Billy Crystal pens book about getting older

Turning 65 next year doesn't only mean more nap time for Billy Crystal. The actor and comedian is transforming the milestone into a book, and maybe even a stage show.

Crystal has a deal with Henry Holt and Company for a book that will be part memoir, part meditation -- with jokes -- about getting older, The Associated Press reports. Financial terms were not disclosed, but an official with knowledge of the negotiations said the deal was worth about $4 million. The official was not authorized to discuss terms and spoke on condition of anonymity.

During a recent telephone interview with The Associated Press, Crystal said that he hoped to have it out around the time the big day arrives, March 14, 2013.

"There are 77 million of us baby boomers in the country and this book will speak to them and how we look at the world," he said.

The book is currently untitled: "We have a dirty title, and a sincere title," he explained.

Crystal said he expects to work on it throughout the summer and have the manuscript done by the beginning of November. He's considering adapting the book for the stage.

Crystal had enormous success with the Tony Award-winning "700 Sundays," his one-man theater show that paid tribute to his late father with whom Crystal has said he spent 700 Sundays. Crystal has written several books, including children's stories and an adaptation of "700 Sundays."

He has made a career out of turning his life into comedy. "City Slickers" was a story of midlife crisis, and an upcoming film, "Parental Guidance," stars Crystal and Bette Midler as grandparents, based on Crystal's experiences with his own grandchildren.

The new book will be around 300-350 pages ("the print will be 4 inches high") and will be edited by Gillian Blake, who worked on Rob Lowe's bestselling "Stories I Only Tell My Friends."

Crystal said he was breaking down his life into decades: "My 20s and 30s and 40s and 50s."

He stopped and laughed. "That's a lot of decades."`