ENTERTAINMENTBilly Crystal Says He 'Couldn't Look' 'Saturday Night Live' Christopher Guest 'in the Face' Without Laughing: 'He's So Funny'
Billy Crystal revealed that Christopher Guest made him laugh very hard during their time on 'Saturday Night Live.'
Oct. 20 2026, Published 3:43 p.m. ET
Billy Crystal revealed that his former Saturday Night Live costar Christopher Guest was so funny that he often struggled to keep a straight face while performing alongside him.
"I couldn't look Chris Guest in the face," Crystal said on October 12. "I did more sketches with Chris than anybody else. And we had a great group, Marty Short, Chris Guest, [Julia Louis-Dreyfus], Rich Hall, but Chris and I... he's so funny."
Crystal Recalls Struggling Around Guest
Crystal and Christopher Guest frequently performed together during 'SNL' Season 10, including in the recurring 'Willie and Frankie.'
Among the pair's best-known collaborations was the recurring sketch Willie and Frankie, in which they portrayed two men who casually described increasingly painful experiences.
"We did these guys; they were masochists. They would hurt themselves, and we'd go, 'I hate when that happens,'" Crystal recalled. "Chris makes me laugh like crazy. There were so many times I couldn't even look at him. I would just look the other way when he had lines to do."
Guest Once Changed a Line During a Live 'SNL' Sketch
Crystal recalled losing his composure during a live 'SNL' sketch after Guest unexpectedly changed his dialogue.
Crystal also recalled a particularly memorable incident in which Guest unexpectedly altered his dialogue during a live performance of Willie and Frankie.
"He was supposed to say, 'So I went home, and I took off my clothes, and I bathed in a vat of gin, and I rolled back and forth on some push pins,' and I went, 'Oh.' And he goes, 'Yeah, I hate when I do that,'" Crystal explained.
"So now we're on the air, and he goes, 'So I stripped down to the n---,' and I went, 'Oh, you b------.' It's just a funny way of saying I got n-----... and I just couldn't control myself," he recalled.
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Billy Crystal Praises Martin Short
![image of Crystal also praised Martin Short's comedic talent, saying he 'is as funny as [it] gets.'](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/tIRzlFhpA/0x0/crystal-also-praised-martin-shorts-comedic-talent-1792517009912.jpg)
Crystal also praised Martin Short's comedic talent, saying he 'is as funny as [it] gets.'
Crystal also spoke highly of fellow SNL cast member Short and late friend Robin Williams.
"Marty [Short] is as funny as he gets," Crystal said.
He added, "I've been around amazing people, and we were blessed to be around one of the geniuses that I've ever been shoulder to shoulder with, and that was Robin [Williams]."
Billy Crystal's 'SNL' Career
Crystal was originally scheduled to perform on the first episode of 'Saturday Night Live' in 1975, but his segment was cut for time.
Even though Billy Crystal joined Saturday Night Live in 1984, he was originally supposed to perform during the 1975 premiere, but his segment was cut due to time.
He eventually made his way onto the show as a host during Season 9 in 1984, before returning to co-host that season's finale alongside Ed Koch, Edwin Newman and Betty Thomas.
