Born in Brooklyn, New York, Tony Mordente portrayed A-Rab in West Side Story on stage in 1957 where he met, and later that same year, married Chita Rivera. In 1961 he played Action, another member of the Jets gang, in the film adaptation. He began directing for television in 1974 starting with an episode of The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine, working consistently on a variety of popular series through to 2003.
Tony Mordente died following a brief illness at the age of 88.
