Billy Crystal’s Journey from the Comedy Club Stage to Hollywood Icon and Critics Choice Honoree
variety.comSteven Gaydos Executive VP of ContentThe Critics Choice Assn. has selected Billy Crystal to receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s ceremony on March 13.A Billy Crystal life achievement reel might look a lot like a history of American showbiz.
Crystal’s family roots are embedded in the greatness of American music via his father and his uncle Milt Gabler’s Commodore Records, home to recordings by blues and jazz greats such as Bessie Smith, Bix Beiderbecke and, most stunningly, Billie Holiday.
How many showbiz family trees include Holiday’s landmark 1939 record, “Strange Fruit,” named by Time magazine as best song of the century?In his 20s, Crystal worked his share of 1970s comedy club stages, first as part of a comedy trio known as “3’s Company,” then as a solo act.
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