Joel Grey | |
|---|---|
 Grey in 2022 | |
| Born | Joel David Katz (1932-04-11)April 11, 1932 (age 93) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1951–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingJennifer |
| Father | Mickey Katz |
| Relatives | Ronald A. Katz (brother) |
Joel Grey (bornJoel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musicalCabaret onBroadway and inBob Fosse's1972 film adaptation. He has won anAcademy Award, aBAFTA Award, aGolden Globe Award, and aTony Award for his performances in theCabaret stage musical and film. He earned theLifetime Achievement Tony Award at the76th Tony Awards in 2023.[1]
Grey's Tony-nominated roles include for the musicalGeorge M! (1968),Goodtime Charley (1975), andThe Grand Tour (1979). After portraying Amos Hart in the Broadway revival ofChicago (1996), he originated the role of theWizard of Oz in the musicalWicked (2003) and played Moonface Martin in the 2011 revival ofAnything Goes.He co-directed the 2011 revival ofLarry Kramer'sThe Normal Heart with George C. Wolfe, earning a Tony Award nomination forBest Direction of a Play at the65th Tony Awards.
He earned aGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture nomination for his role inRemo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) at the43rd Golden Globe Awards. His other film roles include inBuffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976),Kafka (1991),The Music of Chance (1993),The Fantasticks (2000), andDancer in the Dark (2000). He earned anEmmy nomination forOutstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the45th Primetime Emmy Awards forBrooklyn Bridge (1993). He also acted inOz (2003),Alias (2005),House (2006),Nurse Jackie (2011), andThe Old Man (2022).
Joel Grey was born Joel Katz inCleveland,Ohio, the son of Goldie "Grace" (née Epstein) andMickey Katz, an actor, comedian, and musician. Both his parents were Jewish.[2][3][4] He attendedAlexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles.[5]
Grey started his career, at age 10,[6] in theCleveland Play House's Curtain Pullers children's theatre program in the early 1940s, appearing in productions such asGrandmother Slyboots,Jack of Tarts and a lead role in their mainstage production ofOn Borrowed Time.[7][8] By 1952, at age 20, he was appearing as a featured performer at theCopacabana nightclub in New York.He changed his last name from Katz to Grey early in his career due to the stigma associated with having a surname with an obvious ethnicity attached.[9] Grey made hisBroadway acting debut inBorscht Capades where he was credited as "Joel Kaye". He returned to Broadway inThe Littlest Revue in 1956 and acted as a replacement inNeil Simon'sCome Blow Your Horn in 1961 and the musicalsStop the World – I Want to Get Off in 1962, andHalf a Sixpence in 1965.
He started his professional television career onThe Colgate Comedy Hour from 1951 to 1954. He then took on roles in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Grey appeared in several TV westerns includingMaverick (1959),Bronco (1960) andLawman (3 times in 1960 and 1961).
Grey gained his breakthrough performance originating the role of Emcee in the Broadway musicalCabaret byJohn Kander andFred Ebb in 1966. He received raves for his role as the malevolent and sinistermaster of ceremonies of the Kit Kat Club. He won theTony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical at the21st Tony Awards.
Grey appeared as a panelist for the television game showWhat's My Line? in the 1967 season, as well as being the first Mystery Guest during its syndication in 1968. His followup role on Broadway was asGeorge M. Cohan in the 1968 musicalGeorge M!. Grey was nominated for theTony Award for Best Actor in a Musical at the23rd Tony Awards and received theOuter Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance.
Grey reprised his role as the Master of ceremonies in the 1972Bob Fosse directed film version ofCabaret. Fosse, who was hired to direct the film version becauseHarold Prince was unavailable, wanted to recast the Emcee role, but the studio insisted on Grey. Fosse backed down on his "It's either me or Joel" threat, but relations between them were cool.[10] He won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the45th Academy Awards in March 1973 for his performance.[11] His victory was part of aCabaret near-sweep, which sawLiza Minnelli winBest Actress and Fosse winBest Director, although it lost theBest PictureOscar toThe Godfather.[12] For that role, Grey also won theBAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer at the26th British Academy Film Awards and Best Supporting Actor awards from theGolden Globes,Kansas City Film Critics Circle,National Board of Review of Motion Pictures,National Society of Film Critics,[11] and aTony Award for his original stage performance six years prior, making him one of only ten people who have won both a Tony Award and an Academy Award for the same role.[13]
He was the guest star for the first episode ofThe Muppet Show in its first season in 1976, singing "Razzle Dazzle" fromChicago and "Willkommen" fromCabaret. He has performed atThe Muny inSt. Louis,Missouri, in roles such as George M. Cohan inGeorge M! (1970 and 1992),[14] the Emcee inCabaret (1971), and Joey Evans inPal Joey (1983).[2] At theWilliamstown Theatre Festival, Grey played the title role of Mikhail Platonov in their production ofPlatonov (1977). He returned to Broadway in the playGoodtime Charley (1975), and the musicalThe Grand Tour (1979), receiving Tony nominations for each.
