demons, p. 292.
35 “Far and away”: Saul Chaplin, The Golden Age, p. 181.
36 “It’s a thankless role”: Richard Beymer, interviewed in Julie Wheelock, “‘Twin Peaks’ Stars Tamblyn, Beymer Share Twin Experience”, Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1990.
37 “You didn’t have to”: Russ Tamblyn, interviewed in Wheelock, “’Twin Peaks’ Stars.”
38 January 4: Robert (Bob) Relyea, memo to Allen (Al) Wood, November 3, 1960. Wise Collection, USC, box 34, folder 14.
39 “I was Anita”: Rita Moreno, interviewed in West Side Stories.
40 February 14: West Side Story Work Script, Scheuer Collection, USC, File G No. 11.
41 Chaplin… said later: Saul Chaplin, interviewed in West Side Stories. The specific quote is, “I knew from the very beginning that we had to dub Natalie Wood.”
42 Beymer once mentioned: Marni Nixon, I Could Have Sung, p. 135.
43 “The main problem”: Jerome Robbins, Notes on rough cut of film, April 12, 1961 Wise Collection, USC, box 34 folder 16.
44 “I feel I am”: Robert Wise, memo to Raymond Kurtzman, May 24, 1961, Wise Collection, USC, box 34 folder 16.
45 “Nothing is really impossible”: Linwood G. Dunn, draft of West Side Story proposal to the Mirisch Company, April 16, 1960 Linwood G. Dunn papers (f.475), Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
1 $7,500: Leonard Bernstein contract (February 21, 1961) with Beta Productions (the corporation formed jointly by Mirisch Pictures and Robert Wise). Courtesy of confidential source.
2 “America”: Stephen Sondheim contract (June 15, 1960) with Beta Productions/Mirisch/Seven Arts specifies “Completely new lyrics for the song entitled ‘America.’” Courtesy of confidential source.
3 Doc’s line: Ernest Lehman, annotations on West Side Story script drafts, Lehman Collection, USC, box 34 folder 1.
1 Joseph Caroff: See http://sergottart.com/artists/joseph-caroff/biography/.
2 “Life is great”: Rita Moreno interview with Irene Thirer, “Rita Moreno Tells ‘West Side Story,’” New York Post, August 28, 1961.
3 Variety review: Whitney Williams, September 27, 1961.
4 Hollywood Reporter review: James Powers, “’West Side Story’ Hailed as B.O. Smash, Great Film Work” September 22, 1961.
5 Arthur Knight review: Saturday Review, October 14, 1961.
6 Stanley Kauffmann review: The New Republic, October 23, 1961; reprinted (with a postscipt) in Stanley Kauffmann, A World on Film (New York: Dell, 1966), pp. 134-37.
7 New Yorker review: Brendan Gill, October 21, 1961.
8 Newsweek review: October 23, 1961.
9 Time review: October 20, 1961.
10 Pauline Kael review: Kael, I Lost It at the Movies (New York: Little Brown, 1965), pp. 141-48.
11 National Geographic photo: October 1962.
12 “A weird beauty or personality”: Scott’s comments on the awards were widely reported, as by Erskine Johnson in his syndicated “Hollywood Today!” column, March 1962.
13 “I went to the Academy Awards”: Mart Crowley, interviewed in Lawrence, Dance With Demons, p. 292.
14 “It wasn’t easy”: Relyea, Not So Quiet, p. 157.
15 “But at least”: Hedda Hopper, quoted in (among other sources) Mason Wiley and Damien Bona, Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards (New York: Ballantine, 1987), p. 340.
16 “Some of it gets”: Jerome Robbins, letter to Richard Buckle, October 16, 1961, quoted in Jowitt, Jerome Robbins, p. 292.
17 “They’re bland”: Robbins, letter to Buckle, May 30, 1961, quoted in Jowitt, Jerome Robbins, p. 292.
18 “Don’t think I’m smart”: Natalie Wood, interview by Murray Kempton, “Natalie Wood: Is This the Girl Next Door?” Show, March 1962.
19 “When records became”: Marni Nixon, I Could Have Sung, p. 137.
20 Betty Wand: see Jack Gottlieb, “Fact Sheet,” westsidestory.com/archives-1.
21 “Unlike other classics”: West Side Story trailer, Youtube.com Although listed in some places as the original 1961 trailer, this is for the 1968 reissue.
22 share and violence: John J. O’Connor, “Was ‘West Side Story’ Bad for East Harlem?” The New York Times, April 2, 1972.
1 “So how do you follow”: Nobuko Miyamoto (Joanne Miya), Our Stories, p. 232.
2 “[I wish] someone”: Russ Tamblyn, interviewed in West Side Stories.
3 “His greatest role”: Satan’s Sadists trailer, YouTube.
4 “In entertainment”: Russtamblyn.com.
5 “The kind of movie”: Glenn Erickson, CineSavant (formerly DVD Savant) review, June 12, 2007, dvdtalk.com.
6 “In my mind”: Richard Beymer, interviewed in Wheelock, “’Twin Peaks’ Stars.”
7 “This time the services”: Mirisch, I Thought, p. 305.
8 “He wasn’t inclined”: David Ehrenstein, “Still pretty and witty and gay,” The Advocate, April 29, 2003.
9 “Don’t forget to smell”: Robert Banas, Our Stories, p 132.
10 “Uses art”: GreatLeap.org.
11 “Lamentable”: Chaplin, The Golden Age, p. 251.
12 “The thing is”: Jerome Robbins, interviewed in Emily Coleman, “From Tutus to T-Shirts,” New York Times Magazine, October 8, 1961.
13 “Wise has worn”: Hal Hinson, the Washington Post, March 18, 1989.
14 “Really crappy”: Rita Moreno, interviewed on Live With Kelly and Ryan, ABC-TV, February 22, 2019.
15 “The brightest star”: Margaret Lyons, review of One Day at a Time, New York Times, January 25, 2018.
1 “You want to talk”: Rita Moreno, interviewed in Bryan Brunati, “Rita Moreno, 87, Says ‘There’s No Plastic Here’ When It comes to Her Looks,” Closerweekly.com, March 16, 2019.
2 “In this kingdom”: Lisa Schwarzbaum, review of The King and I, Entertainment Weekly, March 26, 1999.
3 “Isn’t meant to replace”: A. O. Scott, review of The Lion King, The New York Times, July 11, 2019.
4 “It was like putting mud”: Rita Moreno, interview on “In The Thick” podcast, NPR, January 10, 2017.
5 “The elephant in the room”: Isel Rodriguez, quoted in Seth Abramovitch, “Steven Spielberg Met With Puerto Ricans about ‘West Side Story’ Concerns,” The Hollywood Reporter, January 15, 2019.
6 “Masterpiece” and ff: Tony Kushner, quoted in Paul Chi, “Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story Will Go Back to Basics,” Vanity Fair, online version, October 23, 2018.
7 “It is so wonderful”: Carole D’Andrea, email to author, August 4, 2019.
1 “So that’s how”: Jamie Bernstein, speaking in West Side Stories: The Making of a Classic BBC documentary, 2016.