Finally, though, a decade after a Parkinson's disease diagnosis, the Big Yin is embracing his golden years... as it means he can grow old disgracefully.
"The upside is that people make excuses for you," he said.
"You can pee in the bed. You can leap on to the floor at a wedding and do all sorts of magic steps. To be shameful.
"Shamefully out of touch but not giving a f***. It's wonderful. I've spent a great deal of my life being a boy, being excited by things and it's done me good.
"I know lots of people who are dead and they don't know it. They haven't had a funeral. They're just dead. They've given up. They don't get excited by anything any more." The comedian, who has been married to comic-turned-psychologist Pamela Stephenson since 1989, is appearing in a new series of UKTV's Billy Connolly Does..., in which he reflects on 50 years of stand-up.
It's a bittersweet time in his life - his many demons have been fought, the brutal years of booze and cocaine addiction are now outweighed by the nearly four decades of sobriety.
And the early-stage prostate cancer that reared its ugly head in 2013 hasn't reappeared since treatment.
But the Parkinson's disease he was diagnosed with that same year, sadly, is slowly progressing and the father of five can no longer play his beloved banjo.
"I'm an old guy," he admits in the show.
"I don't mind it, actually. I have a lovely life. There are people that are a lot worse than me and I'm doing just dandy." A fter their move to Key West in Florida, Billy and Pamela stay in contact with US doctors who keep an eye on his condition.
The degenerative brain disease causes tremors and stiffness in the body and can affect memory and speech.
"I'm just grateful that only the left side shakes," says Glaswegian Billy.
This story is from the March 25, 2023 edition of Daily Record.
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This story is from the March 25, 2023 edition of Daily Record.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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