I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree.
Actress and ‘Dancing with the Stars‘ champ Jennifer Grey took to the stage to pay tribute to her legendary father Joel Grey with The Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award at the 33rd Annual Fred & Adele Astaire Awards on Monday.
In front of a room full of accomplished show biz types, VIPs and New York names, a teary eyed Grey said: “I didn’t expect to feel like that,” she said, “I feel like Liza [Minelli] all gaspy and stuff.”
Grey said she remembers that when she was six, she was sitting in the dressing room watching her father put on his face makeup to become The Emcee. She noticed that as he was applying more and more of the makeup, the less of her father she saw and more he became the character.
However more than being a performer, she said that his bigger accomplishment is how he lives his life and his “gigantic” heart. “This world is just markedly better for him being here,” she said.
Award winning Grey, an actor, singer, dancer and photographer who has an Oscar, a Tony and Golden Globe, counts Cabaret and Chicago amongst his most famous performances.
Added Bebe Neuwirth who introduced The Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award winner Joel Grey. “Joel Grey is an artist. He is an artist when he sings, when he acts, when he dances,” she said adding, “He in his singular voice expresses the truth.”
When accepting his award, Joel Grey opened by saying, “I’m reminded that I’ve always been in love with dance and always will.”
His path to dance was a rough one, he said sharing stories of his childhood dance teacher yelling at him for having a tough time breaking into dance. His first paid performance was in a Jones Beach Dance show called Mardi Gras. After nearly giving up, Hal Prince gave him a call for a show he thought he’d be good for, which was Cabaret. To conclude, he thanked a litany of top Broadway choreographers for helping him with his career including Kathleen Marshall and Bob Fosse.
“My life was in their hands and they gave it to me,” he said.
Pictured: Jennifer and Joel Grey