Billy Crystal

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• Born: 14 March 1948
• Birthplace: Long Beach, New York
• Best Known As: Meg Ryan's co-star in When Harry Met Sally

Billy Crystal is a former cast member of Saturday Night Live, the star of such comedies as When Harry Met Sally... (1989, with Meg Ryan) and Analyze This (1999, co-starring Robert DeNiro) and a frequent host of the Academy Award telecasts. Crystal grew up around show business (his dad was a concert promoter) and got his start as a stand-up comedian who was shortish, Jewish, and Long Islandish. During the 1970s he did guest spots on TV talk shows and became famous for his (then-daring) role as a gay man on the controversial comedy series Soap (1977-81). He spent only one season on SNL (1984-85), but many of his characters became weekly staples, and Crystal catchphrases (including the smarmy "You look maahr-ve-lous!") made their way into the pop culture lexicon. In the early 1990s he established himself as a warm-hearted leading man in comedy films like City Slickers (1991, with Jack Palance) and Forget Paris (1995), and was a popular and irreverent host of the Academy Awards. He made his directorial debut with 1992's Mr. Saturday Night. His other films include The Princess Bride (1987), Monsters, Inc. (2001), the sequel Analyze That (2002), and a small voice role in the animated film Cars (2006). His one-man Broadway show, 700 Sundays, won a 2005 Tony Award as Best Special Theatrical Event. He published a book by the same title in 2005.

Crystal hosted the Academy Award telecast eight times: from 1990-93, then in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2004... He is a longtime fan of the New York Yankees baseball team. He directed the 2001 HBO movie 61*, about the 1961 seasons of Yankees teammates Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle... The title 700 Sundays refers to Crystal's childhood weekends with his father, who died when Crystal was 15.

(1947-)

Billy Crystal is a famous comedian and actor who in the 1980s and 1990s became known for stand-up routines featuring comic impressions of celebrities such as sports broadcaster Howard Cosell and entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr., for his work on the television series Soap and Saturday Night Live, and for his portrayal of average, likeable men in such films as When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers. A popular host of television specials due to his off-the-cuff wit, Crystal is known in Hollywood for his talent as well as for his dedication to his wife and two daughters.

Raised on Long Island, Crystal was attracted to the idea of performing at an early age, and he and his two brothers would perform shtick for their relatives in his grandmother's living room during family gatherings. He came to the attention of national audiences with his portrayal of Jodie Dallas, one of television's first recurring homosexual characters, in the series Soap, a situation comedy popular during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In 1984 Crystal joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, creating the character Fernando, a superficial nightclub performer for whom everything is "mahvelous." His high-profile role on the popular late-night show established Crystal as one of the leading comic talents of the decade, and his autobiography, published as Absolutely Mahvelous, draws upon the popularity of the Fernando character. In Absolutely Mahvelous, the comic actor tells of his childhood and youth, and describes with humor his years working on tour as a stand-up comedian. While a critic for Publishers Weekly found Crystal's account count of his youth and early career "uneventful," a Booklist contributor called Absolutely Mahvelous "brief but very funny."

In addition to television work, Crystal has starred in several films, including When Harry Met Sally ..., a comic and sentimental look at love and New York City; he also portrays an urban dweller vacationing at a dude ranch in City Slickers. Crystal, who contributed to the screenplay of City Slickers, also authored a sequel, City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold, which was released in 1994. More recent films have included 1999's Analyze This and the sequel, Analyze That, both which star Robert De Niro as a mob boss attempting to get in touch with his kinder, gentler side with the help of reluctant psychiatrist Dr. Ben Sobel (Crystal).

While Crystal has sometimes been described by critics as too sentimental, the comic actor notes that he is too happy in his personal life to create the bitter, cutting-edge humor popular with some audiences. As a reflection of his contentment with family and friends, Crystal penned the 2004 book I Already Know I Love You, a picture book for young children inspired by his anticipation of his first grandchild, Ella. Written in simple rhyme, the book is narrated by a grandfather awaiting the birth of a grandchild who is depicted sometimes as a boy and sometimes as a girl. While several reviewers remarked that I Already Know I Love You is a less-than-effective picture book due to its clumsy rhyme and what a Publishers Weekly contributor described as the actor's characteristic "unabashed sentimental[ity]," critics agreed that the theme of the book would make it attractive as a gift book from doting grandparents.

