Billy Crystalthe iconic actor and comedian known for ‘When Harry Met Sally’ and host of the Academy Awards, has no shortage of Hollywood stories. But few are as memorable as his encounters with the late comedy legend Milton Berle. Crystal recently shared two separate occasions where Berle slapped her, and in some ways, both stories are completely healthy.Crystal, 78, appeared on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ on April 15, joking that she “might be the last one to know Milton Berle’s stories” before launching into her memoir.
The first meeting of Billy Crystal and Milton Berle — on live tv
Crystal recalled finding him on a panel with Berle and Carl Reiner on what would be the final episode of ‘Tonight Starring Steve Allen’. “I sat between the two, the two bookends, the giants of the television,” he told Colbert. “He was a man who sold more TVs. Milton was Mr. TV for a reason. He helped kill the movie business in the beginning because people stayed home and watched this amazing new thing called TV.“About 20 minutes into the recording, the crew informed the trio that the cameras weren’t recording anything, meaning they didn’t have a chance to start over. Berl seized the moment. “Milton Berle turns to me and says, ‘Looks like I’m on,'” Crystal recounted. “Then he asks for a microphone and goes out in front of the audience and spends a lot of time, and it’s funny, but weird.”Crystal continued, “He’s doing that, he’s walking on his ankles, he’s doing everything. And he finishes, he comes back, we give him a standing ovation, and he looks at me, and he slaps me.” Crystal clarified that the accidental slap was just for laughs, adding that Berle had invited her over to her house to “smoke some dope” and do an impression of Jerry Lewis directing a movie.
Billy Crystal and Milton Berle’s second meeting — at Spagon in Los Angeles
The couple ran into each other again a few weeks later, when Crystal was having dinner with comedian Alan King at Spago restaurant in Los Angeles. Crystal explained that Berle kept raising his head behind her to make absurd noises, unknown to King, who was standing in front of Crystal. “Then there was the cigar under my upper lip. This went on forever and ever, and I’m dying,” she said.Finally, Berle walked over to Crystal’s desk and did his Jerry Lewis impression. “Now, listen, your wife left you, you’re lonely, you’ve had too much to drink. Life has no meaning,” Crystal recalled Berle saying, going into an exaggerated impression of the late comedian. “You’re alone in a hotel, aren’t you? You need to go inside yourself, Bill. Think of any loss, any pain in your life. You have to call him and say, ‘This is really wonderful.'” And then, just like before, Berl slapped him again. “He threw me to the floor,” Crystal recalled.For Crystal, both encounters with Berle ended the same way, with a slap in the face and a story she has clearly never forgotten.
