700 Sundays

by Billy Crystal

Paperback, 2006

Status

Available

Call number

B CRY

Collection

Publication

Grand Central Publishing (2006), Edition: First Printing, Paperback, 192 pages

Description

One of America's most beloved entertainers takes us home. Billy Crystal opens the front door to a time in his life when he shared joy, love, music, and laughter with an eccentric family headed by the hardworking father who left them all too soon. From the story of the Crystal family's proud connection to the New York jazz scene of the 40s and 50s, to the hilarious living room performances that would sow the seeds of Billy's career, to the times of tragedy, heartbreak, and his mother's unending courage, this book celebrates the memories, the love, and all the other wonderful gifts parents can give a child. This is a tribute to a family and the people who helped make him a man.--From publisher description.

Barcode

2936

Language

User reviews

LibraryThing member clamairy
I enjoyed this, and not just because I love Billy Crystal, or even because I also hail from the Isle of Long. It's just a wonderful tale of growing up in the 50s and 60s, and of the importance of family. I just wish it had been longer!
LibraryThing member nesum
While Crystal's life has certainly been interesting, and his family likewise so, I just wasn't drawn in as much as I wanted to be. At times he was trying too hard for a laugh or for an emotion I think. Other times the book really worked. This one may still be worth the read for those parts, but I
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doubt it's going to be one I reread.
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LibraryThing member MikeD
Mah velous! Story of a wonderful average family in a funny, sometimes hilarious, and sensitive way!
LibraryThing member BoundTogetherForGood
Mahvelous Dahling! This was truly a great book. I feel as if I understand Billy Crystal now. I would highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member ennie
This memoir of the comic's childhood in Long Beach, LI with a father who died young was sharp, funny and poignant. I've always liked Billy Crystal, and this book did not change my opinion.
LibraryThing member TimBazzett
This is a little book that packs an enormous punch and will make you laugh until you cry. And then it will just make you cry. Crystal lost his father at fifteen, but Jack Crystal was his first fan, and an enormously important influence. Crystal's descriptions of his grandparents, aunts, uncles and
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other relatives are just perfect. When he described his grandfather's deafness and chronic flatulence I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. When he tells of his father's sudden death of a heart attack the night after he and Billy had had a rare argument, I nearly wept for the young boy that Crystal was at the time. This is writing of the most honest and heartfelt kind. It only took me a few hours to read this book. I absolutely loved it.
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LibraryThing member texicanwife
This is a wonderful tale from comedian Billy Crystal of his own growing up years of the '50's and '60's. Losing his father at the early age of 15, Billy paints a picture of the saddened, boulder-burdened young man that he was. He tells of the loving, and always humourous, family that supported his
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desire to be whatever he wanted to be. Of his mother's sacrifice to keep the family together after the death of her husband. There's a brief glimpse of the celebrities that Billy grew up around, names that you will recognize and admire. Then there's the blow when his mother's time to depart came. And he was once more forced to bear the boulder's weight.

You'll laugh until cry. And then you'll laugh and cry, yet again.

I've always admired Billy Crystal's comedic talent, but his ability to pull a punch line on paper is no less laughable and funny-bone-tickling! You can almost hear his unique voice with the Long Island accent pullng those punch lines! He's a rare talent indeed. Like some of the other reviewer's, the one fault I found in the book, ... it just wasn't long enough! I wanted to read more!
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LibraryThing member jerilynn
Billy Crystal's youth reads like a movie unto itself - there is so much that shapes his current talent and my little review hardly taps the surface of the brilliance of a life Mr. Crystal has lived. His experience literally growing up among jazz greats playing in his living room, of his moments
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with his father, mother, and siblings - of his love for his wife - so much to tell - so I'll let Billy do the talking. Get 700 Sundays - no ifs, ands, or buts....
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LibraryThing member mydomino1978
Billy Crystal is as amusing an author as he is on stage. This isn't not some Mommy Dearest, but a memorial to a large, loving, loud family. He focuses on what a great childhood he had and I laughed out loud and kept trying to read excerpts out loud to my family. Billy's father died when he was
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still in high school and it changed the family dramatically. I hope the book was cathartic, because he is obviously still enraged with God for taking his father. You might shed a tear or two when you read this, but you WILL laugh out loud.
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LibraryThing member steveprobst
Read and enjoyed this book during two connecting flights. Tip: Do not finish on crowded airplane unless you like crying in public or are really good at holding it in. :)
LibraryThing member burnit99
A touching, funny and well-written memoir by Billy Crystal about his family and his adored father, who died suddenly when Billy was 15. This is not primarily about Billy, but it does describe the beginnings of his comedy routines with his family living room performances. His father also was
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instrumental in the 1940's and 1950's New York jazz scene. The book continues after his father's death, up to 2001 when his mother had a major stroke just after 9/11. A good and poignant book.
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LibraryThing member bookswoman
This is a heart-warming and touching story. Billy Crystal tells the story of his life from birth until the death of both his parents, but really talks very little about himself and his amazing career. This book is about family and love and how those can influence and uplift as well as create sorrow
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and loss when the family is shattered by death. I laughed and I cried during this one. It is relatively short and yet it packs a powerful punch.

Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member BookConcierge
From the book jacket - One of America’s most beloved entertainers takes us home. Billy Crystal opens the front door to a time in his life when he shared joy, love, music, and laughter with an eccentric family headed by the hardworking father who left them all too soon. To support his family,
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Billy’s father, Jack, worked two jobs and long hours and could spare only Sundays to spend with his loved ones.

My reactions
This just proves that people’s ordinary, every-day lives can be far more interesting and entertaining than any fiction. Well, maybe not so “ordinary.” Crystal grew up in a large extended family that ran a family business – which happened to be Commodore Records. The jazz greats we know through their music were first friends and colleagues of Billy’s father, uncles and grandfather. We’re talking Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Rosemary Clooney – they and many others recorded for Commodore Records or participated in jam sessions put together by Billy’s father and uncles.

But on Sundays? Sundays they played ball, or went to watch the Yankees. His father dropped dead of a massive heart attack when Billy was just fifteen. He calculated that they had had only 700 Sundays together. These precious Sundays, and the following years witnessing his mother’s hard work to provide for her sons are the framework for this memoir.

Based on the Tony Award winning play by the same title, is not about Crystal’s career as an entertainer, but about the family that nurtured the boy. I wish I could have had an audio version of this, or watched a DVD of the Broadway show, because as I read I couldn’t help but feel that the material is best performed. Some of the obvious humor sections fell flat on the page (I certainly cannot replicate the comic’s timing on my own).
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LibraryThing member UberButter
700 Sundays by Billy Crystal
182 pages

★★★★

I assume everyone knows who the actor, Billy Crystal, is and if you don’t we need to have talk. This book does not deal with his incredible career but his childhood and his time with his family and more particularly his father. He would get to
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spend approximately 700 Sundays with his Dad before he would die when Billy Crystal was only 15 years old. This is adapted from his stage show by the same name.

My first observation was in some of the reviews before I even read the book - people giving it poor rating because it doesn’t deal with his success and career. Well guess what? The synopsis is no secret so don’t blame an author if you don’t know how to read a description of a book.

I really enjoyed this book. Billy Crystal is an incredibly funny guy in my opinion and that shines through in this book. But what also shows through is raw emotion and charm. In some parts of the book I found myself laughing and in others I felt my heart sink, I almost wanted to cry. He talks so lovingly about his family – his brothers, his uncles, his parents, etc. I kept going back and forth between a 3 and 4 star rating. I felt like he sometimes forced humor in where it didn’t need to be as if he was trying to soften to sad situations. However, his last chapter and epilogue were so heartwarming that I bumped this one up to a 4 star. It’s a quick one to read, it only took me a day in between errands and a busy schedule to finish this 182 page book. Worth a read if you are a fan of Billy Crystal or if you’ve ever lost a parent, you may just relate to him.
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LibraryThing member cubsfan3410
This is a touching and funny memoir.
LibraryThing member CurioCollective
First word that comes to mind is engaging. I'm about 15 pages in, and subsequently digging it very much. Billy's written voice is very similar to his spoken in that you can easily hear him speak the words in his trademark friendly conversational tone. Funny stuff too so far-

ISBN

0446698512 / 9780446698511

Other editions

700 Sundays by Billy Crystal (Paperback)
700 Sundays by Billy Crystal (Hardcover)
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