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Grey, born Joel Katz, originated the role of the sinister Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret on Broadway and then in Bob Fosse's 1972 film adaptation, winning the Tony and the Academy Award for the same part in the same decade — a rare double. He returned to the show's dark carnival persona for decades of theatre, later playing the Wizard in the original Broadway cast of Wicked and co-directing a Tony-nominated revival of The Normal Heart. In 2023 he received a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award.