This article is about William Edward Crystal, an American actor and comedian best known for his appearances as Jodie Dallas on the ABC comedy “Soap”, Larry in “Throw Momma from the Train”, Abby in “Memories of Me” and others. Read more about his childhood, stand-up comedy activities and movies at manhattanski.
Early years
William Edward Crystal is an American actor, director and comedian. William was born on March 14, 1948, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. His mother, Helen, was a homemaker, and his father, Jack Crystal, owned and operated a music store throughout his life. The man was also the founder and producer of the Commodore Records jazz record label, thus prominent jazz musicians frequently visited the Crystals. It is worth noting that, in addition to William, two of his brothers, Joel and Richard, were raised in the family. The young man spent his childhood in Long Beach. In 1965, the boy graduated from the local high school and later entered Marshall University, where he studied on a baseball scholarship. In his sophomore year, William dropped out of university, moved to New York City and started acting at HB Studio. In addition, he attended Nassau Community College and later New York University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Career development: from a comedian to an actor
William Crystal began his career as a member of a comedy trio, in which he participated for some time. At the same time, he worked as a teacher. Later, the man launched a solo comedy career, performing at well-known clubs including Catch a Rising Star and The Improv. Subsequently, the comedian began to appear on numerous television shows, including “Saturday Night Live,” “All in the Family,” “The Hollywood Squares,” “All Star Secrets,” and others. William Edward Crystal made his film debut in 1978. This year, the actor portrayed Lionel in the comedy “Rabbit Test,” which was about the world’s first pregnant man, and Miles Gordon in the television comedy “Human Feelings.” Subsequently, the actor starred in such projects as “This is Spinal Tap!”, where he played Morty, “The Princess Bride,” where he played Max, as well as the films “City Slickers,” “Forget Paris,” “Hamlet,” “Deconstructing Harry,” “My Giant,” “Tooth Fairy,” “Small Apartments,” and others. However, it should be noted that the actor rose to prominence after playing Jodie Dallas in the film “Soap”. The actor’s other notable works include “Memories of Me,” “Throw Momma from the Train,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “City Slickers,” “Mr. Saturday Night,” and “Fathers’ Day.” We should also mention that the actor voiced cartoons such as “Monsters, Inc.”, “Howl’s Moving Castle”, “Cars” and “Monsters University”.
Further activities: directing and making a Broadway debut
William Edward Crystal has gained popularity as a comedian since 1986, thus he quickly released an album of his stand-up material titled “Mahvelous!”. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording. We should also mention that the celebrity has hosted the Academy Awards ceremony on multiple occasions, for which he received a lot of praise. There were a total of nine performances in the years 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004 and 2012. In 1991, William developed and produced the six-part HBO comedy miniseries “Sessions”. In 2001, Crystal became the director of the TV series “61*”, for which he later received an Emmy Award nomination. In 2004, William Edward made his Broadway debut with “700 Sundays”. In 2005, he received the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event. Crystal later toured the United States with this show. Later, he wrote a book with the same name. In 2013, William brought “700 Sundays” back to Broadway for a two-month run at the Imperial Theatre. In 2022, the actor reprised his Broadway performances.
It should be noted that William Edward Crystal received numerous awards throughout his professional career, including six Emmy Awards, a Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event and the Drama Desk Award, Tony Award nominations for Best Actor, three Grammy Award nominations for Best Comedy Album, three Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and much more.