Having Struggled From Warm-Up Act to Headliner: BILLY CRYSTAL

Billy Crystal evokes the demons of comedy in a new movie, giving the perfect Oscar host a shot at his own Oscar

ASK BILLY CRYSTAL HOW HE GOT STARTed, and he will say in the living room, where as the youngest and shortest of three boys, he was also the loudest. "After dinner, we would perform for 20 or so relatives impressions of Aunt Rose with the sagging upper arms and Uncle Max with the pants the size of New Jersey." He learned show-biz patter, pulling his chair alongside the old Magnavox TV and pretending to be the next guest on the Jack Paar show, peeking down Jayne Mansfield's dress and rolling his eyes, flacking his latest gig. "You know, Jack, I'm really...

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