Billy Crystal on finding humor in the darkest of times

If Billy Crystal is one of the kings of comedy, his family home in L.A.’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood was definitely his castle. “Sunday Morning” was invited there a few times for interviews,  and I’d usually end up getting schooled on his backyard basketball court.

It was, he acknowledged, a magical place: “Yeah, it kept me young, that place,” he said.

It was his family’s forever home, but things don’t always last forever. In January 2025, a massive, wind-driven inferno tore through the Crystals’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood, devouring more than 5,000 homes, including the Crystals’. The fire took everything, but in the smoldering ruins of what was once their family home, Billy Crystal and his wife Janice found inspiration. 

Crystal is taking the story of his home, and his life, to Broadway, in his new one-person show, “860,” talking about what he lost, and what he learned.

“Oh God, what a morning. Helicopters and sirens woke us up to the news that there was a big brush fire in the Highlands.”

He describes the disaster moment by moment, and it’s a harrowing tale. But he’s still Billy Crystal.

“Janice is the more practical of the two of us. She’s thinking about medicines and prescriptions. I’m thinking about that half a veal parmesan sandwich that’s in the refrigerator.”

“860” is now in previews, and opens October 21. Crystal wanted the audience to feel like they’re really inside his house, so the “860” set is an exact replica of his home office, with everything just as it was. “Yes, we’re fortunate to have this and have that, but that doesn’t take away the hurt. That doesn’t take away the loss,” he said.

According to Crystal, nothing survived.

But there are some things that no fire could ever touch. The memories are all intact, and funny as ever.

The name of the show, “860,” is actually the street address of the house he lost. Truth is, Crystal wasn’t sure what to call it, until his dear friend Rob Reiner weighed in. “He said, ‘What are you going to call it?’ I had these other titles, and the third one was ‘860.’ He went, ‘That’s the one. I love that. I like that.'”

And then, in a year that was already traumatic beyond belief, the unimaginable happened, In December 2025, Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle were killed in their home. For Crystal, it’s all still too hard to process: “No, it’s too big,” he said. “It’s so insane, because we were together the night before. We said goodbye, like, late that night, 10:30 or something, at the party we were at together for the holidays, and then …  what?!?”

But Crystal has found a way to process his grief, and maybe ours, too, sharing stories and laughter.

Asked how he can find humor in the darkest of times, Crystal laughed, “That’s what I do! You have to, man. You got to, you got to … It’s a healer. It always has been that way. You know, we say when life gets tough, all you can do is laugh.”

Twenty-two years ago, Crystal did another one-man show: “700 Sundays,” named for the approximately 700 Sundays he had with his father before he died. It was a major hit, and a ticket to a Tony Award. And for Crystal, it was a cathartic experience, which he said healed him. Asked if he thinks “860” will as well, Crystal replied, “It already has, ’cause I’m doing it, and I’ve been doing it. If I didn’t get to perform it even, I’m OK. I’ve absorbed the biggest pains that people couldn’t go through, the loss of home, dearest of friends. And I’m OK.”

Still, he says the body blows of 2025 have changed his outlook a bit.

In “700 Sundays,” he describes conversations with God. Asked if he has been talking to God over these past couple of years,” he said, “No, ’cause I don’t trust Him. Too many bad things have happened. The Earth is in bad shape. This is a weird, scary time. So no, not anymore.”

“860” is a one-man show, but Crystal leaned on some Broadway heavyweights to bring it all to life: director Scott Ellis, and legendary composer Marc Shaiman, who remarked on Crystal’s ability to extract humor from dark memories. “He can’t help but find the humor,” Shaiman said. “That’s just who Billy is, and that’s why he is who he is.”

“But it is family,” added Ellis. “That’s the thing that is the core of it, is how do you move forward? You move forward with friends and you move forward with family. And that’s what you want and need, and he’s lucky to have it. Not a lot of people do.”

The show is in a limited run in New York just until January. After that, Crystal says he hopes to bring it to the city where it all happened, Los Angeles. 

The house might be gone, but the heart that built it is still there, strong as ever. “I’m 78 now,  and I feel really good,” he said, “and I’m optimistic for what life is going to bring. And if we’ve gotten through this in the way that we’ve gotten through it, we’re doing OK.”

WEB EXTRA: Watch an extended interview with Billy Crystal (Video)

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Story produced by John D’Amelio. Editor: Steven Tyler. 

For more info:

• “860” starring Billy Crystal, at the Imperial Theatre, New York City (through Jan. 3) | Ticket info