Billy Crystal to Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor at Critics Choice Awards

Crystal will take the award at the 27th annual ceremony in March

billy crystal mr. saturday night
Photo: Steve Schofield

Actor, comedian and frequent Academy Awards host Billy Crystal will be honored with the Critics Choice Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, the Critics Choice Association announced on Tuesday.

The Tony and Emmy Award-winning Crystal will receive the award at the Critics Choice Awards gala which will be broadcast live on The CW and TBS on Sunday March 13, hosted by Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer.

CCA has awarded only six stars with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Recipients include Lauren Bacall, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Eddie Murphy and Robert Wise. As previously announced, Halle Berry will receive the sixth annual SeeHer Award during the event.

Billy Crystal’s lengthy credits include the movies”When Harry Met Sally…,” “City Slickers,” and “Analyze this.” He was also a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” and hosted the Academy Awards nine times. Crystal is soon to return to Broadway in his first musical comedy “Mr. Saturday Night.” The show was written by Crystal, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel and tells the story of an outrageous comedian trying to return to the spotlight some 40 years after his career faded. The musical is slated to open on Broadway on April 27.

Crystal made his Broadway debut in 2004 with the original production of his one-man show “700 Sundays,” for which he netted a Tony Award.

Crystal’s first major television role came in 1977 on the comedy series “Soap” playing Jodie Dallas, one of TV’s first openly gay characters. In 1984 he hosted SNL and later joined the regular cast. His best-known SNL character was talk-show host Fernando, known for his tagline “You look mahvelous!”

In 2015, Crystal returned to series television opposite Josh Gad in the FX series “The Comedians.”

The Critics Choice Awards are given annual to celebrate cinematic and television achievement. The 27th annual Critics Choice Awards will be produced by Bob Bain Productions and Berlin Entertainment. the CCA is represented by Dan Black of Greenberg Truarig.

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