Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal married Janice Crystal in 1970. They have two daughters, Jennifer Crystal Foley, an actress, and Lindsay Crystal, a producer and filmmaker, and are grandparents.

Crystal was born in Manhattan and raised largely in Long Beach, New York. His father, Jack Crystal, owned the Commodore Music Store, promoted jazz, and worked as an executive for Commodore Records. Jazz musicians including Billie Holiday, Pee Wee Russell, and Arvell Shaw were frequent visitors to the Crystal household.

Crystal began performing stand-up comedy as a teenager and formed an improv group in 1969. After performing in New York clubs, he moved to Los Angeles and gained his breakthrough role as Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap, which ran from 1977 to 1981. Jodie Dallas was one of the first openly gay regular characters on an American television series.

Crystal hosted The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour in 1982, although the variety show was short-lived. He hosted Saturday Night Live in 1984 before joining the regular cast for the 1984-85 season. His best-known recurring character was Fernando Lamas, whose catchphrase, "You look mahvelous!", became widely associated with Crystal.

Crystal's film career included comedic roles in Running Scared, Throw Momma from the Train, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally..., and City Slickers. In The Princess Bride, he played Miracle Max, while in When Harry Met Sally... he starred opposite Meg Ryan as Harry Burns. He later appeared with Robert De Niro in Analyze This and its sequel, Analyze That.

He made his film-directing debut with Mr. Saturday Night in 1992, a project he also wrote, produced, and starred in. He subsequently directed Forget Paris, 61\* about the 1961 baseball home-run race between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, and Here Today*.

Crystal became widely known to younger audiences as the voice of Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc. He reprised the role in Monsters University, Monsters at Work, and related Pixar projects, and voiced Calcifer in the English-language version of Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle.

Crystal became an awards-show host with the Grammy Awards, which he hosted three times beginning in 1987. He hosted the Academy Awards nine times between 1990 and 2012, a record surpassed only by Bob Hope. His hosting and writing work for televised ceremonies earned him multiple Primetime Emmy Awards.

His autobiographical one-man show 700 Sundays marked his Broadway debut in 2004 and won the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event. The production was revived on Broadway in 2013 and filmed for an HBO special. Crystal later adapted his film Mr. Saturday Night into a Broadway musical, starring as Buddy Young Jr. in 2022.

Crystal has also written books including 700 Sundays and the memoir Still Foolin' 'Em. His honors include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Critics' Choice Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors.