Caught in the Act

Diane from North Carolina caught us on podcast SY-2103. Panelist Murray Horwitz professed that Joel Grey is the only performer to have won both a Tony and and Oscar for the same role.  But Diane, like many other listeners, contributed the following just to set us all straight:

In fact, there are 9 such performers. (I only knew of 3 others — Anne Bancroft, Yul Brynner, and Rex Harrison), but hooray for the internet.
Interestingly, Joel Grey is now the only LIVING actor with this accomplishment.

  • José Ferrer, CYRANO DE BERGERAC (Cyrano: 1947 Tony, 1950 Oscar)
  • Shirley Booth, COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA (Lola: 1950 Tony, 1953 Oscar)
  • Yul Brynner, THE KING AND I (The King of Siam: 1952 Tony, 1956 Oscar)
  • Rex Harrison, MY FAIR LADY (Henry Higgins: 1957 Tony, 1964 Oscar)
  • Anne Bancroft, THE MIRACLE WORKER (Annie Sullivan: 1960 Tony, 1962 Oscar)
  • Paul Scofield, A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (Sir Thomas Moore: 1962 Tony, 1966 Oscar)
  • Jack Albertson, THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES (John Cleary: Tony 1965, Oscar 1968)
  • Joel Grey, CABARET (The Master of Ceremonies: Tony 1967, Oscar 1973)
  • Lila Kedrova, ZORBA THE GREEK (Madame Hortense: 1964 Oscar, 1984 Tony)

(Kedrova is the only person to win an Oscar for a role followed by a Tony for the same role, instead of the other way around).

Thanks for your great show!
Diane Silver
Asheville, NC (where, by the way, you should TOTALLY come do a show!)

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