Marshall University

William Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian, and film director. 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 and City Slickers. He has hosted the Academy Awards nine times, including the 84th Academy Awards in 2012. Crystal was born in the Doctor's Hospital in Manhattan and raised on Long Island in Long Beach, the son of Helen , a housewife, and Jack Crystal, a record company executive and jazz producer who also owned and operated the Commodore Record store. His babysitter was occasionally Billie Holiday. His uncle was musician and songwriter Milt Gabler, and his brother, Richard "Rip" Crystal, is a television producer. Crystal grew up in a Jewish family that he has described as "large" and "loving". After graduation from Long Beach High School, Crystal attended Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia on a baseball scholarship, having learned the game from his father, who pitched for St. John's University.
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