Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

‘Cabaret’ Star Joel Grey Opens Up About His Sexuality

Getty Images

Joel Grey has been many things in his life: an unforgettable MC in “Cabaret,” an evil reptilian demon on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” a dying scientist on “House,” and a doctor on “Private Practice.”

But all while giving us these characters, he was keeping a part of himself secret. Now, at 82, the Jewish actor has decided to come out. I don’t like labels,” Grey told People in a recent interview, “but if you have to put a label on it, I’m a gay man.”

Grey was married for 24 years to actress Jo Wilder, with whom he has two children: James, a chef, and “Dirty Dancing” actress Jennifer Grey. Family and friends, he says, have known about his sexual orientation for years, but this is the first time he has ever spoken about it publicly.

“All the people close to me have known for years who I am,” Grey told People “[Yet] it took time to embrace that other part of who I always was.”

Born Joel David Katz in Cleveland Ohio, Grey soon discovered that he had better keep his attraction to men a secret. The son of actor-comedian Mickey Katz says he remembers “hearing the grownups talk in the next room, my mother included, talking derisively about ‘fairies’ and men being dragged off to jail and even worse for being who they were.”

It was then that “I came to realize, along with being attracted to girls, I had similar feelings for boys.”

It looks like for Grey, the best is still to come. Still fleeing the labels he hates so much, he has started dabbling in photography —  two of his works can be seen in the Whitney Museum in New York City. He also has two books set for release this year, one of them a memoir.

For more, head over to People Magazine.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.