Danny Glover revealed he has dementia(Image: VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)
Prolific actor Danny Glover shocked fans by revealing that he has been living with Alzheimer's disease for a few years. The 79-year-old and his family spoke with former NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, giving fans a glimpse into how life has changed for the Emmy-winner.
“I’m sure as it advances, things are going to be different and changing,” Danny said. However, he feels grateful for his family, who he touts as his support system. “Absolutely,” he added. “They’ve got my back.”
Since his diagnosis, his movements and speech have been affected, along with his memory lagging. However, he says he's learning to continue his everyday life with the disorder. “I could live with it, in a sense,” Danny said in the interview. This comes after it was revealed that actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
The actor has a robust career with over 170 acting credits across film and television. However, in this chapter of his life, he hopes to shatter the stigma surrounding Alzheimer's by coming forward with his diagnosis.
“I think it’s really important for him to have control of his own narrative, of his own life story,” Mandisa, Danny Glover's daughter, said. “That’s really important. And the time is now. What better time but now for him to speak for himself?"
The actor has a robust career with over 170 acting credits across film and television
“It’s important because people ask questions sometimes, and I don’t want to be a dishonest person and say, ‘Oh, yeah, everything is all right. It’s all great,’” she added.
Danny Glover rose to fame in the 1980s and ‘90s as Det. Roger Murtaugh, alongside Mel Gibson’s Martin Riggs, in the “Lethal Weapon” films. An iconic scene in "Lethal Weapon 2" includes him being rescued after sitting on a toilet in his home that is strapped with a bomb.
The scene stood out to fans to the extent that they were bringing toilets to his public appearances. “It’s events where somebody would bring their toilet up, and I would sign it,” Glover said.
However, he considers “Places in the Heart” in 1984 as the film closest to his heart, due to a personal connection.
“It’s for my mother,” he said. “My mother, on the same day that I was told I was going to play the role, she had an automobile accident.”
“The one thing about my parents was their activism,” Glover added. “A sense of being and belonging and making the contribution. When I saw the Montgomery bus boycott (in 1955-56), I knew I wanted to be like those people. I wanted to be in that moment and part of the role.”
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