Joel Grey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joel Grey
Grey in 2022
Born	Joel David Katz (1932-04-11) April 11, 1932 (age 93) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actor dancer singer photographer theatre director
Years active	1951–present
Spouse(s)	Jo Wilder ​ ​ (m. 1958; div. 1982)​
Children	2, including Jennifer
Parent(s)	Mickey Katz (father)
Relatives	Ronald A. Katz (brother)

Joel Grey (born Joel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is a famous American actor, singer, dancer, and theatre director. He is also a talented photographer. Joel Grey is most recognized for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in the musical Cabaret. He played this part both on Broadway and in the 1972 movie directed by Bob Fosse.

For his amazing work in Cabaret, Joel Grey won many top awards. These include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award. In 2023, he received a special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award for his long and successful career.

Joel Grey has also been nominated for Tony Awards for other musicals. These include George M! (1968), Goodtime Charley (1975), and The Grand Tour (1979). He played Amos Hart in the Broadway show Chicago in 1996. Later, he was the first actor to play the Wizard of Oz in the musical Wicked in 2003. He also appeared as Moonface Martin in the 2011 revival of Anything Goes.

He helped direct the 2011 Broadway show The Normal Heart with George C. Wolfe. This earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play. Joel Grey also received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture nomination for his role in the movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985). His other film roles include Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976) and Kafka (1991). He was nominated for an Emmy for his role in the TV series Brooklyn Bridge (1993). He has also appeared in TV shows like Oz (2003), Alias (2005), House (2006), and The Old Man (2022).

Early Life and Beginnings

Joel Grey was born Joel Katz in Cleveland, Ohio. His father, Mickey Katz, was a well-known actor, comedian, and musician. Both of Joel's parents were Jewish. He went to Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, California.

Starting His Acting Journey

Grey in a publicity photo in 1955

Joel Grey began acting when he was just 10 years old. He joined the Curtain Pullers children's theatre program in Cleveland in the early 1940s. He performed in plays like Grandmother Slyboots and Jack of Tarts. By the time he was 20, in 1952, he was a featured performer at the Copacabana nightclub in New York.

He changed his last name from Katz to Grey early in his career. His first Broadway acting role was in Borscht Capades, where he was called "Joel Kaye". He returned to Broadway in 1956 in The Littlest Revue. He also took over roles in other shows like Come Blow Your Horn (1961), Stop the World – I Want to Get Off (1962), and Half a Sixpence (1965).

Joel Grey started his TV career on The Colgate Comedy Hour from 1951 to 1954. He also appeared in several TV westerns in the late 1950s and early 1960s. These included Maverick (1959) and Lawman (1960-1961).

Grey with Ann Sothern and Don Porter on The Ann Sothern Show, 1960

Becoming a Star

The Cabaret Years

Joel Grey became very famous for creating the role of the Master of Ceremonies in the Broadway musical Cabaret in 1966. This musical was created by John Kander and Fred Ebb. People loved his performance as the mysterious and sometimes scary emcee of the Kit Kat Club. He won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for this role.

He also appeared on the TV game show What's My Line? in 1967. His next big Broadway role was playing George M. Cohan in the 1968 musical George M!. Joel Grey was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for this part. He also received the Outer Critics Circle Award.

Joel Grey played the Master of Ceremonies again in the 1972 movie version of Cabaret. The movie was directed by Bob Fosse. Even though Fosse initially wanted a different actor, the studio insisted on Joel Grey. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1973 for his performance. Cabaret won many awards that year, including Best Actress for Liza Minnelli and Best Director for Fosse. Joel Grey also won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer and Best Supporting Actor awards from the Golden Globes and other groups. This made him one of the few people to win both a Tony Award and an Academy Award for the same role.

He was a guest star on the first episode of The Muppet Show in 1976. He sang songs from Chicago and Cabaret. He also performed in musicals at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri. These roles included George M. Cohan in George M! and the Emcee in Cabaret. He returned to Broadway in the plays Goodtime Charley (1975) and The Grand Tour (1979). He received Tony nominations for both.

Later Career Highlights

Grey at the 45th Emmy Awards, 1993

In 1985, Joel Grey played Master of Sinanju Chiun in the movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. Chiun was an elderly Korean martial arts master. This role earned him another Golden Globe nomination. His character was known for funny lines like "Meat of cow kills." He then acted in Steven Soderbergh's movie Kafka (1991). In 1991, he also appeared in the TV series Dallas.

He narrated the animated film Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992). He also made a small appearance as himself in the movie The Player (1992). The next year, he starred in the drama film The Music of Chance (1993). He also received an Emmy nomination for his role as Jacob Prossman on the TV series Brooklyn Bridge. In 1995, he was a guest star on the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Resistance". In November 1995, he played the Wizard of Oz in a concert version of the story at Lincoln Center.

He returned to Broadway as Amos Hart in the revival of the musical Chicago (1996). This musical is about criminals in the Jazz Age and makes fun of how some criminals become famous. Joel Grey won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for this role. In 1999, he starred in the play Give Me Your Answer, Do!.

2000s and Beyond

Grey at the 2014 Peabody Awards

In 2000, Joel Grey appeared in the film Dancer in the Dark and the musical film The Fantasticks. During this time, he also appeared a lot on television. He had a recurring role as Doc in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2001). He also played Lemuel Idzik in the prison drama Oz (2003) and Another Mr. Sloane in the series Alias (2005). He appeared on shows like House (2006) and Grey's Anatomy (2009).

Joel Grey was the first actor to play the Wizard of Oz in the Broadway musical Wicked. This musical is based on the book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. He acted alongside Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. The play was a big success. Joel Grey was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance.

In 2011, Joel Grey returned to Broadway as Moonface Martin in the revival of Anything Goes. He also co-directed the Tony Award-winning revival of The Normal Heart with George C. Wolfe. For this, he and Wolfe were nominated for Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play. The next year, he was a guest star in the TV series Nurse Jackie. He also appeared in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2014).

He returned to Broadway in 2016 in the play The Cherry Orchard. In 2018, Joel Grey directed a Yiddish-language production of Fiddler on the Roof. This show became very popular and won awards. He had a small role in the musical film Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021). In 2022, he played Morgan Bote in the TV series The Old Man.

Personal Life

In 1958, Joel Grey married Jo Wilder. They divorced in 1982. They have two children: actress Jennifer Grey, who starred in the movie Dirty Dancing, and chef James Grey.

Joel Grey is also a talented photographer. His first book of photographs, Pictures I Had to Take, was published in 2003. He has published several other photography books since then. An exhibition of his work was held in 2011 at the Museum of the City of New York.

He wrote about his family and acting career in his 2016 book, Master of Ceremonies.

Acting Roles

Film Appearances

Television Appearances

Theatre Performances

Awards and Special Honors

Joel Grey was named a Givenik Ambassador for his support of Broadway.

He received a lifetime achievement award on June 10, 2013, from The National Yiddish Theatre – Folksbiene.

Joel Grey won the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre on December 5, 2016. This award was given by the York Theatre Company in New York City. The theatre praised his amazing artistry that has been a part of Broadway history for over 50 years.

He was also honored by The New Jewish Home at their Eight Over Eighty Gala in 2015.

The World Jewish Congress presented Joel Grey with the Teddy Kollek Award in November 2019.

See also

In Spanish: Joel Grey para niños

• List of LGBT Academy Award winners and nominees