Portrait of Joel Grey

Birthday profile

Joel Grey

Joel Grey, American actor, singer, and dancer

Born
April 11, 1932
Age in 2026
94
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1932

About Joel Grey

Joel Grey (born Joel David Katz; April 11, 1932) is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical Cabaret on Broadway and in Bob Fosse's 1972 film adaptation. He has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award for his performances in the Cabaret stage musical and film. He was presented a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award at the 76th Tony Awards in 2023. Grey's Tony-nominated roles include for the musical George M! (1968), Goodtime Charley (1975), and The Grand Tour (1979). After portraying Amos Hart in the Broadway revival of Chicago (1996), he originated the role of the Wizard of Oz in the musical Wicked (2003) and played Moonface Martin in the 2011 revival of Anything Goes. He co-directed the 2011 revival of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart with George C. Wolfe, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play at the 65th Tony Awards. He earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture nomination for his role in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985) at the 43rd Golden Globe Awards. His other film roles include in Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976), Kafka (1991), The Music of Chance (1993), The Fantasticks (2000), and Dancer in the Dark (2000). He earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series at the 45th Primetime Emmy Awards for Brooklyn Bridge (1993). He also acted in Oz (2003), Alias (2005), House (2006), Nurse Jackie (2011), and The Old Man (2022). Grey appeared as a panelist for the television game show What's My Line? in the 1967 season, as well as being the first Mystery Guest during its syndication in 1968. He won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical at the 21st Tony Awards.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Joel Grey timeline

  1. Grey appeared as a panelist for the television game show What's My Line? in the 1967 season, as well as being the first Mystery Guest during its syndication in 1968.
  2. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical Cabaret on Broadway and in Bob Fosse's 1972 film adaptation.
  3. He was presented a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award at the 76th Tony Awards in 2023.

The world when Joel Grey was born

Joel Grey was born in 1932. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1932

  • #1 song"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
  • Top movieGrand Hotel
  • Best-selling bookBrave New World – Aldous Huxley

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentBabe Ruth's "called shot" in the World Series
  • Top headlineFDR elected in a landslide during the Great Depression
  • Technology milestoneAmelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
  • Defining fadMonopoly board game (unofficial versions)
  • Notable inventionPolaroid filters
  • World population2.14 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHerbert Hoover
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • U.S. population124.8M

1932 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Joel Grey's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19322026
Gas$0.18$3.45/gal
Average home$5,000$435,000
Average income$2,600$67,500
Movie ticket$0.20$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population124.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, MusicBrainz. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.