Career

Comedian, actor, producer, director, and writer. Member of improvisational comedy troupe variously called We the People, Comedy Jam, and Three's Company, 1971-75; house manager of stage production You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, New York, NY, 1971; stand-up comedian, 1975—; performer at clubs, including the Bitter End, Catch a Rising Star, Playboy Club, and Comedy Store; opening act for Sammy Davis, Jr., at Lake Tahoe, NV; host of radio call-in program broadcast from Marshall University; worked with Alumni Theatre Group at Nassau Community College; worked as a substitute teacher at Long Beach Junior High School, Long Island, NY. Founder, Jennilind Productions and Face Productions.

Actor in films, including Rabbit Test, Avco-Embassy, 1978; (voiceover) Animalympics (animated), Barber Rose International Films, 1979; This Is Spinal Tap, Embassy Pictures, 1984; Running Scared, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)/United Artists (UA), 1986; Goodnight Moon, 1987; The Princess Bride, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1987; Throw Momma from the Train, Orion, 1987; Memories of Me, MGM/UA, 1988; When Harry Met Sally ..., Columbia, 1989; (and executive producer) City Slickers, Columbia, 1991; (and producer and director) Mr. Saturday Night, Columbia, 1992; (and producer) City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold, Columbia, 1994; (and producer and director) Forget Paris, Columbia, 1995; Hamlet, Columbia, 1996; De-constructing Harry, Fine Line, 1997; Fathers' Day, Warner Bros., 1997; (and producer) My Giant, Columbia, 1998; (and executive producer) Analyze This, Warner Bros., 1999; Get Bruce (documentary), Mira-max, 1999; America's Sweethearts, Columbia, 2001; (voice) Monsters, Inc., 2001; and (and executive producer) Analyze That, 2002. Producer of films, including (with Alan King and Michael Hertzberg) Memories of Me, MGM/UA, 1988; and (executive producer) My Uncle Berns, 2004. Actor in television series, including Soap, ABC, 1977-81; The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour, NBC, 1982; Saturday Night Live, NBC, 1984-85; and (voice) Baseball (documentary), PBS, 1994. Appeared in television films, including SST—Death Flight, ABC, 1977; Human Feelings, NBC, 1978; Breaking up Is Hard to Do, ABC, 1979; and Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb, NBC, 1980. Actor in television series episodes, including All in the Family, CBS, 1976; Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell, ABC, 1976; The Love Boat, ABC, 1978; "Make-Up," Darkroom, ABC, 1981; "The Three Little Pigs," Faerie Tale Theatre, Showtime, 1984; "Talk Show," Larry Sanders Show, HBO, 1992; "My New Neighbors," Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories, Showtime, 1992; Full Wax, BBC, 1993; "Leapin' Lizards," Frasier, NBC, 1995; Real Sports, HBO, 1995; Muppets Tonight!, ABC, 1996; "The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion," Friends, NBC, 1997, Ruby, 1997, and The Bernie Mac Show, 2002. Appeared in television specials, including Battle of the Network Stars, ABC, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979; The Thirty-six Most Beautiful Girls in Texas, ABC, 1978; Celebrity Football Classic, NBC, 1979; The TV Show, ABC, 1979; Doug Henning's World of Magic, NBC, 1982; Billy Crystal: A Comic's Line, HBO, 1984; A Comedy Salute to Baseball, NBC, 1985; Night of 100 Stars, ABC, 1985; Comic Relief: Backstage Pass, 1986; (and executive producer and director) On Location: Billy Crystal—Don't Get Me Started, HBO, 1986; The Lost Minutes of Billy Crystal, HBO, 1987; All-Star Toast to the Improv, HBO, 1988; Life's Most Embarrassing Moments, syndicated, 1988; Robert Klein Time, USA Network, 1988; All-Star Tribute to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBC, 1989; Grand Slam, syndicated, 1989; (and executive producer) Midnight Train to Moscow, HBO, 1989; Saturday Night Live Fifteenth Anniversary, NBC, 1989; Overtime ... with Pat O'Brien, CBS, 1990; Robert Wuhl's World Tour, HBO, 1990; Wolf Trap Salutes Victor Borge: An Eightieth Birthday Celebration, PBS, 1990; The World of Jewish Humor, PBS, 1990; A Comedy Salute to Michael Jordan, NBC, 1991; Entertainers '91: The Top Twenty of the Year, ABC, 1991; Voices That Care, Fox, 1991; HBO's Twentieth Anniversary—We Hardly Believe It Ourselves, CBS/HBO, 1992; Muhammad Ali's Fiftieth Birthday Celebration, ABC, 1992; When It Was a Game II, HBO, 1992; Wax Cracks Hollywood, HBO, 1993; But ... Seriously, Showtime, 1994; (voice characterization) In Search of Dr. Seuss, TNT, 1994; Countdown to Comic Relief, Comedy Central, 1995; Hollywood Stars: A Century of Cinema (documentary), Disney Channel, 1995; Twenty Years of Comedy on HBO, HBO, 1995; Caesar's Writers, PBS, 1996; Watch a Rising Star Fiftieth Anniversary—Give or Take Twenty-six Years, CBS, 1996; Comic Relief's Tenth Anniversary, HBO, 1996; I Am Your Child, ABC, 1997; Sports on the Silver Screen, HBO, 1997; Daily Show Interview Special, Comedy Central, 1999; Saturday Night Live Twenty-fifth Anniversary, 1999; AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs, 2000; Concert for New York City, 2001; Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World, 2001; When Stand-up Comics Ruled the World, 2004; and Tell Them Who You Are, 2004. Host of numerous specials and awards presentations, including Annual Grammy Awards, 1987, 1989; and Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1990-93, 1997-98, 2000, 2004. Executive producer, Survival on the Mountain (television film), NBC, 1997. Director and producer, 61* (television film), 2001.

