Who Is Billy Crystal?

      After we posted our Friday article on the incoming Academy Awards this Sunday on February 26th we have been getting a few questions being asked about the event, though this is the trending question right now and it took us by surprise. When you think about it it shouldn't surprise us that so many people have no idea who Billy Crystal is, the last big movie he was in, was "Monster's Inc" in 2001, where though he does a fantastic job we never get to see his face, so even those that saw him there don't have that familiarity with the actor. 2001, that's 11 years since we have seen a performance by Billy, which means that there is a generation out there that has never heard of the guy or seen anything he has done, the average age of those who don't know who he is goes from new born kids all the way up to 16 years of age which means that it should come to no surprise that so many people don't know who he is. Thus we decided to take the time this week to run a crash course of people that will be there on Sunday that you should know, starting with our boy Billy.

     Billy Crystal has been involved in many good movies that you should definitely check out, but one big break in the beginning of his career was being in the TV show Soap in 1977-1981 where those that had not heard of him yet were made aware of his presence. Soon after, Billy finally found the genre he fits in perfectly comedies and romantic comedies where he was a hit in movies like "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984), "Princess Bride" (1987) and "Throw Momma From The Train"(1987).  This is the period in his career where many began to love Billy Crystal and find him hilarious, it was a good starter for his next big move, the movie that truly set him apart and probably the one role he has been in that will be remembered for years to come.

     There are many romance movies out there but one of the most watched romance movies of all time is "When Harry Met Sally" released in 1989. This was his break, his big contribution and the movie that set him up to forever be remembered. We would be willing to bet that for the majority of those within this generation, where Billy was absent, that know who he is, do so because of this movie. From here on out Billy took a different route, he was now loved by everyone, so in short he could have been in any role he choose, but instead he decided to lay low for a little while, and do what he loved most, stand up comedy.

     Throughout his career Billy had been doing stand up shows and really this was the reason for his success. Even before "When Harry Met Sally" Billy had had a huge presence within the stand up world. He had been part of Saturday Night Live, he had released various comedic videos, he even had his own TV show for a while. Though his comedic career made him known by many, it was only after "When Harry Met Sally" where he became known by the whole world, and thus him being chosen to host the Academy Awards in 1990 came as no surprise to anyone. Not only did he do a fantastic job hosting it but he did so well that he was invited back 9 times, that is truly impressive and something that looks very good within a person's resume.

    He then sought to go the comedic route and put the movie business on the side, he wasn't part of many great movies for a while until 1998 where he came out in "My Giant", the classic "Analyze This" in 1999 with Robert De Niro, and "America's Sweethearts" in 2001 where he was brilliant in. From then we have him doing voice work on "Monsters Inc" in 2001 and now the long awaited and soon to be released "Monsters University" that should be coming out on 2013. Thus Billy Crystal has been on a lot of good movies that you should check out, give the guy a chance he's kind of a legend.

    So now when the Academy Awards happens this coming Sunday and one of your friends asks the question "who is Billy Crystal" you'll be be able to answer them and educate them on a very talented performer who deserves to be remembered in the ages to come, if nothing else you'll be able to answer "he's the 'When Harry Met Sally' guy", which works.

   We hope you all have a fantastic Monday and may this week be a great one for you,

Love from your humble blogger,