He also played Master ofSinanju Chiun,Remo Williams (Fred Ward)'s elderly Korean martial arts master in the movieRemo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985), a role that garnered him a nomination for theSaturn Award for Best Supporting Actor at the13th Saturn Awards and a secondGolden Globe nomination forBest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture at the43rd Golden Globe Awards. Grey's character Chiun was popular for the lines "Meat of cow kills", and "You move like a pregnant yak", from the movie. He then acted inSteven Soderbergh's mystery thrillerKafka (1991), starringJeremy Irons,Theresa Russell andIan Holm. In 1991, he played Adam, a devil, in "Conundrum", a two-partseason 14 episode and the series finale of the television seriesDallas (1991).[15] That same year, Grey also appeared in theAmerican Repertory Theater's production ofWhen We Dead Awaken at theSão Paulo Biennial.
He narrated the animated filmTom and Jerry: The Movie (1992), and made a cameo appearance as himself in theRobert Altman filmThe Player (1992). The following year he starred in thePhilip Haas drama filmThe Music of Chance (1993) alongsideJames Spader,Mandy Patinkin,M. Emmet Walsh, andCharles Durning. The film premiered at the1993 Cannes Film Festival. Later that year he starred inNew York Stage and Film's production ofJohn Patrick Shanley'sA Fool and Her Fortune and received a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the45th Primetime Emmy Awards for his recurring role as Jacob Prossman on the television seriesBrooklyn Bridge. In 1995, he made a guest appearance on theStar Trek: Voyager episode "Resistance" as Caylem, an aging rebel seeking to free his (deceased) wife from prison.[16][17] In November 1995, he performed as theWizard of Oz inThe Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True, a staged concert of the popular story atLincoln Center to benefit theChildren's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT) in November 1995, and released on CD and video in 1996.[18]
He returned to Broadway as Amos Hart in the revival of the Bob Fosse musicalChicago (1996). Set in Chicago in theJazz Age, the musical is based on a1926 play of the same title by reporterMaurine Dallas Watkins, about actual criminals and crimes on which she reported. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal". The revival was well received and Grey earned theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. In 1999, he starred inBrian Friel'sGive Me Your Answer, Do! mounted byRoundabout Theatre Company.
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In 2000, Grey played Oldrich Novy in theLars von Trier filmDancer in the Dark and acted in the musical filmThe Fantasticks and in the dark comedyChoke (2008). During this time he also appeared extensively on television. He had a recurring role as the evil reptilian demonDoc inThe WB horror seriesBuffy the Vampire Slayer (2001),Lemuel Idzik in theHBO prison dramaOz (2003) and as Another Mr. Sloane in theABC seriesAlias (2005). He played Milton Winters, a wealthy, paroled ex-convict onLaw & Order: Criminal Intent (episode "Cuba Libre", 2003). He also appeared on the showsHouse andBrothers & Sisters (2007), on the latter of which he played the role of Dr. Bar-Shalom,Sarah Walker (Rachel Griffiths) and Joe Whedon (John Pyper-Ferguson)'s marriage counselor. He appeared as Dr. Singer, Dr.Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl)'s high school teacher who needs treatment fordementia inGrey's Anatomy (2009).[17][19][20][21]
Grey originated the role of the Wizard of Oz in theStephen Schwartz Broadway musicalWicked. Grey took over the role fromRobert Morse who previously played the Wizard in the San Francisco tryout run at theCurran Theatre. Grey acted alongsideIdina Menzel andKristin Chenoweth. The play received mixed reviews from critics but was an immediate financial hit. Grey was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.
Grey returned to Broadway in spring 2011 as Moonface Martin in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival ofAnything Goes at theStephen Sondheim Theatre.[22][23] Having previously portrayed Ned Weeks in the 1985Off-Broadway production ofLarry Kramer'sThe Normal Heart, he went on to co-direct withGeorge C. Wolfe the Tony Award-winning revival in 2011, for which he and Wolfe were nominated forBest Direction of a Play at the65th Tony Awards.[24] The following year he made a guest appearance in theShowtime seriesNurse Jackie oppositeEdie Falco. He also acted inCSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2014), andPark Bench with Steve Buscemi (2014).
