On Monday night, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts honored actor Billy Crystal (BFA '70) with the Steuben Big Apple award at its annual "The Face of Tisch" gala.
Taking the stage to receive the award, Crystal had one thing to confess:
"I was a lousy student," he said, addressing the audience. "I have so many overdue library books. If you knew, you wouldn't be giving me this award."
Yet despite his light-hearted banter, Crystal took a more serious tone.
"This has been an extraordinary evening," he said. "I had no idea what to expect — most moving and wonderful night."
Actors Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg, long-time friends of Crystal, had high praise for the eight-time Academy Award host and star of classic films such as "When Harry Met Sally" and "City Slickers."
"I want to say thank you so much to Billy Crystal; he's always been my friend," Williams said. "No, he isn't just a friend, he's my conscience. He's always the one telling me not to do the last two jokes."
"There is this one thing you have to know about Billy," Goldberg said. "You see, he's very easygoing, he laughs and jokes. But you don't want to piss him off. He turns into the Hulk."
NYU President John Sexton told WSN he is "an enormous fan of Billy."
"He is a great star in my and NYU's world," Sexton said. "It's great to have him here. He is one of Tisch's crown jewels."
But the evening wasn't all about Crystal. Lively musical and dance numbers kept the night moving, while stars and some of Tisch's most renowned alumni mingled.
Guests in attendance included musicians Tony Bennett and Paul Schaffer as well as actors Marcia Gay Harden and Jesse L. Martin.
The proceeds of the gala, over $1 million, will go partially to funding scholarships for Tisch students.
Besides the scholarship, Williams told WSN the thing he thinks would help Tisch students the most is to "brace yourself, and read a lot. Go to the library, read the new books and the old books, even though they smell bad."
