Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal was born on March 14, 1948, in Manhattan, New York, and raised on Long Island. His father, Jack Crystal, was a concert promoter and co-founder of Commodore Records, exposing Billy to various performers from an early age. At 15, his father’s death led to an appreciation for his family’s resilience. Initially aspiring to be a professional baseball player, Crystal accepted a scholarship to Marshall University, but the baseball program was suspended during his freshman year. He then pursued theater at Nassau Community College, where he met his future wife, Janice Goldfinger. After transferring to New York University, he majored in Film and TV Direction, studying under Martin Scorsese and graduating in 1970 with a BFA.

Crystal began his career as a stand-up comic, forming an improv group and developing impressions, notably of Howard Cosell interviewing Muhammad Ali. His television career commenced with a guest appearance on ‘All in the Family’ in 1976. A significant breakthrough came in 1977 when he was cast as Jodie Dallas, an openly gay character, in the sitcom ‘Soap,’ which ran for four seasons. After ‘Soap’ concluded in 1981, Crystal continued stand-up and hosted ‘The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour.’ In 1984, he joined the cast of ‘Saturday Night Live,’ where his Fernando Lamas impression, “You look mahvellous!”, gained widespread popularity. This period marked his transition into feature films, including ‘Running Scared’ (1986) and ‘Throw Momma from the Train’ (1987).

The late 1980s and early 1990s were pivotal, with leading roles in ‘When Harry Met Sally…’ (1989) and ‘City Slickers’ (1991), establishing him as a prominent Hollywood actor. Crystal also gained recognition for hosting the Academy Awards nine times, beginning in 1990. He made his directorial debut with ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ (1992), a film he also wrote, produced, and starred in. Throughout the 2000s, he continued to act in films like ‘Analyze This’ (1999) and ‘America’s Sweethearts’ (2001), and directed ’61*’ (2001) for HBO, about the 1961 home run chase. Crystal also lent his voice to Mike Wazowski in Pixar’s ‘Monsters, Inc.’ (2001) franchise. In 2004, he debuted his one-man Broadway show, ‘700 Sundays,’ which earned him a Tony Award. Crystal has also contributed significantly to philanthropy, co-founding Comic Relief in 1986 with Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams to aid the homeless.