Anthony Charles Mordente Jr. (December 3, 1935 – June 11, 2024) was an American actor, dancer, choreographer, and television director.

Born in Brooklyn, the son of a beer truck driver, Mordente went to dance school at the age of thirteen.

There, he was discovered by the choreographer Michael Kidd, who cast him as Lonesome Polecat in the 1956 Broadway musical adaptation of the Al Capp comic strip Li'l Abner.

[1] Mordente was then featured in the Broadway (1957) and West End productions and film version of West Side Story, during which time he met his future wife Chita Rivera, who played Anita in the original Broadway cast.

"[2] Rudetsky said the actors told him that the Broadway cast had specific instructions that the Sharks and Jets were not allowed to fraternize.

[5] He received his first credit as sole choreographer for Here's Where I Belong (1968), which never made it past opening night.