Grey, Joel [né Katz] (b. 1932), actor. The pint‐sized son of comedian Mickey Katz was born in Cleveland and made his professional debut with his father while still a youngster. Although he headed road companies or served as Broadway replacements for leads, he did not gain major attention until he appeared as the Master of Ceremonies in the musical Cabaret (1966). Walter Kerr, writing about Cabaret in the Times, described how he “burst from the darkness like a tracer bullet . . . Mr. Grey is cheerful, charming, soulless and conspiratorially wicked.” His other Broadway success was impersonating George M. Cohan in the musical George M! (1968). Grey returned to both roles in stock for many seasons. His other performances of note include the Dauphin of France in Goodtime Charley (1975), movie director Stony McBride in Marco Polo Sings a Solo (1977), Jewish refugee S. L. Jacobowsky in The Grand Tour (1977), chump Amos Hart in Chicago (1996), and the Wizard of Oz in Wicked (2003).
The future Tony Award-winning Joel Grey was born on April 11, 1932, in Cleveland, OH. Grey (actually born Joel Katz) was the son of Yiddish comedian Mickey Katz, a member of the Spike Jones Orchestra, and a well-known nightclub performer and Broadway satirist. Joel Grey married Jo Wilder in 1957 and had two children, including actress Jennifer Grey who starred in the 1980s cult classic Dirty Dancing, as well as the short-lived television comedy It's Like You Know, in which her father had a guest appearance.
Joel Grey made his stage debut at the age of nine as Pud in On Borrowed Time and is best known for his role as Emcee in the 1972 film version of Cabaret opposite Liza Minnelli, for which he won an Academy Award. He first performed the mesmerizing, sexually ambivalent role during its original Broadway run in 1966 (for which he won a Tony), after a low-profile run of film and television roles including 77 Sunset Strip, About Face (1953), and Come September (1961). Grey also enjoyed a highly successful Broadway run in the 1969 musical George M. Though considered difficult to cast, Joel Grey has worked into the '90s, appearing in multiple episodes of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Touched By an Angel. Recent film roles include Dancer in the Dark with Bjork, Armistead Maupin's Further Tales of the City, and The Fantasticks with Joe McIntyre of the New Kids on the Block.
As detailed as is Joel Grey's filmic and theatrical career, very little has been written about his musical recording career. Not surprisingly, he has appeared on quite a few original cast recording albums, including the film and Broadway soundtracks for Cabaret and two shows released on CD in 1997, Chicago and Goodtime Charlie. Few know that he has also released three of his own, non-Broadway show related albums: Whoever Heard of a Fird, Black Sheep Boy, and Songs My Father Taught Me. Each of these three albums offer fascinating glimpses into the musical inspirations of one of the greatest talents in American musical theater history. Black Sheep Boy is a collection of pop songs chosen by Joel Grey, including compositions by Tim Hardin, Donovan, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney, Simon and Garfunkle, and (amazingly!) Cream. It is safe to say that Black Sheep Boy will be a surprising listen for those who know Joel Grey as the smirking, stylized character in Cabaret. Songs My Father Taught Me is, perhaps, an even more unexpected and personal musical trip for Grey. The album, released by Capitol Records, comes labeled with the instructions to "file under: Jewish Music." Though that seems insultingly simplistic, it is an accurate representation of the content of Songs My Father Taught Me. The album includes 12 examples of the Jewish folk music that Joel Grey heard while growing up the son of Mickey Katz. The liner notes describe the performances as "warm-hearted" which perfectly captures the nature of the personal album of ethnic celebration and family heritage. The record's harvest songs, lullabies, and humorous tunes are among the most essential recordings to track down if understanding Joel Grey as an artist is your goal. ~ JT Griffith, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: Cabaret, The Fantasticks, Dancer in the Dark
First Major Screen Credit: Calypso Heat Wave (1957)
Biography
American entertainer Joel Grey was the son of Mickey Katz, the famous "gurgler" of the Spike Jones Orchestra and a legend in his own right as a performer/producer of nightclub, resort and Broadway satirical revues. Growing up around some of the best comics, musical performers and second bananas in the business, Joel was all but predestined to enter show business himself. An accomplished singer and dancer, Grey was rather wasted in such early film roles as About Face (1953) and Come September (1961), though he achieved minor fame on TV variety shows and in the lead of a televised musical version of Jack and the Beanstalk; ironically, one of his best TV parts was on an episode of 77 Sunset Strip as a second-rate comic unable to live up to the accomplishments of a famous relative.
Grey's career was boosted in 1966 when he was cast in the Broadway musical Cabaret as the Master of Ceremonies, a white-faced, smirking, sexually ambivalent observer of changing mores and philosophies in pre-Hitler Berlin. Grey won a Tony Award for his brilliant portrayal, and copped an Academy Award for repeating the role in the 1972 film version of Cabaret. Grey enjoyed a second Broadway triumph as George M. Cohan in the 1969 musical George M., a virtuoso performance he recreated on TV in the early 1970s. Thanks to his highly stylized Broadway roles, Joel Grey has not been easy to cast in "normal" movie parts; among his better roles were that of an Austrian petty criminal in The Seven Per Cent Solution (1976) and an ancient and irredeemably sarcastic oriental martial arts master in Remo Williams (1985). On the final episode of the TV serial Dallas in 1991, Grey was a red-eyed satanic chap who showed a suicidal J.R. (Larry Hagman) how much better the world would have been without him. Joel Grey is the father of actress Jennifer Grey, whose breakthrough role was in Dirty Dancing, which coincidentally was set in a Catskills resort not unlike those in which her dad Joel learned his craft. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Grey appeared frequently as a panelist on the television game show What's My
Line? during its 1968 revival. He was also one of the first people to guest star on The Muppet Show in its first season, singing "Razzle Dazzle" and "Cabaret". In 1982 Grey was the
on-camera host and narrator for the PBS special, To Hear. He also
played an elderly Koreanmartial 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 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. He also has appeared in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, House and Brothers &
Sisters as Sarah and Joe's marriage counselor.
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]
Search for answers directly from your browser with the FREE Answers.com Toolbar! Click here to download now. Get Answers your way! Check out all our free tools and products.
.jpg)
