Few comedians are more beloved than Tony- and Emmy Award-winning actor, producer, writer, and director Billy Crystal. Who can forget memorable films like “When Harry Met Sally,” “City Slickers,” “Throw Momma from the Train,” and “Analyze This”? As cast member of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” Crystal brought to life an impressive impersonation of actor/director Fernando Lamas, whose tagline, “You look mahvelous!” was part of the mid-1980s cultural zeitgeist. It’s no wonder Crystal was selected to host the Academy Awards nine times and the Grammy Awards three times! His work as a host, writer, and producer on the televised awards shows has earned him 14 Emmy nominations and five wins. Crystal is now returning to television for FX’s “The Comedians,” a behind-the-scenes satirical look at a veteran stand-up comic (played by Crystal himself) paired with a younger up-and-coming star (Josh Gad) for a late-night sketch comedy show. Based on a popular Swedish series, he heard about the concept and decided to write and executive-produce the series for a U.S. audience.
“When I was sent the Swedish show called ‘The Comedians,’ I was bowled over in the first five minutes,” Crystal said, during FX’s panel at the Television Critics press tour. “I was not looking to do anything at that time, and I said, ‘Well, Sweden, how could this be funny!? It’s dark at noon and then they drink?!’ But these two comedians were so inspiring, the show was so great — within five minutes, I said, ‘I could do this show. I could like doing this show.’ And the reason why is because I get to play an extended version of myself, which is great. I get to do live sketches in front of a live audience. I get to do these film pieces. I get to have crazy fun like that and work with incredible people.”
He added: “At this point in my career, it’s a blessing to have this show, because it reinforces and reinvigorates everything that I started out doing and have loved to do my entire career. I get a chance to do it again now with these kinds of people. It was easy to say why. The thing to say is, ‘Why not?’” The iconic comedian has had decades of success, ever since 1977, when Crystal landed his first major television role on the comedy series “Soap,” where he broke ground playing one of the first openly gay characters on television.
At 67 (as of March 14), Crystal could easily retire, yet he much prefers to be challenged. “I’ve been in front of people since 1974 or so as a comedian, before ‘Soap’ hit in ’77, right after the Civil War! I think people have a certain assumption of me. They feel like they know me. I’ve done so many different things, and we all understood that. But when we decided we should play ourselves, it also came with the caveat of, ‘OK, are you willing to do this?’ And I would say, ‘Yes. No.’ So we would draw a fine line. I want them to say, ‘That was interesting.’ I think there’s gonna be shows where people at home are going to go, ‘Oh, why did Billy say that to this guy?’ or ‘Oh, why did he say that to him?’ And that makes for great television. And as an actor and a comedian, it’s fun to play with that, and it’s bold. I love the challenge of it for all of us in the cast.”
Gad is excited about working with a man who is on top of his game. “For me, the most intoxicating part of this entire process was truly getting the call that I was going to work with an icon that I grew up admiring. And it wasn’t just off ‘Soap.’ I always tell Billy this story of watching him on ‘Comic Relief V’ … I saw Billy and I go, ‘That’s what I want to do. What he’s doing, that’s the kind of entertainer that I want to be.’ And he just had that career, whether it was his movies like ‘The Princess Bride’ or ‘When Harry Met Sally’ or ‘Saturday Night Live’ or his stints as Oscar host, that got us so excited and thrilled about working with this legend.”
Knowing he was funny was something Crystal realized at a very young age. “For me, it started early. It’s the old joke, the light went on in the refrigerator and I did 20 minutes for the leftovers! I always was drawn to it. I had a joyous house, a lot of relatives always. It was a performing room. You got up and you’re funny; I loved it and I was hooked, and I’m still doing it.”
Crystal took his loving memories of his childhood and growing up and turned them into a one-man show, making his Broadway debut in 2004 with the original production of “700 Sundays,” for which he won a Tony Award. Most recently, the Broadway production was taped in front of a live audience for an HBO special. The HBO special garnered four Emmy nominations and was released on home video in fall 2014.
One of his most cherished memories was of Sid Caesar attending his show. “Sid was in a wheelchair at the time. We actually moved ‘700 Sundays’ from an evening show to a matinee that day so he could make it. I was never nervous except when he was in the audience. When I came off, all he said was, ‘Wow!’”
Crystal is a generous philanthropist; in addition to co-hosting “Comic Relief,” which raises money for homeless people in the U.S., he has supported numerous charities including Alzheimer’s Association, Celebrity Fight Night Foundation, and the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. When hurricane Sandy devastated much of Long Beach, New Jersey, and New York City, Crystal donated $1 million to help his hometown with recovery efforts. He also paid tribute to his friend Robin Williams last summer at the 2014 Emmys, who he was very close to since his earliest days working in the business.
Even toward the end, as Williams suffered from depression, the two iconic actors would sometimes speak as often as three times a day over the phone, often well into the late hours of the night. Like many others, Crystal was deeply saddened and surprised by the actor’s death. Williams was actually diagnosed with Parkinson’s shortly before he committed suicide, something that many believe played a factor. Currently, there is no way to screen for early signs of the disease, which attacks neurons and gradually breaks down the nervous system — currently affecting over 1 million Americans. Crystal, who played opposite Williams in Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet” as the comic relief, described the live tribute before 17 million viewers as “the hardest thing he’s ever had to do.”
Besides success in films and television, Crystal is also an author. The recipient of the 2007 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Crystal has written five books, including “Absolutely Mahvelous” (1986) and “700 Sundays” (2005), as well as two children’s books, “I Already Know I Love You” (2004), and “Grandpa’s Little One” (2006). His most recent book, a memoir titled “Still Foolin’ ‘Em” became a New York Times bestseller. An amusing observation on aging, the audiobook version debuted at number one on iTunes and was nominated for a Grammy for the Best Spoken Word Album, winning the Audiobook of the Year award at the 2014 Audies Gala.
And that’s not all: The veteran comedian is also the voice of one-eyed Mike Wazowski, in Disney’sPixar’s animated blockbusters “Monsters Inc.” and “Monsters University.” Wearing his director’s hat, Crystal was nominated for both an Emmy and a Directors Guild Award for his direction of the 2001 HBO movie “61*” that told the dramatic story of the 1961 race between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris attempting to break Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record. Most recently, Crystal was seen on the big screen opposite Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei in the Christmas 2012 family comedy “Parental Guidance,” which he also produced.
With all his success, Crystal remains humble. “I love what I am doing. These past few years have been some of the best in my career. I have been as busy as ever. Between Broadway, my book which was a bestseller, this new show, and ‘Monsters University’ it’s been hot like crazy … I am just very blessed.”