He returned to Broadway in the 2016 revival of theAnton Chekhov playThe Cherry Orchard starring oppositeDiane Lane, andChuck Cooper. In 2018, Grey directed aYiddish-language production ofFiddler on the Roof, which originated at the National Yiddish TheatreFolksbiene, then transferred toStage 42 Off-Broadway. The production became a surprise hit, running for over a year and winning the 2019Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Revival.[25] He had a cameo role in theLin-Manuel Miranda directed musicalTick, Tick... Boom! (2021). In 2022 he acted as Morgan Bote, a recurring character in theFX drama seriesThe Old Man starringJeff Bridges andJohn Lithgow.
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In 1958, Grey married Jo Wilder; they divorced in 1982. Together, they had two children: actressJennifer Grey (star of the filmDirty Dancing) and chef James Grey.[2]
Grey is a photographer. His first book of photographs,Pictures I Had to Take, was published in 2003. Its follow-up,Looking Hard at Unexpected Things, was published in 2006.[26] His third book,1.3 – Images from My Phone, a book of photographs taken with his camera phone, was published in 2009.[27]
An exhibition of his work was held in April 2011 at theMuseum of the City of New York, titled "Joel Grey/A New York Life."[28] His fourth book,The Billboard Papers: Photographs by Joel Grey, came out in 2013 and depicts the many-layered billboards of New York City.[29]
In January 2015, Grey discussed his sexuality in an interview withPeople, stating: "I don't like labels, but if you have to put a label on it, I'm agay man."[30]
Grey writes about his family, his acting career, and the challenges of being gay in his 2016 memoir,Master of Ceremonies.[31]
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Borscht Capades | Performer | Royale Theatre,Broadway | Credited as 'Joel Kaye' |
| 1956 | The Littlest Revue | Phoenix Theatre, Broadway | ||
| 1961 | Come Blow Your Horn | Buddy Baker | Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1962 | Stop the World – I Want to Get Off | Littlechap | Shubert Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1965 | Half a Sixpence | Arthur Kipps | Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1966 | Cabaret | Master of Ceremonies | ||
| 1968 | George M! | George M. Cohan | Palace Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1975 | Goodtime Charley | Charles VII | ||
| 1977 | Marco Polo Sings a Solo | Stony McBride | The Public Theater,Off-Broadway | |
| 1979 | The Grand Tour | S.L. Jacobowsky | Palace Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1985 | The Normal Heart | Ned Weeks | The Public Theater, Off-Broadway | |
| 1987 | Cabaret | Master of Ceremonies | US tour | |
| Imperial Theatre, Broadway | ||||
| 1991 | When We Dead Awaken | Performer | American Repertory Theater,Cambridge | |
| 1995 | The Wizard of Oz | Narrator /The Wizard of Oz / Various Roles | Lincoln Center | |
| 1996 | Chicago | Amos Hart | Richard Rodgers Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1997 | US tour | |||
| 1998 | Shubert Theatre, Broadway | |||
| Adelphi Theatre, West End | ||||
| 1999 | Give Me Your Answer, Do! | Jack Donovan | Gramercy Theatre, Off-Broadway | |
| 2003 | Wicked | The Wizard of Oz | Gershwin Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2011 | Anything Goes | "Moonface" Martin | Stephen Sondheim Theatre, Broadway | |
| The Normal Heart | — | John Golden Theatre, Broadway | Director | |
| 2016 | The Cherry Orchard | Firs | American Airlines Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2018 | Fiddler on the Roof (Fidler Afn Dakh) | — | National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene | Director; American premiere of the play in Yiddish |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | About Face | Bender | |
| 1957 | Calypso Heat Wave | Alex Nash | |
| 1961 | Come September | Beagle | |
| 1972 | Cabaret | Master of Ceremonies | |
| 1974 | Man on a Swing | Franklin Wills | |
| 1976 | The Seven-Per-Cent Solution | Lowenstein | |
| Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson | Nate Salsbury | ||
| 1985 | Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins | Chiun | |
| 1991 | Kafka | Burgel | |
| 1992 | The Player | Himself | Cameo appearance |
| 1993 | The Music of Chance | Willy Stone | |
| 1994 | The Dangerous | "Flea" | |
| 1995 | Venus Rising | Jimmie | |
| 1996 | The Empty Mirror | Joseph Goebbels | |
| My Friend Joe | Simon | ||
