Palisades Fire Took Crystal's Home; Broadway Recounts Loss

Billy Crystal’s Pacific Palisades home burned in the fire that killed 12 people and destroyed nearly 7,000 structures. His Broadway show “860” now recounts the evacuation and what the family lost. The production opened Wednesday night at the Imperial Theatre. It runs 90 minutes without an intermission.

The Home and the Fire

Crystal and his family lived at 860 Chautauqua Blvd. for 46 years. The house held photographs, awards, baseball memorabilia and keepsakes from his entertainment career, along with memories of the life he built with his wife, Janice, and their two daughters.

The Los Angeles Times said Crystal’s account starts with Jan. 7, 2025, when a wildfire that began in the Santa Monica Mountains moved toward the house and evacuation orders came in. Crystal describes choosing what to take and driving with Janice toward their daughter’s home. He tells the drive like a baseball play-by-play.

The Chicago Tribune reported that the family’s home burned on Jan. 25, 2025, and that nobody in the family was hurt. The paper described the house as a 1930s ranch-style home with a Hollywood history. The base account gives no figures for the family’s financial loss, insurance coverage or assistance after the fire.

Crystal and Janice drove separate cars along a jam-packed Sunset Boulevard as smoke and embers spread. The New York Post said the show opens with their race to their daughter’s home, then moves into stories from Crystal’s career and friendships.

Scott Pask designed a set that resembles Crystal’s home office. Hana S. Kim and Kylee Loera created the video design. Photographs and memorabilia from the office lead into recollections of Crystal’s work as a comedian, actor, filmmaker and Oscar host.

A Life Recounted onstage

Crystal and Janice moved into the house in December 1979 with a 30-year mortgage. While filming the third season of “Soap,” created by Susan Harris, Crystal lived with his wife and daughters in an apartment in Hancock Park. They wanted cleaner air for their children, and someone told them about Pacific Palisades.

Crystal described the neighborhood as “a small town, good schools, beautiful afternoon breezes from the nearby ocean, one main street with some shops, a deli named Mort's that had lean corned beef and a lot of people who didn't put mayonnaise on pastrami.” Their real estate agent said the owners of 860 “were very motivated to sell because they were very motivated not to be together anymore.”

Two women who grew up in the house later welcomed the family. They said they were glad their former home was back in the hands of show people. The original owners were vaudevillians with a mind-reading act, interested in the occult and friendly with performers including Will Rogers, who regularly visited on horseback. Crystal found a hidden room behind a secret wall, with a corkboard and clippings.

The show also revisits Crystal’s career. He graduated from NYU in 1970 and took a film production class with a young Martin Scorsese, who critiqued his work. Jack Rollins managed Mike Nichols, Elaine May and Woody Allen. After seeing Crystal’s act, Rollins told him he had failed to “leave a tip,” meaning he should reveal something about himself in his jokes. Crystal later wrote material about being a stay-at-home father after a talent agent advised him to talk more about himself.

Grief, Family and the Production

The show links the loss of the house to grief for friends and memories of family life. Crystal recalls his friendship with Robin Williams and his relationship with Rob Reiner. Norman Lear cast Crystal as Reiner’s best friend on “All in the Family”; their work together included the fake-orgasm scene at Katz’s Delicatessen in “When Harry Met Sally.” The Los Angeles Times reported that Reiner and his wife, Michelle, were found stabbed to death at their Brentwood home at the end of 2025.

During Crystal and Janice’s 50th wedding anniversary, which fell during COVID, their children and grandchildren turned the backyard into a restaurant and played waiters. Crystal’s World Series rings survived the fire, as did a rock from his office engraved with “Laughter.” The Los Angeles Times also reported that a garden stone bearing that word was among the few items salvaged.

The New York Times called “860” a “warm and very funny memoir of a solo play” and said Crystal uses laughter to ease grief. The Chicago Tribune described a 90-minute performance drawing on disaster footage and career highlights. Its critic wished Crystal had spent longer on grief rather than devoting the middle to a career retrospective. The account contains no ticket prices, production costs or earnings figures. The Imperial Theatre seats 1,445, and director Scott Ellis’s production made it feel intimate, according to the New York Times.