Billy Crystal describes pain of losing home in Palisades Fire at FireAid benefit concert: ‘Fell to my knees’
Billy Crystal, who lost his home in the Palisades Fire, shared a moving message at the LA FireAid Benefit Concert on Thursday night at the Kia Forum. (Getty Images)
Crystal explained that Steve Ballmer, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers and the Intuit Dome, would be matching everyone's donation, $1 for $1, on Thursday night. CALIFORNIA FIRES: ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM The first donation of the night was from U2 for $1 million, which Ballmer will be matching, Crystal said.
"With your help around the country and here in the room, we will laugh again. We are going to listen to music again, and we will be okay."
— Billy Crystal
"You'll be hearing from a number of people who were tragically affected by these fires, and I was one of them. These were the clothes I wore when I fled my house with my wife Janice, like so many of us did, on January 7th. This was all I had. Wore it for a week, plus an N-95 mask."
A view of Billy Crystal's home destroyed in the Palisades Fire. (Photo by MEGA/GC Images)
Billy Crystal lived in his Palisades home for 46 years. (Photo by MEGA/GC Images)
"I looked like an evacuee or someone that just robed a 7-11," Crystal joked. Crystal explained that 23 years ago, he took the stage at Madison Square Garden to hold a benefit following 9/11. He explained that he walked out to a grieving audience, holding up posters with pictures of their loved ones asking if anyone had seen them. WATCH: Grammys proceed in Los Angeles as California recovers from wildfires LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS "And tonight, here I am, talking to all of you in pain, but now I am also one of the hurting thousands, asking, ‘Have you seen my school? Have you seen my church? Have you seen my house? Have you seen my town? Have you seen the 29 people who lost their lives? Have you seen them?’" Crystal said.
Janice and Billy Crystal evacuated their home on Jan. 7. (Getty Images)
Crystal explained that following 9/11, he was honoring many first responders and firefighters who lost their lives. "Tonight, we're here together to thank them and all those who run towards danger while we run to shelter and safety," Crystal said. BILLY CRYSTAL POSTS ‘WHEN HARRY MET SALLY’ THROWBACK TO CELEBRATE 75TH BIRTHDAY He paused to applaud the first responders, with some attending the benefit concert on Thursday night. WATCH: Inuit Dome owner details how the FireAid benefit concert came to be "When we were finally able to get back to our house in the Palisades, which I lived in for 46 years, like thousands of you, our house now looked like this," Crystal said, before a photo of the aftermath of the Palisades Fire appeared on the screen.
Firefighters watch a helicopter drop water on the Palisades Fire on Jan. 11. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Firefighters work from a deck as the Palisades Fire burns a beachfront property in Malibu, California. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
"I stepped onto the grounds and fell to my knees and I wailed. I had not cried like that since I was 15 years old, and I was told that my father had just died. I remember looking in the mirror back then with my whole life ahead of me thinking, ‘What’s my life gonna be like without him?'" CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER "And now folks, I'm 76-years-old, without a mirror and a lot less life to ponder thinking, ‘What is my life going to be like without our home?’" Crystal asked.
"I stepped onto the grounds and fell to my knees and I wailed. I had not cried like that since I was 15 years old, and I was told that my father had just died."
— Billy Crystal
Crystal explained that while visiting the grounds of what used to be his home for 46 years, his daughters ran over with a rock that had "laughter" engraved on it.
Billy Crystal said "we will laugh again" following the LA Fires. (Bruce Glikas)
"Even in your worst pain folks, it's okay, and it's important to laugh," he said. "When I held that rock in my hands, this was the only thing that was left, I thought it was a message from 15-year-old me, saying ‘It’s gonna be okay, and it will be okay.' " CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"With your help around the country and here in the room, we will laugh again. We are going to listen to music again, and we will be okay," Crystal said.
Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to janelle.ash@fox.com.
Comments
Post a Comment