West Side Story Actress Carole D'Andrea Dies at 87

West Side Story star Carole D’Andrea, who played Velma on-screen and onstage, has died at the age of 87. The actress originated the role of Velma in the 1957 Broadway production of West Side Story before reprising the role in classic 1961 movie musical adaptation.

In a post on their mother’s Instagram page, D’Andrea’s daughters wrote: “Dear Facebook/ Instagram friends of Carole D’Andrea, This is @andreadoven , @robinmorse708, & Hilary @hilaryhigh , Carole’s daughters. We are writing to let you know that our beloved mother passed away peacefully at home this past Tuesday, March 11th due to heart failure.”

“It was a privilege to be by her side as she passed, and to witness in these last few weeks the grace and courage in which she carried herself as she prepared to, as our Godfather put it, ‘exit stage left’,” they added. “She also died on her 44th AA sobriety anniversary, which she said was ‘the day that I changed my life.’ ”

“She told us many times in her last few days what a quality life she led as a mother, grandmother, performer, and teacher,” their message continued.

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D’Andrea was born on August 28, 1937 in Altoona, Pa. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she graduated from Altoona Area High School, where she was a majorette. 

At the age of 16, she turned down a scholarship to Penn State University before pursuing acting in New York after her parents died in a car accident.

After playing Velma in the Jerome Robbins’ production of West Side Story in September 1957 at the Winter Garden Theatre, D’Andrea was hired to play Dainty June in the Broadway's Gypsy in 1959.

However, per The Hollywood Reporter, Greg Lawrence’s 2001 book, Dance With Demons: The Life of Jerome Robbins claims D’Andrea was replaced at the last minute by Lane Bradbury.

Meanwhile, the performer went on to reprise her role as Velma — this time, the girlfriend of Ice (Tucker Smith) — in the 1961 film of West Side Story.

Alongside Tommy Abbott, William Bramley, Tony Mordente, Jay Norman, and David Winters, D'Andrea is the one of the only six actors to appear in both the original Broadway production and film adaptation, according to IMDb.

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The actress was married to the late actor Robert Morse, who many know from Broadway as well as Mad Men, from April 8, 1961 until their divorce in  1981. The pair shared three daughters Robin Morse, 61, Andrea Doven, 63, and Hilary Morse, 59.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, the mother of three quit acting to raise her children.

She went on to teach acting from the early 1990s and even conducted classes online during the COVID pandemic. She was also teaching up until a week before her death.

D’Andrea is survived by her three daughters, as well as her grandchildren, Lucia, Francis, Jagger, Marlon and Lance.