[Programming note: There's still time to vote on Al Gore's Baby Bump!]
As readers of this blog know, Puerto Rican spitfire Rita Moreno is the first person to have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony - known in entertainment circles as the "Moreno Sweep." Only nine individuals have achieved the "Moreno Sweep" and Moreno herself aced it in record time. (What's that commercial she did in the late 70s where she was identified as the winner of all four prizes? I can't remember.)
Among her prizes are two Emmys: One for a guest appearance on The Muppets; the other for a three-episode stint as hooker Rita Capkovic on The Rockford Files in 1978. I've often wondered if it bothered her to play a prostitute with the same first name - or if this was a signal to audiences that she had a racy side. (Not unlike Pamela Sue Martin, TV's Nancy Drew, who posed for Playboy in July of that very same year.)
Of course I loved Rita Moreno in West Side Story. But she was genius in The Electric Company, for which she won a Grammy.
Rita Moreno and Morgan Freeman in The Electric Company.
Damn that show was good.
Anyway until recently it looked like Al Gore would become the first former Vice President to complete the "Moreno Sweep." In the last year he bagged both an Oscar (Inconvenient Truth) and an Emmy (for Current TV). I'd already begun racking my brains trying to think of the musical role that would land him theater's most coveted prize. (Gore doesn't need to worry about the Grammy. He's bound to nail one in the spoken word category.)
Now comes word that Gore is likely skipping Broadway and heading straight to Oslo - to pick up this year's Nobel. This puts the former Veep in a class all his own: the only winner of an Oscar, Emmy and Nobel.
But here's the thing: He shouldn't skip Broadway. Jimmy Carter already has a Nobel and could very well share in an Oscar for Jonathan Demme's documentary Man From Plains. An Emmy could soon follow. (Carter has always been fiercely competitive. Pundits long ago dubbed him the Chita Rivera to Gore's Moreno.)
For Gore to secure his singular status - winner of the Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Nobel ("The Gore Crown"?) - he needs to grab his dance shoes and head to the Great White Way.
Mo Rocca has appeared on a bunch of shows, including 'The Daily Show,' 'I Love the 80s,'...
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Al Gore: Not Just Another Rita Moreno
Posted Oct 12th 2007 9:00AM by Mo Rocca
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Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.
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Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 4)
31. al gore could star in a totally new show..the mo rocca story. al could play mo in his golden years reflecting back on his life...each act could be a favorite mo memory...like the tragic day he had to fire the housekeeper. ah, the raw emotion. just for fun he could throw in a rendition of memory from cats.
bobbleheaddoll at 11:40PM on Oct 9th 2007
32. Aw Mo,
Here is the Tony Award winning Boradway Musical:
"Gilligan's Island, Safe in the South Pacific"
Inspired by your red shirt and that weird guy you keep interviewing who looks like the Skipper.
Setting: Late 1960's, South Pacific desert isle.
Plot: A group of overpacked travelers encounter a storm and are stranded on an uncharted desert isle. All attempts at rescue are thwarted by a Captain's mate, named Gilligan, for reasons to be disclosed.
Cast:
Gilligan: Blayze
Skipper: That weird guy you keep interviewing
Ginger: Marsha
Maryann: GiftedGirl
Mr. Howell: Finn
Mrs. Howell: Andrea (Happy Birthday!)
The Professor: AL GORE
The Radio: Game Theory
Plot weenie: Reason castaways can't get off island--Gilligan, of draft age, hears about Tet Offensive on Radio and deliberately sabotages rescue efforts.
Music: Sondheim, Smoking Popes, Air Supply, Elton John (why not?), Christopher Cross and Talking Heads (for Al Gore, the thinking man.)
This has all the makings of
a good reason for me to go to sleep at 11:00.
Kimball '08
John Giza at 12:41AM on Oct 10th 2007
33. Yay, I'm the radio! ;-)
Game Theory for Applied Economics Nerd at 1:20AM on Oct 10th 2007
34. Does this mean I get to be Chief?
Hey, where is my Lovey?? Haven't seen her in days, not since the big birthday luau. I hope the savages didn't get to her...
Oh Professor, I see you've solved the global warming crisis by concentrating coconut oil into some sort of super bio-fuel. Very impressive, Professor! Now can you invent something to get us off this island?!?
FINN at 1:27AM on Oct 10th 2007
35. Finn,
This is way beyond my purview of cultural expertise, by I am totally baffled how Ann Coulter is becomming a Gay Icon.
(she isn't really, but I just thought if this gets out it would really piss her off.)
JG
John Giza at 1:28AM on Oct 10th 2007
36. What are you people doing up at this time of night?
Game Theory: Actually, the Radio is the modern incarnation of the chorus from Greek Tragedy.
