Since making his professional career debut in 1951, Joel Grey has continued to grow through his entertainment career ranks and is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical Cabaret (1972). But despite his fame as an American actor and his 24-year-long marriage to Jo Wilder, Joel had battled with his sexuality for several years. In 2015, when he turned 82, Grey made public how for many years, he had an attraction to both men and women.
What Happened to Joel Grey?
Joel Grey had remained in the spotlight for several years but decided to keep one aspect of his life a secret. However, in 2015, he made a revelation about how he has been attracted to both boys and girls from the early age of 8.
Despite what he claimed to have felt at that time, he understood too well how being openly gay wasn’t an option. According to him, physical violence and closed doors would have been his life if anyone found out.
Grey also said that being gay would have meant no career for him. Moreover, despite knowing that he had feelings for his fellow men, he also had feelings for women and desperately wanted to be a father. This led to his relationship and subsequent marriage to American actress, Jo Wilder in 1958 with whom fathered 2 kids.
Meanwhile, it only came to the knowledge of the public that Joel was gay in 2015. However, his immediate family and friends were already aware but kept the issue confidential until he was ready to let it out himself. At the moment, the actor considers himself a closeted bisexual.
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5 Interesting Facts About Joel Grey
1. He is 92 years old
Joel Grey was born on April 11, 1932, in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. to Russian-Jewish parents, Goldie ‘Grace’ and Mickey Katz. His father, Mickey was an American actor, comedian, and musician whose songs often revolved around both Jewish and American culture.
Joel grew up alongside his brother Ronald A. Katz who is now an inventor and president of Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing LP. Ronald’s inventions are related to toll-free numbers, automated attendants, automated call distribution, voice response units, computer telephone integration, and speech recognition.
2. He began his career at the age of 10
Born into a family of entertainers, Joel took after his father when he started his career at the age of 10 in the Cleveland Play House’s Curtain Pullers children’s theatre program. Beginning in the early 40s, he appeared in several stage productions like Grandmother Slyboots, Jack of Tarts, and On Borrowed Time.
By 1952, at age 20, Grey was appearing as a featured performer at the Copacabana nightclub in New York. He later changed his last name from Katz to Grey due to the stigma associated with having a surname with an obvious ethnicity attached.
Grey made his Broadway acting debut in Borscht Capades where he starred as Joel Kaye. He later began his television career in 1951 with The Colgate Comedy Hour. Afterward, he made several other TV appearances in programs like Maverick (1959), Bronco (1960), and Lawman (1960 to 1961).
3. Joel Grey had his career breakthrough in 1966
Joel Grey became very popular after his portrayal of Master of Ceremony in the Broadway musical, Cabaret. Moreover, he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in the musical.
Similarly, he reprised his role as the Master of Ceremonies in the 1972 Bob Fosse-directed film version of Cabaret for which he won a BAFTA award for “The Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles” and Best Supporting Actor awards from the Golden Globes and Kansas City Film Critics Circle. These are a few among several other awards for his impressive screen performances.
4. His daughter is also an actress
As earlier captured, Grey got married to American actress, Jo Wilder in 1958. However, the pair parted ways in 1982 after spending 24 years together. Before their divorce, Grey and Jo had 2 kids together namely Jennifer Grey and Chef James Grey. Meanwhile, Jennifer has also followed the career path of her parents. She is a 64-year-old American actress who is famously known for starring in the teen comedy film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986).
5. Joel Grey is also a photographer and an author
Apart from his screen roles, Grey has also proven to be proficient in writing and photography. His first book is titled, Pictures I Had to Take and it was published in 2003. His second book Looking Hard at Unexpected Things was published in 2006. Interestingly, Grey’s third book, 1.3 – Images from My Phone is a book that documents photographs taken with his camera phone. It was published in 2009. The actor’s fourth book is The Billboard Papers: Photographs by Joel Grey. It was published in 2013.