| 2000 | The Fantasticks | Amos Babcock Bellamy | |
| Dancer in the Dark | Oldřich Nový | ||
| 2001 | Reaching Normal | Dr. Mensley | |
| 2008 | Choke | Phil | |
| 2021 | Tick, Tick... Boom! | "Sunday" Legend |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951–54 | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Himself | 4 episodes |
| 1954 | Pond's Theater | Performer | Episode: "Forty Weeks of Uncle Tom" |
| 1956 | Producers' Showcase | Jack | Episode: "Jack and the Beanstalk" |
| 1957 | Telephone Time | Ray | Episode: "The Intruder" |
| December Bride | Jimmy | 3 episodes | |
| The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom | Himself | 4 episodes | |
| 1958 | The Court of Last Resort | Floyd Todd | Episode: "The Todd-Loomis Case" |
| 1959 | Maverick | Billy "The Kid" | Episode: "Full House" |
| 1960 | Bronco | Samson "Runt" Bowles | Episode: "Masquerade" |
| The Ann Sothern Show | Billy Wilton | Episode: "Billy" | |
| Surfside 6 | Willy | Episode: "The Clown" | |
| 1960–61 | Lawman | Owny O'Reilly | 3 episodes |
| 1961 | Westinghouse Playhouse | Herbie | Episode: "Nanette's Teenage Suitor" |
| 77 Sunset Strip | Joey Kellogg | Episode: "Open and Close in One" | |
| 1966 | Vacation Playhouse | Freddy Rockefeller | Episode: "My Lucky Penny" |
| 1971 | Ironside | Mike Jaeger | Episode: "A Killing at the Track" |
| 1972 | Night Gallery | Andrew MacBane | Episode: "There Aren't Any More MacBanes" |
| 1973 | The $10,000 Pyramid | Himself / Celebrity Guest | Episode: "Peggy Cass vs. Joel Grey"[32] |
| 1974 | The Carol Burnett Show | Gary | Segment: "Carol and Sis" |
| 1976 | The Muppet Show | Himself (guest) | Episode: "Joel Grey" |
| 1981 | Paddington | Himself | Host |
| 1982 | Alice | 2 episodes | |
| 1987 | Queenie | Aaron Diamond | 2 episodes |
| 1991 | Matlock | Tommy DeLuca | Episode: "The Critic" |
| Dallas | Adam | Episode: "Conundrum" | |
| 1992–93 | Brooklyn Bridge | Jacob Prossman | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | Star Trek: Voyager | Caylem | Episode: "Resistance" |
| 1999, 2000 | The Outer Limits | Dr. Neil Seward / Gideon Banks | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Doc | 3 episodes |
| Touched by an Angel | Ronald | 2 episodes | |
| Further Tales of the City | Guido | 3 episodes | |
| 2003 | Oz | Lemuel Idzik | 6 episodes |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Milton Winters | Episode: "Cuba Libre" | |
| 2005 | Alias | Another Mr. Sloane | 3 episodes |
| Crossing Jordan | Carl Meisner | Episode: "Forget Me Not" | |
| 2006 | House | Dr. Ezra Powell | Episode: "Informed Consent" |
| 2007 | Brothers & Sisters | Dr. Jude Bar-Shalom | Episode: "Love Is Difficult" |
| 2008 | Phineas and Ferb | Beppo (voice) | Episode: "The Monster of Phineas-n-Ferbenstein/Oil on Candace" |
| 2009 | Private Practice | Dr. Alexander Ball | Episode: "Nothing to Fear" |
| Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Singer | Episode: "New History" | |
| 2012 | Nurse Jackie | Dick Bobbitt | Episode: "Day of the Iguana" |
| 2013 | Warehouse 13 | Monty The Magnificent | Episode: "The Sky's the Limit" |
| 2014 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Hank Kasserman | Episode: "Keep Calm and Carry On" |
| Park Bench with Steve Buscemi | Himself | Episode: "Benchmark" | |
| 2022–24 | The Old Man | Morgan Bote | 4 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Little Women | Theodore "Laurie" Laurence | |
| 1970 | George M! | George M. Cohan | |
| 1972 | Man on a String | Joe "Big Joe" Brown | |
| 1974 | 'Twas the Night Before Christmas | Joshua Trundle (voice) | |
| 1982 | The Yeomen of the Guard | Jack Point | |
| 1995 | The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True | Narrator /The Wizard / Various Roles | |
| 1999 | A Christmas Carol | Ghost of Christmas Past |
For his continued support of Broadway, Grey was named a Givenik Ambassador.[55]
He was presented with alifetime achievement award on June 10, 2013, by The National Yiddish Theatre –Folksbiene.[56]
Grey won the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre on December 5, 2016, presented by theYork Theatre Company in New York City. The theatre said, in part: "we are thrilled to celebrate the extraordinary Joel Grey, whose artistry — for over half a century — has become an indelible part of Broadway history."[57]
Grey was honored asThe New Jewish Home's Eight Over Eighty Gala 2015 honoree.
Grey was presented with theTeddy Kollek Award by theWorld Jewish Congress in November 2019.[58]
