JOEL GREY Biography - Actors and Actresses

 
 

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JOEL GREY

Name: Joel Grey.                                                                       
Birth name: Joel Katz                                                                   
Born: 11 April 1932 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.                                               
                                                                                       
Joel Grey (born April 11, 1932) is a Tony and Academy Award winning American           
stage and screen actor.                                                                 
                                                                                       
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 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" and "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.