Joel Grey

Joel Grey, born Joel David Katz on April 11, 1932, in Cleveland, Ohio, is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and theatre director whose Broadway career has spanned from 1951 to 2016. The son of Goldie "Grace" (née Epstein) and Mickey Katz, an actor, comedian, and musician, Grey grew up in a Jewish household and began performing at age ten through the Cleveland Play House's Curtain Pullers children's theatre program, where he appeared in productions including Grandmother Slyboots, Jack of Tarts, and a lead role in On Borrowed Time. He later attended Alexander Hamilton High School in Los Angeles. Early in his career, he changed his surname from Katz to Grey, and by 1952 he was appearing as a featured performer at the Copacabana nightclub in New York.

Grey made his Broadway acting debut in Borscht Capades, where he was credited as Joel Kaye. He subsequently appeared in The Littlest Revue in 1956, joined the cast of Neil Simon's Come Blow Your Horn as a replacement in 1961, and took on roles in Stop the World – I Want to Get Off in 1962 and Half a Sixpence in 1965. His television career began on The Colgate Comedy Hour from 1951 to 1954, and he went on to appear in several westerns including Maverick, Bronco, and multiple episodes of Lawman in 1960 and 1961.

The defining moment of Grey's stage career came in 1966 when he originated the role of the Master of Ceremonies in the Broadway musical Cabaret, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. His portrayal of the malevolent emcee of the Kit Kat Club earned him the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical at the 21st Tony Awards in 1967. He followed that performance with the role of George M. Cohan in the 1968 musical George M!, receiving a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Musical at the 23rd Tony Awards as well as the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance. Grey returned to Broadway in Goodtime Charley in 1975 and The Grand Tour in 1979, earning Tony nominations for both productions.

In 1972, Grey reprised his role as the Emcee in Bob Fosse's film adaptation of Cabaret. Though Fosse had initially sought to recast the role, the studio insisted on Grey's return. The performance earned Grey the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 45th Academy Awards in March 1973, the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer at the 26th British Academy Film Awards, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, making him one of only ten performers to have won both a Tony Award and an Academy Award for the same role. The film's awards run also saw Liza Minnelli win Best Actress and Fosse win Best Director, though Cabaret lost Best Picture to The Godfather.

Beyond Cabaret, Grey accumulated a substantial body of film work. His credits include Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson in 1976, the Steven Soderbergh thriller Kafka in 1991 alongside Jeremy Irons and Ian Holm, The Music of Chance in 1993 with James Spader and Mandy Patinkin — which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival — The Fantasticks in 2000, and Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark the same year. He also played the martial arts master Chiun in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins in 1985, a role that brought him a second Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture at the 43rd Golden Globe Awards, as well as a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He narrated Tom and Jerry: The Movie in 1992 and made a cameo appearance in Robert Altman's The Player that same year.

On television, Grey received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the 45th Primetime Emmy Awards for his recurring role as Jacob Prossman on Brooklyn Bridge in 1993. His other television appearances include Dallas, Star Trek: Voyager, Oz, Alias, House, Nurse Jackie, and The Old Man in 2022. He appeared as a panelist on What's My Line? during its 1967 season and was the first Mystery Guest during its syndication in 1968. He was also the guest star for the first episode of The Muppet Show in 1976, performing Razzle Dazzle from Chicago and Willkommen from Cabaret.

Grey's later Broadway career continued to yield significant credits. He returned to the stage as Amos Hart in the 1996 revival of Chicago, for which he received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical in 1997. In 2003, he originated the role of the Wizard of Oz in the musical Wicked. He played Moonface Martin in the 2011 revival of Anything Goes, and that same year co-directed the revival of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart alongside George C. Wolfe, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play at the 65th Tony Awards and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play in 2011. In November 1995, he had also performed as the Wizard of Oz in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True at Lincoln Center, a staged concert broadcast on Turner Network Television to benefit the Children's Defense Fund.

Grey has also performed extensively outside of Broadway, including multiple productions at The Muny in St. Louis in roles such as George M. Cohan in George M! in 1970 and 1992, the Emcee in Cabaret in 1971, and Joey Evans in Pal Joey in 1983. At the Williamstown Theatre Festival, he played the title role in Platonov in 1977. In 2023, he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award at the 76th Tony Awards.