Billy Crystal Quotes

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Billy Crystal

Profession : Comedian

Birth : March 14, 1947

Mom was so funny and loving to us kids. She was our first audience. When my dad died, I was suddenly alone in the house with her because my two older brothers were away at college. I was the man of the house, and she was the grieving woman.

Billy Crystal

From the first time I saw Sid Caesar be funny I knew that's what I had to do.

Billy Crystal

I was a film-directing major at NYU. I'm still not sure why I became a directing major, when I was really an actor and a comedian, but there was something that drew me to doing that.

Billy Crystal

I'm a baby. I sleep like a baby - I'm up every two hours. And I think a lot. I worry a lot. I have great nights of no sleep where ideas come.

Billy Crystal

I never worry that I'll die in my sleep, because I'm never asleep!

Billy Crystal

Nobody is more truthful when he's acting than De Niro.

Billy Crystal

To be good, you need to believe in what you're doing.

Billy Crystal

Kids need a happy household. They need to be loved and supported in their dreams. And I don't think you can make your kids' dreams your own. They need you to support them in their dreams.

Billy Crystal

Since I got into the movies, 'Running Scared,' that did $40 million. 'Princess Bride,' I got good reviews for the character Miracle Max. 'Memories of Me' didn't do well. 'Throw Mama from the Train' did $70 million. 'Harry and Sally' did 95 or 96. 'City Slickers' did $120 million.

Billy Crystal

The Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower. They're monumental. They're straight out of Page 52 in your school history book.

Billy Crystal

I'm going to go on just living and laughing and loving.

Billy Crystal

Dad had a music store, and he'd often bring home comedy albums that I would listen to. I started listening to Bob Newhart and Bill Cosby, and developing taste. They really influenced my style of comedy.

Billy Crystal

I could always improvise. Some of my teachers remember me standing in front of the class with a flower on my head, talking about photosynthesis. I'd stop and say, 'Is this working for any of you?' The kids were like, 'What is he doing?'

Billy Crystal

Ali forced us to take a look at ourselves. This brash young man who thrilled us, angered us, confused and challenged us, ultimately became a silent messenger of peace who taught us that life is best when you build bridges between people, not walls.

Billy Crystal

Even when I was in school shows, in elementary school doing plays, I'd always go off book and start improvising.

Billy Crystal

Doing my Broadway show '700 Sundays' reminded me how much I love working in front of an audience.

Billy Crystal

It is great seeing the fruits of your labor. The joy I have in watching my daughters with their kids is great, because they're doing a wonderful job, and the kids are fantastic.

Billy Crystal

In my standup work, I always do these characters, older people who are just off to the side. It's easier to write a story about the guy who made it to the top, but the middle is so much more interesting, so much more murky.

Billy Crystal

I can't be funny if my feet don't feel right.

Billy Crystal

What life throws at you - you just have to learn how to hit it, which is a baseball metaphor. The ball's outside, you hit to the right. You don't let them go by.

Billy Crystal