Joel Grey
Joel Grey is an American actor, singer, dancer, director, and photographer. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret on Broadway as well as in the 1972 film adaptation. He has won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, two Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
He also originated the role of George M. Cohan in the musical George M! in 1968 and the Wizard of Oz in the musical Wicked. He also starred as Moonface Martin and Amos Hart in the Broadway revivals of Anything Goes and Chicago, respectively.
Early life
Grey was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Goldie "Grace" and Mickey Katz, a Jewish actor, comedian, and musician. He attended Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, California.Career
He started his career in the Cleveland Play House's Curtain Pullers children's theatre program in the early 1940s, appearing in productions such as Grandmother Slyboots, Jack of Tarts and a lead role in their mainstage production of On Borrowed Time.In the late 1950s and early 1960s Grey appeared in several TV westerns including Maverick, Bronco and Lawman.
Grey originated the role of the Master of Ceremonies in the Broadway musical Cabaret in 1966 for which he won a Tony Award. Additional Broadway credits include Come Blow Your Horn, Stop the World - I Want to Get Off, Half a Sixpence, George M!, Goodtime Charley, The Grand Tour, Chicago, Wicked, and Anything Goes. In November 1995, he performed as the Wizard in ' a staged concert of the popular story at Lincoln Center to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television in November 1995, and released on CD and video in 1996.
and Ann Sothern on The Ann Sothern Show, 1960
Grey won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in March 1973 for his performance as the Master of Ceremonies in the 1972 film version of Cabaret. His victory was part of a Cabaret near-sweep, which saw Liza Minnelli win Best Actress and Bob Fosse win Best Director, although it lost the Best Picture Oscar to The Godfather. For that role, Grey also won a BAFTA award for "The Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles" and Best Supporting Actor awards from the Golden Globes, Kansas City Film Critics Circle, National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, National Society of Film Critics, and a Tony 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.
He has performed at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri, in roles such as George M. Cohan in George M!, the Emcee in Cabaret, and Joey Evans in Pal Joey. At the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Grey played the title role in their production of Platonov.
Grey appeared as a panelist for the television game show What's My Line? in the 1967 season, as well as being the first Mystery Guest during its syndication in 1968. He was the guest star for the third episode of The Muppet Show in its first season in 1976, singing "Razzle Dazzle" from Chicago and "Willkommen" from Cabaret. He also played Master of Sinanju Chiun, Remo's elderly Korean martial arts master in the movie ', a role that garnered him a Saturn Award and a second Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Chiun's character was popular for the lines "Meat of cow kills", and "You move like a pregnant yak", from the movie. In 1991, he played Adam, a devil, in the final episode of the television series Dallas. That same year, Grey also appeared in the American Repertory Theatre's production of When We Dead Awaken at the Sao Paulo Biennale. In 1993 he starred in New York Stage & Film's production of John Patrick Shanley's A Fool and Her Fortune and received an "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series" Emmy nomination for his recurring role as Jacob Prossman on the television series Brooklyn Bridge. In 1995, he made a guest appearance on ' as an aging rebel seeking to free his wife from prison. In 1999, he starred in Brian Friel's Give Me Your Answer, Do! mounted by Roundabout Theatre Company.
s, 1993
In 2000, Grey played Oldrich Novy in the film Dancer in the Dark and had recurring television roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Oz and Alias. He played a wealthy, paroled ex-convict on '. Grey also originated the role of the Wizard of Oz in the hit Broadway musical Wicked. He also appeared on the shows House and Brothers & Sisters, on the latter of which he played the role of Dr. Bar-Shalom, Sarah and Joe's marriage counselor. He appeared as Izzie's high school teacher who needs treatment for dementia in Grey's Anatomy.
Grey returned to Broadway in spring 2011 as Moonface Martin in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Anything Goes at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. He also played Ned in the 1985 Off-Broadway production of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart, and went on to co-direct the Tony Award-winning revival in 2011.
Personal life
In 1958, Grey married Jo Wilder; they divorced in 1982. Together, they had two children: actress Jennifer and chef James.He 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. His third book, 1.3 – Images from My Phone, a book of photographs taken with his camera phone, was published in 2009. An exhibition of his work was held in April 2011 at the Museum of the City of New York, titled "Joel Grey/A New York Life." His fourth book, The Billboard Papers: Photographs by Joel Grey, came out in 2013 and depicts the many-layered billboards of New York City.
In January 2015, Grey discussed his sexuality in an interview with People, stating: "I don't like labels, but if you have to put a label on it, I'm a gay man." Grey writes about his family, his acting career, and the challenges of being gay in his 2016 memoir, Master of Ceremonies.
