has passed away on June 11 at the age of 88. Mordente's journey in the arts began at the High School of Performing Arts and the American Ballet Theater School, where he developed his dance skills. According to several reports his death came following a brief illness.
He gained significant recognition with his portrayal of A-Rab in the 1957 Broadway and 1958 West End productions of . "I was a real ballet fan," he told PBS in 2007. "I was only a ballet fan and I knew nothing else about anything else but ballet, and that's all I ever wanted to know.
And I went to the Met one night when Ballet Theatre came back into town. I was a scholarship student in a ballet theatre at the time. "And I went to see, I think it was a part of the Black Swan, and they also had fancy free on the.
.. program.
And I said, you know, I don't know if I want to stay for this. It's not really ballet, you know. And I, I don't think I've ever seen anything that changed my life and my career as quickly as I did.
" Tony Mordente career and personal life It was during this Broadway production that he met his future wife, , who passed away in January. They had a daughter, Lisa, in 1958, and divorced in 1966. Mordente also starred as Action in the 1961 film version of West Side Story and went on to choreograph for Broadway and television, including The Ed Sullivan Show and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in the 1960s.
In the 1970s, Mordente transitioned to directing, working on popular TV shows such as MAS*H, Family .
