In 1997, Robin Williams, the beloved actor and comedian, appeared as a guest star in an episode of Friends. In the season 3 episode “The One With The Ultimate Fighting Champion,” Williams portrayed Tomas, and given how famous of an actor Williams was at the time, participating in the comedy series was a big deal.

Billy Crystal and Robin Williams made an appearance at Central Perk in season three. Their appearances weren’t originally planned, but they were in the same building across the street from where Friends was being shot, so the writers invited them to film a scene.

They agreed, and the two were thrust into the first scene right away. It’s unusual to get a job and shoot a scene on the same day, but Williams and Crystal were up for the challenge. They made up the story about Tomas and his wife entirely on the spot. Matt LeBlanc improvised his interruption of the men’s private talk, and Courtney Cox added the line about forgetting her original story herself, so the improv must have rubbed off on the group.

Billy Crystal Calls Modern Comedy a ‘Minefield.’

May 6, 2021

“I just keep doing what I’m doing and that’s all you can do right now,” says “Here Today” star Billy Crystal of working in comedy in 2021.
Contour by Getty Images

The present state of comedy and cancel culture doesn’t seem to impress Billy Crystal.

He said that comedy is “becoming a minefield” and that he doesn’t enjoy it when promoting his new film Here Today.

In the new comedy-drama, which was released in the United States on Friday, the actor and comedian co-stars alongside Tiffany Haddish.

“It’s becoming a minefield, and I get it,” he remarked in a New York Post article on Thursday. “I don’t like it. I understand it.”

“I just keep doing what I’m doing and that’s all you can do right now,” he added. “It’s a totally different world [now] and it doesn’t mean you have to like it.” Crystal’s remarks appeared to be in response to the so-called “cancel culture,” in which popular personalities are publicly condemned for perceived or real offenses.

The “City Slickers” star drew a lot of attention on Twitter, but not in the way Meg Ryan did in “When Harry Met Sally.” For the 73-year-old Yankees fan, it was more like a Bronx cheer.

One user remarked, “It’s amazing how many euphemisms and analogies are offered up for ‘we’re annoyed that white dudes can’t say whatever they want anymore.”

In “Here Today,” Crystal tackles on the subject of changing comedic preferences. The film, which is his first in two decades, features Charlie Burnz (Crystal), a seasoned comedy scribe who is suffering from dementia. He meets Emma Payge (Tiffany Haddish), a singer, and the two begin an improbable but endearing bond.

The 73-year-old Long Island native, who also co-wrote the script with Alan Zweibel, claims he received the idea for the film while caring for a cousin who was suffering from dementia.

“She described to me, so painfully, ‘I’m losing my words,’ and she was scared,” he said.

“Here Today,” which Crystal co-wrote, directed, and acts in, was described by TheWrap critic Alonso Duralde as “a tale of a legendary comedy writer facing the grim realities of oncoming dementia.” Tiffany Haddish co-stars as “a magical caregiver,” according to Duralde.

Despite the fact that the film deals with a serious subject, Crystal emphasizes that aging and Alzheimer’s disease are not the central themes. Instead, he wants people to focus on his character’s lovely bond with Haddish, which he believes is much needed today.

“That’s something that we really need more of, the country, and that is empathy and that’s what I think is the beautiful part of this friendship,” he said. “She gives up a chance for her career to move forward to take care of him. And I think that’s a beautiful thing.”