Member

Screen Actors Guild.

Awards, Honors

Emmy Award nomination, outstanding actor in a variety program, 1985, for Saturday Night Live; Grammy Award nomination, best comedy recording, 1985, for Mahvelous!; two CableACE awards and other CableACE Award nominations, National Cable Television Association, all 1986, all for On Location: Billy Crystal—Don't Get Me Started; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program, 1987, for Twenty-ninth Annual Grammy Awards, 1988, for An All-Star Toast to the Improv, and 2000, for Seventy-second Annual Academy Awards; Emmy Award, outstanding performance in special events, 1989, for Thirty-first Annual Grammy Awards; Golden Apple Award for star of the year, Hollywood Women's Press Club, 1989; American Comedy Award, funniest actor in a motion picture, 1989, and Golden Globe Award nomination, best performance by an actor in a motion picture—comedy or musical, 1990, both for When Harry Met Sally ...; Emmy Award, outstanding writing in a variety or music program, and Emmy Award nominations, outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program and outstanding variety, music, or comedy special, all 1990, all for Midnight Train to Moscow; Emmy Award (with others), outstanding writing in a variety or music program, and Emmy Award, outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program, both 1991, both for Sixty-third Annual Academy Awards; named comedy star of the decade, ShoWest Convention, 1991; American Comedy Award, and Golden Globe Award nomination, best actor in a musical or comedy, both 1991, and MTV Movie Award, best comedic performance, 1992, all for City Slickers; Emmy Award (with others), outstanding writing in a variety or music program, and American Comedy Award, both 1992, both for Sixty-forth Annual Academy Awards; Golden Globe Award nomination, best performance by an actor in a motion picture—comedy or musical, 1993, for Mr. Saturday Night; Emmy Award nomination, outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program, 1993, for Sixty-fifth Annual Academy Awards; American Comedy Award, funniest male performer in a TV special, 1999, for Seventieth Annual Academy Awards; named Hasty Pudding Man-of-the-Year, 2000; American Film Institute Star Award, U.S. Comedy Arts Festival, 2001; Emmy Award nominations, outstanding direction of a miniseries or movie and outstanding made-for-television movie, 2002, and Directors Guild of America Award nomination, 2002, all for 61*; has star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Writings

Teleplays; Series

• (With others) The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour, National Broadcast Company (NBC), 1982.
• (With others) Saturday Night Live, NBC, 1984-1985.
• (And executive producer) Sessions, Home Box Office (HBO), 1991.

Teleplays; Specials

• (With others) The TV Show, ABC, 1979.
• (With Rocco Urbisci) Billy Crystal: A Comic's Line, HBO, 1984.
• A Comedy Salute to Baseball, NBC, 1985.
• On Location: Billy Crystal—Don't Get Me Started, HBO, 1986.
• (With others) Midnight Train to Moscow, HBO, 1989.

