Even in the face of adversity, Sir Billy Connolly is still a barrel of laughs.
The comedy king might have been battling Parkinson’s disease for the last decade, but he still hasn’t lost his sense of humour as he refuses to let his condition ‘dictate who he is’.
He still reckons that laughter is the best medicine in life, seeing him joke that his countless appearances on the late Michael Parkinson’s chat shows over the years might have contributed to his health struggles.
Speaking of what was running through his mind when medics informed him that he had the progressive disorder, Connolly joked: “I just thought, ‘I have got Parkinson’s. I wish he [Michael] had kept it to himself!'”
The funnyman explained he has found it ‘easy’ to poke fun at himself since he received the devastating news in 2013 – as the way it all went down sounds like something straight out of a comedy sketch.
The 81-year-old explained it was quite the ‘funny week’, which began with him tending to minor ailments before it ended up snowballing drastically.
Speaking recently to the Mirror, Connolly explained: “On the Monday, I had hearing aids. On the Tuesday I got pills for heart burn, which I have to take all the time, and on the Wednesday I got news that I had prostate cancer and Parkinson’s.
“The doctors told me on the phone, ‘Look we have had the results and it is cancer’.
“I said ‘Oh, nobody has ever said that to be me before’.”
So yeah, a bad week would be a generous way to describe what he went through in 2013.
The Scotsman explained that his wife of 35 years, Pamela Stephenson, was standing behind him at the time and immediately ‘gave him a cuddle’.
Sir Billy Connolly said his wife Pamela has been by his side since his diagnosis in 2013 (Luiz Rampelotto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“I was not unduly worried,” Connolly added.
He went on to get the all clear following his cancer diagnosis, however, his Parkinson’s continued to progress.
Connolly, from Glasgow, previously told how the brain disorder – which can cause unintended or uncontrollable movements, including shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance and coordination – was taking it’s toll on him.
In November last year, he revealed that ‘it gets stranger and more different’ with each passing day, but said he has been able to find some solace from his struggles in drawing, painting and sculpturing.
Discussing what keeps him going and how he has adapted his mindset since, Sir Billy said: “You just confront it and make decisions based on it.
“You just have to think, ‘Don’t think you are being badly treated [in life] or you have the bad pick of the straws. You are one of millions’. Just behave yourself and relax.”
The comedian, 81, also opened up about his thoughts on death (Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)
And seen as though this is a bloke who’s already weighed up what amusing message he is having on his headstone, Connolly has obviously thought about his mortality a lot.
But he’s made peace with whatever is waiting on the other side in the last few years.
“You then realise it [death] is not the big thing everyone has made it out to be,” the Indecent Proposal actor continued.
“It is nothing. It is just a sudden nothing.”
Next Monday, the comedian will open up about his life in the new BBC series, In My Own Words.
Connolly will be the first celebrity guest to star in the new show and is set to discuss his ‘hellish’ childhood, his rise to fame and his friendship with the late and great Robin Williams.
He will also touch on his battle with boozing and his regrets about parenthood in the programme which airs on 2 September at 10.40pm on BBC One.
Featured Image Credit: Mike Marsland/WireImage/Tristan Fewings/Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Celebrity News, News, Health, Mental Health
