• Name: Joel Grey
  • Date of Birth: April 11, 1932
  • Place of Birth: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Mini-bio: 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 sat... read moreirical 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, Rovi
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Replace this image with an actor photoJoel Grey mini-bio: Father of Jennifer Grey Son of Mickey Katz Was the first Mystery Guest on the syndicated revival of "What's My Line?" (1968). Son James is a chef. Won a Tony for his role as the Emcee in 'Cabaret'. Won Broadway's 1967 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for originating the role of the Emcee in "Cabaret," a role he recreated in an Oscar-winning performance in the film version of the same name, Cabaret (1972). He also earned three Tony nominations as Best Actor (Musical): in 1969 for the title role of George M. Cohan in "George M!," in 1975 for "Goodtime Charley," and in 1979 for "The Grand Tour." Father-in-law of Clark Gregg. One of only eight actors to have won both a Tony and an Oscar for having portrayed the same role on stage and screen (Cabaret (1972)). The others are Yul Brynner (The King and I (1956)), Shirley Booth (Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)), Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady (1964)), Anne Bancroft (The Miracle Worker (1962)), Paul Scofield (A Man for All Seasons (1966)), Jack Albertson (The Subject Was Roses (1968)), and José Ferrer (Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)). Is mentioned in the Mercury Rev song "Lincoln's Eyes." Sang "Razzle-Dazzle," from the musical Chicago, when he hosted "The Muppet Show" (1976). His daughter Jennifer Grey appeared in Dirty Dancing (1987) with Jerry Orbach, who played Billy Flynn in Chicago and sang that very song. First appeared on stage at the age of 10. He is sometimes confused with actor Ron Rifkin and vica versa. Due to this, Grey guest-starred on "Alias" (2001) as a man brainwashed into thinking he was the evil terrorist-spy Arvin Sloane, who was played by Rifkin.

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  • Joel Grey studied a great deal to get an authentic German accent for his role in which film?  Answer »
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  • Jennifer Grey (Dirty Dancing) is the daughter of actor Joel Gray, who won an Osacar in which flick?  Answer »

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