Screenplays

• Goodnight Moon, 1987.
• (With Eric Roth) Memories of Me, MGM/UA, 1988.
• Mr. Saturday Night, Columbia, 1992.
• City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold, Columbia, 1994.
• Forget Paris, Columbia, 1995.
• My Giant, Columbia, 1998.
• (With Peter Tolan) America's Sweethearts, Columbia, 2001.

Other

• Mahvelous! (recording), A & M Records, 1985.
• (With Dick Schaap) Absolutely Mahvelous, Putnam (New York, NY), 1986.
• (Author of foreword) Ron Smith, 61*: The Story of Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, and One Magic Summer, Sporting News (St. Louis, MO), 2001.
• I Already Know I Love You, illustrated by Elizabeth Sayles, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.
• Contributor to periodicals, including the New York Times and Playboy.

Work in Progress

An untitled project for Home Box Office, due 2005; a second children's book.

Biographical and Critical Sources

Periodicals

• American Film, July-August, 1989, pp. 30-33, 48.
• Booklist, August, 1986, p. 1648.
• Cosmopolitan, June, 1986, p. 80.
• Daily Variety, May 19, 2001, Michael Schneider, "Crystal Clear Deal," p. 5; August 22, 2003, Nicole LaPorte, "Crystal's Family Addition Inspires Kids' Tome," p. 4.
• Entertainment Weekly, June 17, 1994, pp. 26-29.
• Gentlemen's Quarterly, August, 1989, p. 199.
• Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2004, review of I Already Know I Love You, p. 327.
• Life, July, 1989, p. 68; April, 1990, p. 90.
• McCall's, July, 1991, p. 58.
• People, September 30, 1985, p. 40.
• Publishers Weekly, July 11, 1986, p. 59; March 15, 2004, review of I Already Know I Love You, p. 72.
• Rolling Stone, October 24, 1985, p. 49.
• Time, October, 19, 1992, pp. 66-68.
• TV Guide, November 15, 1980, p. 30; March 24, 1990, p. 5.*

Quotes:

"I'm comfortable being old... being black... being Jewish."

• Born: March 14, 1948, Long Beach, NY
• Active: '80s, '90s
• Genres: Comedy
• Instrument: Voices Representative Album: "Mahvelous!"

Biography

Along with being a veteran actor and comedian, Billy Crystal is most known for his affable hosting abilities, a groundbreaking role on television, and his impressions. One of the few to make a successful career from standup comedy to the movies, the sincere Crystal has hosted the Academy Awards six times and the Comic Relief festivals (which he also co-directed) since 1986. He has been nominated 12 times for an Emmy and has won three of them.

In 1976, Crystal was cast in the recurring role as Rob Reiner's Meathead's best friend on All in the Family. He made history when he was cast as the first gay character to appear on television on Soap, Jodie Dallas. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force drew Crystal's name into controversy for promoting stereotypes and right-wing conservatives and religious groups damned the network for airing the show at all. Once the sensationalism died down and he refined his characterization, Jodie became a favorite among viewers.

In the early '80s, Crystal went back to New York, touring the comedy circuit and doing specials. Although he established himself on Soap, it was the 1985 season of Saturday Night Live that made him famous. Once he debuted his "You Look Mahvelous!" impression of Fernando Lamas, Crystal's name became a household word. He later put out a recording, simply entitled Mahvelous!

Hit movies that Crystal has starred in include When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, and Forget Paris. He has produced nearly half of the movies he has starred in. He has also directed a number of projects, including the made-for-movie TV 2001 and 61* as well as the first Comic Relief. Crystal also co-wrote and directed America's Sweethearts.

Billy Crystal was born into show business; his uncle was the famous record producer Milt Gabler, who founded the famous Commodore Records and later, Decca, while his father ran the Commodore Music Shop in New York.

