- "Soap" star Billy Crystal turns 75 this year!
- He is now a grandfather who cannot hold back tears when it comes to his grandchildren.
- “I can’t bear to think of life without her,” he commented on his 53 years of marriage.
Billy Crystal initially became famous when he starred on "Soap" and "Saturday Night Live." He then became a Hollywood movie star by featuring on "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally," "Analyze This," and more in the 1980s and 1990s.
The star also appeared in several Broadway shows and did voice-over work for the "Monsters, Inc" series. Some of the accolades he'd received by December 2022, include a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Billy Crystal as Jodie Dallas on season one of "Soap" on October 21, 1977 | Source: Getty Images
He's also won a Tony Award and six Emmy Awards. In 2020, the actor confessed that his decades-long career and the level he was working at had left him feeling "really happy" and he was still going strong, with him adding during an interview:
“I love the fact that I’m going to be 72 and I’m having a great chapter 2 and a half."
Rebecca Balding, Bob Seagren, Jay Johnson, and Billy Crystal on "Soap" on September 1, 1978 | Source: Getty Images
The "Running Scared" star said he was happy he kept getting opportunities to do things. He also loved being approached by younger talented stars who came by to greet and talk to him.
That year, he was set to star alongside Tiffany Haddish in the movie "Here Today" and felt "blessed" for the chance. He said he woke up each day having a great feeling because he kept thinking he had something to do.
Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish at "Tiffany Haddish: Black Mitzvah" at SLS Hotel on December 3, 2019, in Beverly Hills, California | Source: Getty Images
One of the many prestigious roles his had was as the host of the Academy Awards in 1990. Billy was so fantastic at it that he was asked to reprise his role eight more times, but his biggest role was being a grandfather.
Billy Can’t Hold Back Tears When It Comes to His Four Grandchildren
In 2018, Billy was asked to share the best part about being a grandfather. He explained how he first saw himself in his children and then he saw he children and a little of himself in his grandchildren stating how it was a "great rejuvenation of your spirit.”
Billy Crystal during the 25th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards on February 27, 2023, in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images
The "Throw Momma from the Train" actor confessed about spoiling his grandchildren. However, he did admit that he realized spoiling wasn't a good thing to do and with regards to his marriage, he credited Jack and Helen Crystal, his parents, for setting a good example for him.
In May 2022, the star was nominated for leading actor and in line to win a Tony Award for the role he played in "Mr. Saturday Night." At age 74, he said he felt "very proud" he made his musical comedy debut with his grandchildren sitting in front on opening night.
Billy Crystal and Jennifer Crystal Foley at the 41st AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Mel Brooks on June 6, 2013, in Hollywood, California | Source: Getty Images
The comedian during his appearance on "The View" Billy shared how that moment was "the greatest thrill of all." The "City Slickers" star expressed how "truly moving" the experience was and before the show he kept thinking about where he started.
He also mulled over the fact that his grandchildren hadn't seen him live on stage performing before. Especially in a character that embraced his age and who he was, with him confessing that "I keep getting teary."
Lindsay, Billy, and Janice Crystal at the 3rd Annual Tribeca Film Festival for the "House of D" premiere on May 7, 2004 | Source: Getty Images
His then-four grandchildren wouldn't have been around if he hadn't met the love of his life who bore him children. He met his wife and the mother of his children in the late 1960s and their connection was instant.
Billy Reveals the Secret of His 53 Years of Marriage That Brought Them Wonderful Children
In 2014, it was revealed that Billy was still crazy about his wife, Janice, as he had been when they first met. The couple met for the first time in the late 1960s as teenagers at a New York Malibu Beach Club.
Billy and Janice Crystal, nominees for the Best Special Theatrical Event for "700 Sundays," with daughters Lindsay and Jennifer Crystal at the 59th Annual Tony Awards on June 5, 2005 | Source: Getty Images
The duo felt an instant and special connection that the actor couldn't describe. However, the star explained that he got it and he and his wife got it too and the first time they felt it was when they linked up when she was 17 and he was 18.
