'West Side Story' Actress Dead At 87
Carole D’Andrea, who portrayed Velma, the Jet girl, in the original 1957 Broadway production of West Side Story and the iconic 1961 film adaptation, has passed away at the age of 87.
According to her daughter, Andrea Doven, D’Andrea died on March 11 from heart failure at her home in Santa Monica, California.
Born on August 28, 1937 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, D’Andrea was drawn to acting following her parents’ death in a crash.
After moving to New York at 16, she was cast as Velma in the Broadway production of West Side Story. She would later be one of six actors from the original Broadway cast to appear in the 1961 film.
In addition to her West Side Story work, D’Andrea briefly joined the 1959 Broadway cast of Gypsy, but was replaced before the show’s opening. She remained a favorite of musical director Jermone Robbins, who choereographed the film version of West Side Story which D’Andrea was apart of.
D’Andrea married Tony Award-winning actor and Mad Men star Robert Morse in 1961. After their divorce in 1981, D’Andrea stepped away from acting to raise their daughters: Robin, Hillary and Andrea. She would later become an acting teacher, continuing to teach online until her passing.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, D’Andrea died on the 44th anniversary of her Alcoholics Anonymous sobriety.
D’Andrea is survived by her daughters, and grandchildren.