Here is the person biography of Billy Crystal:
Billy Crystal was born on March 14, 1948, in Manhattan, New York, to Helen (Gabler) and Jack Crystal. He was the youngest of three sons, with his father being a well-known concert promoter and his mother a homemaker. His family were Jewish emigrants from Russia, Austria, and Lithuania.
Billy's father was a friend to many top performers of the time, and legends such as Billie Holiday, Pee Wee Russell, and Eddie Condon regularly stopped by the Crystal household. At the age of 15, Billy faced a personal tragedy when his father died of a heart attack at the relatively young age of 54.
Despite this tragedy, Billy remained upbeat and likable, with a unique talent for making people laugh. He was influenced by television shows like The Honeymooners and "The Ed Sullivan Show," as well as performers like Alan King, Ernie Kovacs, and Jonathan Winters.
Billy started doing stand-up comedy at the age of 16, but his real dream was to be a professional baseball player. He spent long hours playing softball in the summers with his brothers and father, a former pitcher at St. John's University. At Long Beach High, Billy played second base and was varsity captain in his senior year, earning him a baseball scholarship from Marshall University in West Virginia.
However, the baseball program was suspended during his freshman year, leading Billy to leave the university and move back to New York. He then enrolled at Nassau Community College, majoring in theater, where he met and fell in love with a dancer named Janice Goldfinger. They got married in 1970 and had two daughters.
Billy went on to study film and TV direction at New York University, where he was taught by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. He worked as a house manager and usher on a production of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" and temporarily worked as a substitute teacher before getting gigs as a stand-up comic.
Billy formed his own improv group, 3's Company, and opened for musicians like Barry Manilow. His impression of Howard Cosell interviewing Muhammad Ali became a huge hit with the audience. He left Long Beach for Hollywood in August 1976, hoping to land a role on a television series.
It only took a year before Billy got his big break when he was chosen for the role of gay character Jodie Dallas on the controversial ABC sitcom Soap. The show ran successfully for four seasons and helped to jump-start Billy's previously stagnant career.
Billy continued to do his stand-up routine, which was now attracting a larger audience with his growing celebrity status. He made many TV guest appearances and even hosted his own short-lived variety show, The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour.
He became a regular on Saturday Night Live in 1984, where his Fernando Lamas impression with the catchphrase "You Look Mahvellous" was a huge hit with viewers. This led to appearances in feature-length films such as Running Scared and Throw Momma from the Train.
In 1986, Billy started Comic Relief, an annual stand-up comedy show which helped to raise money for housing and medical care for the homeless. The show has since grown substantially with the continued support of Billy and his friends Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams.
Billy's career would peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with roles in the blockbuster movies When Harry Met Sally... and City Slickers. He was chosen to host the annual Oscars in 1990, an honor he would repeat seven more times.
He made his big screen directorial debut in the 1992 film Mr. Saturday Night, which was about a washed-up stand-up comic who refuses to retire. He also wrote, produced, and starred in the film.
Billy continued to act in, produce, and direct several films, including hits like Analyze This and America's Sweethearts, and flops like Fathers' Day and My Giant.
In 2001, Billy parlayed his childhood love of baseball and Mickey Mantle into a feature film, 61*, which premiered on HBO and centered on the relationship between Mantle and Roger Maris and their 1961 pursuit of Babe Ruth's home run record.
Offscreen, Billy remains married to Janice Crystal and they have homes in California and New York. Both of his daughters are involved in the film business, with Jennifer Crystal Foley being an aspiring actress and Lindsay Crystal being an aspiring filmmaker.
