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Billy Crystal, known for his roles in movies such as “When Harry Met Sally...” and “City Slickers,” received his honors at the John F. Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, DC in a pre-recorded show that was broadcast on Wednesday, Dec. 27.
The 75-year-old Crystal, who was born in the Bronx and later moved to Long Beach on Long Island, was honored alongside Renée Fleming, Queen Latifah, Barry Gibb, and Dionne Warwick.
“It was magical, it was unexpected,” Crystal said of being a recipient. “There were so many surprises.”
His first shock of the night came with a sung medley by 2018 Kennedy Center Honoree Lin Manuel-Miranda highlighting the actor’s career – a nod to Crystal’s own cheeky medley from hosting the 1998 Oscars.
As part of the celebration, Crystal was witness to speeches by Meg Ryan, his co-star from 1989’s “When Harry Met Sally...,” Robert De Niro, whom he starred alongside in “Analyze This,” and even more friends and colleagues like Whoopi Goldberg.
Dubbed “an American showman with a heart of gold” by President Joe Biden, Crystal began his long career as a comedian, eventually joining the cast of “Saturday Night Live” (where he was awarded his first Emmy) and hosting his own variety show.
Later, he landed roles in movies like “The Princess Bride,” “Father’s Day,” “Monsters, Inc.,” and more.
Between 1986 and 2008, Crystal co-hosted “Comic Relief” specials. These specials, which he did with Whoopi Goldberg and the late Robin Williams, were televised fundraisers that raised a total of $75 million to help supply medical aid to the homeless.
In 2005, he won a Tony Award for his one-man Broadway show “700 Sundays” chronicling his life growing up on Long Island, which he revived for two months in 2013.
He received the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2007.
The full recording of the 46th Kennedy Center Honors is available for streaming on the CBS website here and on the streaming site Paramount+.
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