The father of 'Dirty Dancing' actress Jennifer Grey finally comes out of the closet after struggling to embrace his sexuality for many years.
- Jan 29, 2015
AceShowbiz - Broadway veteran Joel Grey who is also the father of "Dirty Dancing" actress Jennifer Grey comes clean about his sexuality. "I don't like labels, but if you have to put a label on it, I'm a gay man," the 82-year-old actor opened up to PEOPLE.
The "Cabaret" star explained, "I came to realize, along with being attracted to girls, I had similar feelings for boys." He also said, "All the people close to me have known for years who I am. [Yet] it took time to embrace that other part of who I always was."
His childhood was partly to blame for his struggle with his sexuality. He remembered "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."
Jennifer says she was "very happy" for her father. "He has come to a point in his life where he feels safe and comfortable enough to declare himself in a public way as a gay man," she said. "Mostly because the more people are free to own their true nature and can hopefully come closer to love and accept themselves as they really are, no matter what age, no matter how long it takes, to finally be free of the lies or half truths, it is freedom."
Joel, the son of actor Mickey Katz, was married to actress Jo Wilder for 24 years. Besides daughter Jennifer, they share a son James, a chef. Joel called his marriage to Jo "the happiest of my life." After retiring from showbiz, he now works as a photographer. He is expected to soon release a photo book and a memoir.
