Billy Crystal

Billy Crystal
Crystal at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	William Edward Crystal (1948-03-14) March 14, 1948 (age 68) New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Tisch School of Arts
Occupation	Actor, writer, producer, director, comedian, television host
Years active	1975–present
Spouse(s)	Janice Goldfinger (m. 1970)
Children	2; including Jennifer Crystal Foley
Comedy career
Medium	Stand-up, film, television, books
Genres	Observational comedy, musical comedy, sketch comedy, surreal humor, sarcasm, satire

William Edward "Billy" Crystal (born March 14, 1948) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, comedian and television host. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes When Harry Met Sally... (1989), City Slickers (1991), and Analyze This (1999) and providing the voice of Mike Wazowski in the Monsters, Inc. franchise.

He has hosted the Academy Awards 9 times, beginning in 1990 and most recently in 2012.

Crystal was born at Doctors Hospital on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and initially raised in The Bronx. As a toddler, he moved with his family to 549 East Park Avenue in Long Beach, New York, on Long Island. He and his older brothers Joel and Richard, nicknamed Rip, were the sons of Helen (née Gabler), a housewife, and Jack Crystal, who owned and operated the Commodore Music Store, founded by Helen's father, Julius Gabler. Jack Crystal was also a jazz promoter, a producer, and an executive for an affiliated jazz record label, Commodore Records, founded by Helen's brother, musician and songwriter Milt Gabler. Crystal is Jewish (his family emigrated from Austria and Russia). The three young brothers would entertain by reprising comedy routines from the likes of Bob Newhart, Rich Little and Sid Caesar records their father would bring home. Jazz artists such as Arvell Shaw, Pee Wee Russell, Eddie Condon, and Billie Holiday were often guests in the home. With the decline of Dixieland jazz circa 1963, Crystal's father lost his business, and died later that year at the age of 54 after suffering a heart attack while bowling. His mother, Helen Crystal, died in 2001.