Billy Crystal After graduation from Long Beach High School in 1965, 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. Crystal never played baseball at Marshall because the program was suspended during his first year. He did not return to Marshall as a sophomore, instead deciding to stay in New York to be close to his future wife. He attended Nassau Community College with Janice and later transferred to New York University, where he was a film and television directing major. He graduated from NYU in
Billy Crystal 1970 with a BFA from its School of Fine Arts, not yet named for the Tisch family. One of his instructors was Martin Scorsese, while Oliver Stone and Christopher Guest were among his classmates. Crystal returned to New York City. For four years he was part of a comedy trio with two friends. They played colleges and coffee houses and Crystal worked as a substitute teacher on Long Island. He later became a solo act and performed regularly at "The Improv" and "Catch a Rising Star". In 1976, Crystal appeared on an episode of "All in the Family". He was