Yesterday, Academy Award and Tony Award-winning icon Joel Grey celebrated his 90th Birthday in the heart of Times Square flanked by his leading ladies from his eight decades in show business, Bernadette Peters, Donna Murphy, and Bebe Neuwirth.
Joel Grey surrounded by Bebe Neuwirth, Donna Murphy and Bernadette Peters Photo by Emilio Madrid
Joel Grey also released a statement on this happy occasion:
Even King Kong loves Joel Grey Photo by Emilio Madrid
“If you are a young person who dreams of being a part of Broadway, come to New York. We want your talent. If you’re a fan, buy a ticket, see a show. We want your passion and your energy. Broadway is back and better than ever!”
Bebe Neuwirth, Bernadette Peters and Donna Murphy Photo by Emilio Madrid
Joel Grey was born April 11, 1932. He is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret on Broadway as well as in the 1972 film adaptation. He has won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award.
Joel Grey Photo by Emilio Madrid
Grey started his career in the Cleveland Play House’s Curtain Pullers children’s theatre program in the early 1940s, appearing in productions such as Grandmother Slyboots, Jack of Tarts and a lead role in their mainstage production of On Borrowed Time. By 1952, at age 20, he was appearing as a featured performer at the Copacabana nightclub in New York.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Grey appeared in several TV westerns including Maverick (1959), Bronco (1960) and Lawman (3 times in 1960 and 1961).
Broadway credits include Come Blow Your Horn (1961), Stop the World – I Want to Get Off (1962), Half a Sixpence (1965), George M! (1968), the Emcee in Cabaret (1971), Goodtime Charley(1975), The Grand Tour (1979), Chicago (1996), Wicked (2003), and Anything Goes (2011). In November 1995, he performed as the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True, a staged concert of the popular story at Lincoln Center to benefit the Children’s Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT) in November 1995, and released on CD and video in 1996. He also was in The Cherry Orchard on Broadway in (1996). Grey also voiced Beppo Brown from Phineas and Ferb.
He also played Ned in the 1985 Off-Broadway production of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, and went on to co-direct the Tony Award-winning revival in 2011.
In 2018, Grey directed a Yiddish-language production of Fiddler on the Roof, which originated at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, then transferred to Stage 42 Off-Broadway. The production became a surprise hit, running for over a year and winning the 2019 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for Best Musical Revival.
Grey’s film and TV work is extensive and he has left his mark to become a Broadway legend. Happy birthday and thanks for the memories.
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