Billy Connolly, 77, confirms he is ‘finished with stand-up’ due to his battle with Parkinson’s but insists he won’t let the disease ‘define’ him
- The comedian, 77, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2013
- Billy told Sky News he is ‘finished with stand-up’ due to his symptoms worsening
- The Scottish star gave an update on his battle with the degenerative disease on Thursday
- Billy said he had ‘started drooling’, his walking is impaired and he has difficulty hearing
- The actor said he doesn’t want the disease to define him
- Billy is now enjoying a career as an artist
Billy Connolly has confirmed his retirement from stand-up comedy.
The Scottish comedian, 77, has said he is ‘finished’ with stand-up due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Billy revealed in 2013 he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and while he said last year he ‘may perform at some other point’, he has now insisted his days on stage are over.
Retirement: Billy Connolly has confirmed he is ‘finished’ with stand-up
Parkinson’s disease is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years.
Billy told Sky News: ‘I’m finished with stand-up – it was lovely and it was lovely being good at it. It was the first thing I was ever good at.’
Billy is invited to numerous engagements with other Parkinson’s sufferers, but admitted he turns a lot down because he doesn’t think it would be ‘particularly good’ to let the disease ‘define’ him.
End of an era: The Scottish comedian, 77, has said he is ‘finished’ with stand-up due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease
He said: ‘I’m always being asked to go to Parkinson’s things and spend time with Parkinson’s people, having lunch or something like that. And I don’t approve of it.
‘I don’t think you should let Parkinson’s define you and all your pals be Parkinson’s people.
‘I don’t think it’s particularly good for you. So I don’t do it.’
The actor
The Mrs Brown star gets ‘upset’ over his diagnosis, and admitted it means he walks ‘like a drunk man’ at times, and it can limit him from doing certain things, such as putting change back in his wallet.
He added to Sky News: ‘Certain things go wrong, your brain goes adrift and affects your body, and so you walk differently, you walk like a drunk man sometimes. And you’re frightened you’ll be judged on it. And you shake sometimes.’
Last year, Billy admitted his ‘hearing [was] going’ and he can no longer think ‘at speed’.
He said: ‘I may perform at some other point but I have no plans to. And I’m quite happy taking my medicine and getting along with it.
‘I’ve started to drool which is a new one on me. This disease, it gives you a new thing every now and again that you have to deal with and drooling is my latest.
‘I walk unsteadily and my hearing is going and it’s bizarre that bits of me are falling off but it’s interesting.’