BILLY CONNOLLY SHARES CANDID HEALTH UPDATE IN RARE PUBLIC OUTING AT GLAM FILM FESTIVAL

Sir Billy Connolly was supported by a walking stick as he made a rare public outing at the Florida Film Festival, where he was honoured with an award for artistic excellence. The Scottish comic, 82, opened up about his health struggles in an emotional speech.

The Last Samurai star, who has remained out of the public eye since he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, left his Florida home to attend the Key West Film Festival. The dad-of-five was celebrated as the guest of honour at the star-studded event, where he received the coveted award from his longtime friends Steve Buscemi and Aidan Quinn. Dressed in a pair of blue tailored jeans, which he paired with a black blazer and a matching black shirt, he joined Buscemi on stage, where he opened up about his "horrible illness".

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He told the audience: "I walk with a stick because I suffer from a horrible illness. It's a joy to live among you, and it's a joy to be among you tonight. I don't often do this kind of thing, but it's smashing.

"I have to thank you for this award. I don't know what it is, it's a blue thing. It's a joy, and it will go beside my other prizes." Buscemi also discussed his strong friendship with Billy, after the pair met on the set of the 1998 film, The Impostors.

He fondly recalled being invited to the Brave star's Scottish "castle", which he shares with his wife, Pamela Stevenson. The actor gushed: "One day on set, Billy offhandedly mentioned, 'You know if you're ever in Scotland, Pamela and I have a castle, you should drop by'.

"We always had the best time. It's wonderful to be here to honour our friend Billy Connolly." Billy ultimately sold the castle in Aberdeenshire in 2014, with the happy couple now living in the heart of Florida.

Doctors encouraged him to make the move across the pond after studies showed that living in a warmer climate could improve his Parkinson's condition. Parkinson's disease is a progressive, incurable neurological disorder that affects the nervous system.

Patients often suffer from symptoms such as tremors, slow movements, and muscle stiffness. It comes after Billy candidly shared his thoughts on battling the illness last year.

He previously said: "You just confront it and make decisions based on it. You just have to think, 'Don't think you are being badly treated [by life] or you have the bad pick of the straws. You are one of millions. Just behave yourself and relax."

But Buscemi wasn't the only star who spoke proudly about his friendship with Billy, as Irish actor Aidan Quinn took to the stage to share a few words on their friendship.

The actor said that the only thing that brought his brother Paul joy during his lengthy cancer battle was watching' Billy's stand-up sets on YouTube. He added that he would be "forever grateful" that Billy had been a part of those moments before Paul sadly passed away.

2025-11-16T15:34:39Z