Billy Crystal has revealed that Chris Guest was the Saturday Night Live co-star who made it hardest for him to keep a straight face.
The 78-year-old actor shared the story during a PaleyFest 2026 conversation with Whoopi Goldberg on Oct. 12 in New York City, held to celebrate his new Broadway show, 860.
Asked by Goldberg which castmate made him laugh the most, Crystal immediately named Guest, who joined the sketch comedy series alongside him in 1984.
“I couldn’t look Chris Guest in the face. I did more sketches with Chris than anybody else,” Crystal said, also praising fellow cast members Martin Short, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Rich Hall.
Crystal recalled their recurring Willie and Frankie sketch, in which the two played masochists who hurt themselves before delivering the catchphrase, “I hate when that happens.”
“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,” he said.
One performance proved particularly difficult after Guest changed a line about stripping naked and bathing in gin before rolling on push pins.
Instead of delivering the expected wording, Guest improvised: “So I stripped down to the nude.”
Crystal responded, “Oh, you bastard,” before admitting he could not control his laughter.
Despite the moments that threatened to derail their sketches, Crystal had nothing but admiration for his former co-star, describing Guest as “brilliant”.