The love between them was still alive as the pair were seen sharing a kiss on April 21, 2014, at he Los Angeles Clippers game at the Staples Center. At the time, Billy and Janice were getting ready to celebrate 43 years of marriage in June 2014, with a special getaway.
The actor revealed that the past years had been one good thing after another and he'd continued working non-stop. He said he thought it was time for him to stop working for some time and he and his wife discussed going to Europe.
Billy and Janice Crystal at the Vanity Fair Academy Awards party in West Hollywood on March 1, 2004 | Source: Getty Images
The couple wanted to spend six or eight weeks there while renting a house, relaxing, and he'd grow a beard. The Oscar Award-winner also shared his idea of heaven saying he would be 18 again and Janice would walk by him in a bikini and he'd follow her and their love story would start again.
The star admitted that “I can’t bear to think of life without her.” In February 2020, Billy was interviewed by "People Now" about his secret to a lasting marriage as he and his wife were due to celebrate their 50th-year anniversary.
Before breaking it down, he scolded the outlet for not marking him and Janice as the "hottest couple in Hollywood." He complained that the magazine had a hot couple each year but didn't include him and his wife and he hilariously threatened to cancel his subscription.
Billy and Janice Crystal kissing during his hand & footprint ceremony, on April 12, 2019, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California | Source: Getty Images
The actor hilariously said the secret to his long-lasting marriage was that they saw other people, and that he was insatiable! Ben Schwartz, his “Standing Up, Falling Down” co-star, praised Billy wife noting how unbelievable she was and that the couple had something special.
Schwartz also noted how Janice was intelligent, caring, funny, kind, and that the couple were good parents. He admitted that how the duo was was something for him to look up to, with Billy reiterating the same traits about his wife.
The comedian said his marriage just kept getting better and better. Janice's husband also revealed how they laughed a lot, grew together, parented to, and grandparented together, before saying he was lucky to have found his wife at 18.
Billy and Janice Crystal pose backstage at the opening night of "Mr. Saturday Night" on Broadway at The Nederlander Theatre on April 27, 2022, in New York City | Source: Getty Images
Their daughter, Jennifer Crystal Foley, was welcomed into the Crystal family in Los Angeles on January 26, 1973. She was brought up in Hollywood but now prefers staying out of the spotlight, although she's acted for a while.
Jennifer appeared in "City Slickers," "City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold," "Fathers’ Day," and "A Midsummer Night’s Rave." She's also featured in "NYPD Blue," "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Touched by an Angel," "Once and Again," and "House."
Lindsay, Billy, and Janice Crystal at the "America's Sweethearts" Los Angeles premiere on July 17, 2001 | Source: Getty Images
In 1994 she graduated from Evanston, Illinois' Northwestern University in Chicago. In September 2000, she married her college sweetheart, Michael Foley, and they made her parents grandparents by welcoming Ella Ryan in 2003 and Dylan Frances in 2006.
The star [Billy Crystal], who was set to go on tour in Australia that July, revealed that's how he and his wife [Janice Crystal] was.
Her younger sister, Lindsay Crystal, was born on October 21, 1977 in Los Angeles, California. She also followed in their father's career footsteps by debuting in 1991's "City Slickers" and its sequel.
Chris Paul talking to Billy Crystal's grandson at a basketball game at Staples Center on November 29, 2015, in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images
After starring on several films and shows, she started working behind the camera, following in Janice's producer footsteps. Lindsay worked as a writer, director, and producer who has won several awards for her efforts.
Billy's daughter directed and produced for NBC, Crooked Media, HBO, Comedy Central, and more. She also produced "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," and won four Emmy Awards for her work.
Her feature documentary, "My Uncle Berns," was an official selection at the Tribeca Film Festival and she also directed her father in "When Harry Met Sally 2." In 2016, the actor who starred with Haddish spoke about his parents' relationship, stating:
"My parents always looked like they loved being together. That's what I took from them.”
The star, who was set to go on tour in Australia that July, revealed that's how he and his wife was. Billy shared that he still felt like they were dating and in 2023, he turned 75 and celebrated 53 years of marriage!
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