Joel Grey

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Joel Grey

Grey at the 1993 Emmy Awards; photo by Alan Light
Born Joel Katz
April 11, 1932 (1932-04-11) (age 76)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Years active 1951–present

Joel Grey (born April 11, 1932) is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe-, and Tony Award-winning American stage and screen actor.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Career

Grey originated the role of the Master of Ceremonies in the Broadway musical Cabaret in 1966 for which he won the Tony Award. Additional Broadway credits include Come Blow Your Horn (1961), Stop the World - I Want to Get Off (1962), Half a Sixpence (1965), Goodtime Charley (1975), The Grand Tour (1979), Chicago (1996), and Wicked (2003). In 1995, he performed in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True a musical performance of the popular story at Lincoln Center to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT), and issued on CD and video in 1996.

Grey won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1972 for his performance as the Master of Ceremonies in the 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. Grey beat front-runner Al Pacino for Best Supporting Actor while Fosse beat Francis Ford Coppola for Best Director.

Grey is one of only eight[1] people who have won both a Tony Award and an Academy Award for the same role. He performed at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri many times in roles such as George M. Cohan in George M! (1970 and 1992), the Emcee in Cabaret (1971), and Joey Evans in Pal Joey (1983).

Grey appeared frequently as a panelist on the television game show What's My Line? during its 1968 revival. He was the guest star for the third episode of The Muppet Show in its first season, singing "Razzle Dazzle", which is from Chicago and "Willkommen", which is from Cabaret. In 1982 Grey was the on-camera host and narrator for the PBS special, To Hear. He also played an elderly Korean martial arts master in the movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985). In 1991, he played an out of this world man, Adam, on the series finale of Dallas. In 1996, he made a guest appearance on Star Trek: Voyager as an aging rebel seeking to free his (deceased) wife from prison.

In 2000, Grey played Oldrich Novy in the film Dancer in the Dark and had recurring television roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (as Doc, 2001), Oz (as Lemuel Idzik, 2003) and Alias (as "Another Mr. Sloane," 2005). He played the role of a demon in the final episode of Dallas and was a wealthy, paroled ex-convict on Law & Order: Criminal Intent (episode, "Cuba Libre"). He also appeared on the shows House and Brothers & Sisters, the latter on which he played the roles of Sarah and Joe's marriage counselor.

[edit] Personal life

Grey was born Joel Katz in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Grace and Mickey Katz, who was an actor, clarinetist, comedian and director.[2] He graduated from Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California in 1950. He is the father of actress Jennifer Grey, the star of Dirty Dancing, and James, a chef. In 1958 he married Jo Wilder. They divorced in 1982.

Grey's other occupation is his life-long avocation--photography. His first book of photographs, Pictures I Had to Take, was published in 2003; its follow-up, Looking Hard at Unexpected Things, appeared in the Fall of 2006.[3]

[edit] Notable roles

[edit] Broadway

Year Production Role Other notes
1951 Borscht Capades credited as Joel Kaye
1961 Come Blow Your Horn Buddy Baker Replacement
1962 Stop the World - I Want to Get Off Littlechap Replacement
1965 Half a Sixpence Arthur Kipps Replacement
1966 Cabaret Master of Ceremonies Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
1969 George M! George M. Cohan Nominee: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
1975 Goodtime Charley Charley Nominee: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
1979 The Grand Tour S. L. Jacobowsky Nominee: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
1987 Cabaret Master of Ceremonies Revival
1996 Chicago Amos Hart
2003 Wicked The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

[edit] Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1952 About Face Bender
1957 Calypso Heat Wave Alex Nash
1961 Come September Beagle
1972 Cabaret Master of Ceremonies Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor;
BAFTA Award; Golden Globe
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 Salisbury (Cody's partner)
1985 Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins Chiun Nominee: Golden Globe
1991 Kafka Burgel
1993 The Music of Chance Willy Stone
1994 The Dangerous Flea
1995 Venus Rising Jimmie
1996 The Empty Mirror Josef Goebbels
My Friend Joe Simon
1999 A Christmas Carol Ghost of Christmas Past
2000 The Fantasticks Amos Babcock Bellamy
2001 Dancer in the Dark Oldrich Novy
Reaching Normal Dr. Mensley
2008 Choke Phil completed
Awards
Preceded by
Frankie Michaels
in Mame		 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
1967
for Cabaret		 Succeeded by
Hiram Sherman
in How Now, Dow Jones
Preceded by
Ben Johnson
for The Last Picture Show		 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1972
for Cabaret		 Succeeded by
John Houseman
for The Paper Chase
Preceded by
Ben Johnson
for The Last Picture Show		 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1973
for Cabaret		 Succeeded by
John Houseman
for The Paper Chase

[edit] References

  1. ^ Facts about the Tony Awards. TonyAwards.com.
  2. ^ Joel Grey Biography (1932-). Film Reference.com.
  3. ^ Joel Grey Looking Hard at Unexamined Things. Joel Grey Photographer.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

George Chakiris (1961) · Ed Begley (1962) · Melvyn Douglas (1963) · Peter Ustinov (1964) · Martin Balsam (1965) · Walter Matthau (1966) · George Kennedy (1967) · Jack Albertson (1968) · Gig Young (1969) John Mills (1970) · Ben Johnson (1971) · Joel Grey (1972) · John Houseman (1973) · Robert De Niro (1974) · George Burns (1975) · Jason Robards (1976) · Jason Robards (1977) · Christopher Walken (1978) · Melvyn Douglas (1979) · Timothy Hutton (1980)

Complete list · (1936–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)
Persondata
NAME Grey, Joel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Katz, Joel
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 5, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH