May is LGBTQ Seniors Celebration Month! At OUTMemphis, we are honoring LGBTQ Seniors Celebration Month with an acknowledgement of the LGBTQ elders who have pushed to make America a place where LGBTQ people have equal rights and are safe, respected, and celebrated.
Every week we will be highlighting an LGBTQ person 55+ whose work has impacted the lives of LGBTQ people nationwide.
Joel Grey (1932)
Joel Grey first appeared on stage at the age of 10, and has been acting routinely since. Grey is most renowned by far for his role as Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret, both the 1966 stage version and the 1972 film adaptation. Grey has been an actor, director, producer, and writer for works on stage, film, and television. Grey has garnered many distinguished awards for his work, including BAFTAs, Tonys, Golden Globes, and Oscars. Grey is still a working actor, director, and producer.
In 2015, at the age of 82, Grey came out publicly as a gay man, saying, “I don’t like labels,” Grey said, “but if you have to put a label on it, I’m a gay man.” He also writes about his experience as a gay man coming up in the 50’s and 60’s in his memoir, Master of Ceremonies.
Learn more about Joel Grey: Wikipedia (biography), Internet Broadway Database, IMDb, Britannica
To see LGBTQ seniors who have been spotlighted in past years, check out these posts:
