...and the worst part about giving up comedy

Billy Connolly has had a ‘couple of serious falls’ because of his Parkinson's, his wife Pamela Stephenson  has said.

She said losing his sense of balance issue was the most significant symptom of Parkinson’s to hit the 80-year-old .

The comic agreed: ‘Recently I've noticed a deterioration in my balance. That was never such a problem before, but in the last year that has come and it has stayed.

‘For some reason, I thought it would go away because a lot of the symptoms have come and gone away.’

In a joint interview with The Guardian, Sir Billy recalled: ‘It's funny, that fall I had when I landed on my jaw reminded me of a thing I used to do on stage. I used to say: "I fell out of bed, but luckily my face broke my fall…’"

‘It’s just added to the list of things that hold me back. I feel like I want to go for a walk, but I go for 50 yards and I want to go home, because I’m tired. I’m being encroached upon by this disease. It’s creeping up behind me and stopping me doing things. It’s a cruel disease.’

When Stephenson said ‘it’s been pretty slow-moving’, the comic agreed, but added: ‘That doesn’t make it any more pleasant.’ 

Connolly was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a decade ago, forcing him to quit stand-up.

He said the thing he missed most about live performance was  ‘the fact that it doesn’t matter what kind of day you’re having; you’re gonna have a great night.’

The couple now live in the Florida Keys, and Connolly was asked his opinion of state governor Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump’s main Republican party challenger.

‘He should be fucked and burned,’ Connolly said. 

Published: 1 Oct 2023