Kyle Samuel

2-22-16
Joel Grey
(1932-Present)
Early Life:
-Joel Grey was born on April 11th, 1932 in Cleveland, Ohio to father Mickey
Katz and mother Goldie Epstein.
-His father, Mickey Katz, was a famous American musician who played the
clarinet and saxophone and comedian who specialized in Jewish humor. He
was best known as a performer and producer of nightclub, resort, and
Broadway satirical revues.
- Thanks to his fathers fame, he grew up around some of the best comedians
and musical performers setting Joel on a predestined path to be in show
business himself.
-Mickey Katz liked to parody pop songs in Yiddish just for fun and one day
while recording at RCA Victor studios in California, he created one of these
parody songs on a break. The bigwigs at RCA heard his song and had no idea
what he was saying but they were laughing hysterically so they decided to
record it and started selling his parodies on records. They were an enormous
hit and spawned a variety show in LA called Borscht Capades that Joels
father created. The show premiered in 1951 and it sold out every week!
-Joel asked his father how he could be in the show to which his father asked
him what he wanted to do and Joel replied, I dont know how to sing and I
dont dance, but Ill run around and Ill move. So they taught him a song and
dance number and he performed in the show at the young age of 9 years old
for 2 years until he caught the attention of talent scouts and the start of a
long run for Joel in night clubs all around the country.

Kyle Samuel
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-Joel Grey only grew to be 5 5 tall. He was SHORT.

-He started his career in the Cleveland Play Houses childrens theatre
program in the early 1940s.
Career:
-Has performed in a whopping 12 Broadway Shows, 6 off-Broadway shows, 2
National Tours, and countless appearances on TV and Film.
Broadway
Joy Ride (1958)
Come Blow Your Horn (1961)
Stop the World I Want to Get Off (1962)
Half a Sixpence (1965)
Cabaret (1966)
George M! (1968)
Goodtime Charley (1975)
The Grand Tour (1979)
Cabaret (Broadway Revival 1987)
Chicago (Broadway Revival 1996)
Wicked (2003)
Anything Goes (Roundabout Revival 2011)
Off-Broadway
The Littlest Revue (1956)
Marco Polo Sings a Solo (1977)
Silverlake (1980)

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The Normal Heart (1985)
Chicago (Encores! Concert 1996)
Give Me Your Answer, Do! (1999)
National Tour
Stop The World I Want to Get Off (1963)
Chicago (2nd National Tour 1997)

-The absolute defining highlight of Joel Greys career is his performance as

the master of ceremonies in the 1966 Broadway Musical Cabaret. This role
changed Joel Greys career forever. He received the 1966 Tony Award for Best
Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. This was his one and only Tony
win, among other numerous nominations.
-In 1972, Joel Grey starred as the Master of Ceremonies once again in the
film version of Cabaret directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. Playing
opposite of Joel Grey in the film was Liza Minnelli who played Sally Bowles.
-For his performance in the movie version of Cabaret, Joel won the 1973
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Cabaret swept the Academy
Awards that year with Liza also winning for Best Actress and Bob Fosse win
for Best Director.
-Joel Grey is one of only 8 people who have won an Academy Award
and a Tony Award for the same role!
- Another notable high in Joels career was his next Broadway show after
Cabaret,

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George M! in 1969. You guessed it, Joel played Mr. George M. Cohan himself.
Give my regards to Joel Grey and Broadway! Haha
-He has appeared in the following Films: Remo Williams: The Adventure
Begins, Tom and Jerry: The Movie, A Christmas Carol, The Fantasticks, and
Dancer in the Dark, to name a few.
-Also hes appeared in many TV shows including: The Carol Burnett Show,
The Muppet Show, Paddington, Alice, Dallas, Brooklyn Bridge, Star Trek:
Voyager, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Oz, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Alias,
House, Private Practice, and Greys Anatomy, to name a few.
-Joel also tried his hand at directing recently. In 2011 he co-directed the Tony
Award winning revival of The Normal Heart after staring as Ned in the
original off-Broadway production of The Normal Heart in 1985.
-More recently, Joel has kept himself busy by publishing photography books.
He is an avid photographer and has published 4 books of his work. His first
book is titled Pictures I had to Take and it was published in 2003. His most
recent book titled, The Billboard Papers: Photographs by Joel Grey was
released in 2013.
Personal Life:
- In 1958, Joel married singer and actress Jo Wilder. They were married for 24
years before divorcing in 1982. Jo Wilders credits include a very long run in
the Broadway Revival of The Threepenny Opera and the original Broadway
production of She Loves Me.
-Together Joel and Jo had two children, Jennifer and James. Jennifer Grey is a
famous actress best known for her iconic roles in the films, Ferris Buellers

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Day Off and Dirty Dancing. James is a chef. Guess not everyone in the family
inherited the talent!
-Just a year ago at the age of 82, Joel Grey made headlines when he spoke
out about his sexuality in an interview with People Magazine. He was
quoted saying, "I don't like labels, but if you have to put a label on it, I'm a
gay man. He was also quoted saying, "All the people close to me have
known for years who I am, [Yet] it took time to embrace that other part of
who I always was."
-Bernadette Peters who starred in George M! with Joel and is a close friend of
Joels said, "He won an Oscar and a Tony for his iconic role in Cabaret, and
now he's at an interesting time in his life," she says. "He can look at how he's
lived and how he can impact other people. It's a whole attitude towards life
and his is one of joy."
-Joel Greys Memoir titled, Master of Ceremonies, was just released last
week. Talk about good timing!
-Joel Grey has been making new fans in his appearances on tv shows Private
Practice and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In response to his new fans Joel
says, Im a very happy guy. Im still cookin.

Kyle Samuel
2-22-16

Kyle Samuel
2-22-16

Works Cited
"Biography." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1479134/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm>.
"Broadway Legend Joel Grey Opens Up About His Sexuality." PEOPLE.com.
N.p., 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. <http://www.people.com/article/joelgrey-gay-cabaret>.
"IBDB.com." Jo Wilder. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
<https://www.ibdb.com/Person/View/93793>.
"Joel Grey." Joel Grey - Biography - Movies & TV - NYTimes.com. The New York
Times, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/28728/Joel-Grey/biography>.
"Joel Grey." Photos on BroadwayWorld.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.broadwayworld.com/people/gallery-person/Joel-Grey/>.
"Joel Grey Remembers Showbiz Start in 'Borscht Capades'" Variety. N.p., 08
Feb. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. <http://variety.com/2016/film/features/joelgrey-borscht-capades-1201698721/>.
"Joel Grey." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.