Crystal was born in Long Beach, New York, the son of Helen (née Gabler), a housewife, and Jack Crystal, a record company executive and producer of jazz records who owned and operated the Commodore Record store. His uncle was musician and songwriter Milt Gabler and his brother, Richard Crystal, is a television producer.

Crystal grew up in a Jewish family that he has described as "large" and "loving". After graduation from Long Beach High School, Crystal attended Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, on a baseball scholarship, having learned the game from his father, who pitched for St. John's University. Crystal though never played a game at Marshall because the program was suspended during his freshman year and he didn't return as a sophomore, staying back in New York with his future wife. After, he attended New York University and Nassau Community College.

Crystal is an avid New York Yankees fan and has been so since the 1950s. That admiration contributed to the film 61* which Crystal
directed.

Crystal has been married to Janice Goldfinger, whom he met when he was 18 and she 17, since 1970. They have two daughters, actresses Jennifer and Lindsay, and are now grandparents.

(source: wikipedia)