Work
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1951 | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Young Talent Guest | Host: Eddie Cantor, April 1, 1951 |
| 1954 | Ponds Theatre | Performer | Episode: Forty Weeks of Uncle Tom |
| 1956 | Producers' Showcase | Jack | Episode: "Jack and the Beanstalk" |
| 1957 | Telephone Time | Ray | Episode: "The Intruder" |
| 1957 | December Bride | Jimmy | 3 episodes |
| 1957 | The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom | Himself | 4 episodes |
| 1958 | The Court of Last Resort | Floyd Todd | Episode: "The Todd-Loomis Case" |
| 1958 | Little Women | Theodore "Laurie" Laurence | Television film |
| 1959 | Maverick | Billy the Kid | Episode: "Full House" |
| 1960 | Bronco | Samson 'Runt' Bowles | Episode: "Masquerade" |
| 1960 | The Ann Sothern Show | Billy Wilton | Episode: "Billy" |
| 1960 | Surfside 6 | Willy | Episode: The Clown |
| 1960–61 | Lawman | Owny O'Reilly | 3 episodes |
| 1961 | Westinghouse Playhouse | Herbie | Episode: "Nanette's Teenage Suitor" |
| 1961 | 77 Sunset Strip | Joey Kellogg | Episode: "Open and Close in One" |
| 1966 | My Lucky Penny | Freddy Rockefeller | Pilot |
| 1966 | Vacation Playhouse | Freddy Rockfeller | Episode: My Lucky Penny |
| 1970 | George M! | George M. Cohan | Television movie |
| 1971 | Ironside | Mike Jaeger | Episode: "A Killing at the Track" |
| 1972 | Night Gallery | Andrew MacBane | Episode: "There Aren't Any More MacBanes" |
| 1972 | Man on a String | Big Joe Brown | Television film |
| 1973 | The $10,000 Pyramid | Himself / Celebrity Guest | Season One: August 13–17, 1973 Peggy Cass vs. Joel Grey |
| 1974 | Twas the Night Before Christmas | Narrator / Mr. Trundel | Television film |
| 1974 | The Carol Burnett Show | Gary | Segment: "Carol and Sis" |
| 1976 | The Muppet Show | Himself | Episode: "Joel Grey" |
| 1981 | Paddington | Himself | Host |
| 1982 | Alice | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 1982 | The Yeomen of the Guard | Jack Point | Television film |
| 1987 | Queenie | Aaron Diamond | 2 episodes |
| 1991 | Matlock | Tommy DeLuca | Episode: "The Critic" |
| 1991 | Dallas | Adam | Episode: "Conundrum" |
| 1992–93 | Brooklyn Bridge | Jacob Prossman | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | ' | Narrator/The Wizard Various roles | Television benefit performance for the Children's Defense Fund |
| 1995 | ' | Caylem | Episode: "Resistance" |
| 1999–00 | The Outer Limits | Dr. Neil Seward / Gideon Banks | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | A Christmas Carol | Ghost of Christmas Past | Television film |
| 2001 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Doc | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | Touched by an Angel | Ronald | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Further Tales of the City | Guido | 3 episodes |
| 2003 | Oz | Lemuel Idzik | 6 episodes |
| 2003 | ' | Milton Winters | Episode: "Cuba Libre" |
| 2005 | Alias | Another Mr. Sloane | 3 episodes |
| 2005 | Crossing Jordan | Carl Meisner, Amnesia Victim | 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 | Season 1 - Episode 22 |
| 2009 | Private Practice | Dr. Alexander Ball | Episode: "Nothing to Fear" |
| 2009 | 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 | ' | Hank Kasserman | Episode: "" |
| 2014 | Park Bench with Steve Buscemi | Himself | Episode: Benchmark |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes/Venue |
| 1951 | Borscht Capades | Performer | Credited as Joel Kaye Royale Theatre, Broadway |
| 1956 | The Littlest Revue | Performer | 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 | Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway |
| 1968 | George M! | George M. Cohan | Palace Theatre, Broadway |
| 1975 | Goodtime Charley | Charley | Palace Theatre, Broadway |
| 1977 | Marco Polo Sings a Solo | Stony McBride | The Public Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 1979 | The Grand Tour | S. L. Jacobowsky | Palace Theatre, Broadway |
| 1985 | The Normal Heart | Ned Weeks | The Public Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 1987 | Cabaret | Master of Ceremonies | Imperial Theatre, Broadway |
| 1991 | When We Dead Awaken | Performer | American Repertory Theatre |
| 1996 | Chicago | Amos Hart | Richard Rodgers Theatre, Broadway |
| 1999 | Give Me Your Answer, Do! | Jack Donovan | Roundabout Theatre Company |
| 2003 | Wicked | The Wizard of Oz | George Gershwin Theatre, Broadway |
| 2011 | Anything Goes | Moonface Martin | Stephen Sondheim Theatre, Broadway |
| 2011 | The Normal Heart | Director John Golden Theatre, Broadway | |
| 2016 | The Cherry Orchard | Firs | American Airlines Theatre, Broadway |
| 2018 | Fiddler on the Roof | Director; American premiere of the play in Yiddish National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene |
Awards and nominations
For his continued support of Broadway, Grey was named a Givenik Ambassador.He was presented with a lifetime achievement award on June 10, 2013 by The National Yiddish Theatre – Folksbiene.
Grey won the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theatre on December 5, 2016, presented by the York 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."
Grey was honored as The New Jewish Home's Eight Over Eighty Gala 2015 honoree.
Grey was presented with the Teddy Kollek Award by the World Jewish Congress in November 2019.