It's a well-known fact that Crystal is a huge New York Yankees fan. He aspired to become a professional baseball player before pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. After his college baseball scholarship at Marshall University (the team became defunct), where he also hosted an on-air call-in program, Crystal eventually transferred to N.Y.U. where he studied film and television under Martin Scorcese. After graduating in 1970 with a B.F.A., he substitute taught in New York while honing his nightclub act and impressions. In the mid-'70s, he made the move to California and was spotted by director Norman Lear in the the Comedy Store. Crystal filled in at a celebrity roast one night, doing his impression of Muhammad Ali (much to Ali's delight) being interviewed by Howard Cosell. All in attendance -- including some influential entertainment execs -- were impressed. The rest is history. Crystal has two daughters: Lindsay, an aspiring filmmaker, and Jennifer, an actress. He published an autobiography, Absolutely Mahvelous, in 1986, which may be overdue for an addendum. He aspires to someday mount a solo show on Broadway. ~ Sandy Lawson, All Music Guide

Mahvelous! Buy this CD

• Born: Mar 14, 1947 in Long Beach, Long Island, New York
• Occupation: Actor, Writer, Director
• Active: '80s-2000s
• Major Genres: Comedy
• Career Highlights: City Slickers, America's Sweethearts, When Harry Met Sally
• First Major Screen Credit: All in the Family: New Year's Wedding (1976)

Biography

The son of a jazz concert producer, Billy Crystal grew up in the company of such music legends as Billie Holiday, Pee Wee Russell, and Eddy Condon. His mind made up by age five, Crystal knew he wanted to become a performer -- not in music but in baseball or comedy. As he later explained to TV Guide, he chose comedy "because God made me short" -- though from all reports he is one of the best ball players in show business.

Learning how to make people laugh by studying the works of past masters Laurel and Hardy, Ernie Kovacs, and Jonathan Winters, Crystal began making the club rounds at 16. He was sidetracked briefly by New York University's film school, where he studied to be a director under Martin Scorsese, but upon graduation it was back to comedy when Crystal formed his own troupe, 3's Company. On his own, he developed into an "observational" comic, humor based on his own experiences and the collective experiences of his audience. He came to media attention via his impression of Howard Cosell interviewing Muhammad Ali. After doing time as an opening act for such musicians as Barry Manilow, Crystal struck out for Hollywood, in hopes of finding regular work on a TV series. In 1977, he was hired to play the gay character Jodie Dallas on Soap. Though many people expected the performer to be typecast in this sort of part, he transcended the "sissy" stereotype, making the character so three-dimensional that audiences and potential employers were fully aware that there was more to Crystal's talent than what they saw in Jodie.

Thanks to Soap, Crystal became and remained a headliner and, in 1978, had his first crack at movie stardom as a pregnant man in Rabbit Test. The movie was unsuccessful, but Crystal's star had not been eclipsed by the experience; he was even entrusted with a dramatic role in the 1980 TV movie Enola Gay. His career accelerating with comedy records, choice club dates, regular appearances on Saturday Night Live, and TV guest shots, Crystal had a more successful stab at the movies in such films as This is Spinal Tap (1984), The Princess Bride (1987), Throw Momma From the Train (1987), and When Harry Met Sally (1989). Riding high after a memorable emceeing stint at the Oscar ceremony, Crystal executive produced and starred in his most successful film project to date, an uproarious middle-age-angst comedy called City Slickers (1991). In 1992, he mounted his most ambitious film endeavor, Mr. Saturday Night, the bittersweet chronicle of a self-destructive comedian. The film had great potential (as indicated by the outtakes contained in its video cassette version), but the end result died at the box office. That same year, Crystal again hosted the Oscar awards, and in 1994 he repeated his earlier success with the popular sequel City Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly's Gold.

Crystal added to his directing credits the following year with the romantic comedy Forget Paris. Unfortunately, the film -- which he also produced, wrote, and starred in -- was something of a flop. He subsequently focused his energies on acting, turning up in Hamlet (1996) and Deconstructing Harry (1997). In 1998 he had another producing stint with My Giant, a comedy he also starred in; like his previous producing effort, that film also proved fairly unsuccessful. However, Crystal bounced back in 1999, executive producing and starring in Analyze This. A comedy about a mob boss, Robert De Niro, seeking therapy from a psychiatrist (Crystal), it won a number of positive reviews, convincing many that the performer was back in his element.

Back in the director's chair in 2001, Crystal helmed the made-for-HBO 61*. Detailing the 1961 home-run race between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, 61* struck a chord with baseball sentimentalists and critics alike. Scripting and starring in America's Sweethearts the same year, Crystal soon began to prepare for his vocal role in the animated comedy fantasy Monsters, Inc. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Analyze That Buy this Movie	America's Sweethearts Buy this Movie	Monsters, Inc. Buy this Movie	The Concert For New York City Buy this Movie
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