Thank you for advancing the plot:-)
Finn, I thought you had her. Let me check my pockets. Lovey...
Kimball '08
John Giza at 1:40AM on Oct 10th 2007
37. I think that Al Gore would be in Oklahoma!, Mo, but for a different reason: Clearly his TN background would prepare him for the rigors of life on the plain and he wouldn't have to work too hard on that Oklahoma accent. He'd be right at home!
On an unrelated note, Mo, I'm studying abroad in Austria and have recently discovered the "Wait Wait" Podcasts on i Tunes and this blog and I am so happy that I do not have to go 4 months without my favorite show! I also appreciate the news and culture updates that I get from your blog :) By the way, if you are still displeased with your cleaning lady, feel free to send her over here. I live with 4 other girls who, for the most part, don't ever clean!! Thanks!
Emma McCullough at 3:35AM on Oct 10th 2007
38. My dearest Mo,
I am with John on this new hybrid musical.
May I present you with the opening number to
GillAlGore's Isle (You all know the tune!)
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, an inconvenient truth
that started when the ozone layer
threatened to go poof
The Mate showed a power point display
the Skipper gave his all
five Continents agreed that day for a new protocol
a new protocol
the weather started getting rough yet cries of foul were tossed
if we don’t heed the danger signs the Icebergs will be lost
the Icebergs will be lost
(Musical interlude with many bad weather sound effects)
A think tank began on the shore of this uncharted desert Isle
with GillAlGore
the Skipper too
the Millionaire and his Wife
the Movie Star
the Professor and Mary Ann (and the radio)
here on GillAlGore’s Isle
Of course you need the millionaire and his wife (HI Finn!) for the money, the movie star so people have something nice to look at while being made to feel guilty! The professor to come up with a solution. Mary Ann represents the average citizen hiding their fear behind coconut cream pies and the radio is there for gratuitous nudity.
Rehearsals start 0800 sharp!
Andrea at 4:12AM on Oct 10th 2007
39. Sorry I'm late, Lovey!!
I was taking my morning laps in the lagoon. The movie star was skinny dipping again but I was a perfect gentleman and looked the other way. I swear on all my oil wells that I did not see her beautiful coconuts.
Finn at 12:09PM on Oct 10th 2007
40. Andrea,
Me too!
I was eating the coconut cream pie.
BRILLIANT!
JG
John Giza at 1:47PM on Oct 10th 2007
41. John Giza:
Wow! I'm playing Maryann on Broadway and I didn't even have to audition?! I'm honored. And yes, we must have Sir Elton John for the music!
Andrea:
Your song is perfect for our production. Happy Belated Birthday!
giftedgirl at 7:15PM on Oct 10th 2007
42. Please!! Al Gore is a hypocrite... Oh and , by the way, Sara in South Carolina still supports GEORGE W. BUSH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!! Last time I checked Al Gore lost the election...LOSER
Sara Williams at 9:32AM on Oct 12th 2007
43. Interesting topic, but it is important to point out that it was Gore's film, not Gore himself, that won the Academy Award for Best Documentary this year. But the director owes a lot to Gore for that honor.
Aside from that, ya gotta love Al Gore. He took a very negative situation and opted to devote his post-Veep life to worthy causes. I can't say how he would have run the country, better or worse than the current president, but Gore has certainly done more to garner positive attention than his opponent.
Rita Morena is awesome. And she's still beautiful and vibrant now, more than thirty years after the Electric Company!
Marta R. at 10:03AM on Oct 12th 2007
44. I feel like you've missed the obvious choice: Kiss Me Kate. Just think about his show-stopping rendition of "Too Darn Hot." Failing that, considering musical adaptations are all the rage, why not have Al and Tipper play the made just for them. Mo Rocca's Love Story: The Musical would win both you and Al a shelf-full of Tony awards. Just think about the climactic smooching scene at the end.
Simon at 11:17AM on Oct 12th 2007
45.
Gore, U.N. Panel Win Nobel Peace Prize:
http://news.aol.com/story/ar/_a/gore-un-panel-win-nobel-peace-prize/20071012052409990001
"I am deeply honored to receive the Nobel Peace Prize," Gore said. "We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity."
Way to go Professor!!
Plus, he's donating his $1.5 million prize to the Alliance for Climate Protection.
As a US citizen, I feel proud of Al Gore, in contrast to the feelings of embarassment about Bush over the last 7 years. This is way better than him being President. I'm glad he lost the election. (!)
This paves the way for the Grammy and Tony awards too! "The Gore Crown"!! As predicted by Mo Rocca - WOW!!
Finn at 12:13PM on Oct 12th 2007