I never thought I’d say a 67-year-old man is “young” but from where I stand, yes, a 67-year-old diagnosed with a cognitive disorder which forces him to leave his profession is a bit young in my book. Bruce Willis’ ex-wife, Demi Moore, announced on Instagram that Willis has been diagnosed with aphasia and will be leaving the acting profession. New York Times:
On Wednesday, Demi Moore announced on Instagram that her ex-husband Bruce Willis, the prolific action-movie star, had recently been diagnosed with aphasia — a disorder that affects the brain’s language center and a person’s ability to understand or express speech — and that he would be stepping away from acting.
“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” Moore’s post reads. “As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”
“We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him,” it continued. “As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up,’ and together we plan to do just that.”
The post is signed “Emma, Demi, Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel & Evelyn” — referring to Emma Heming Willis, Willis’s wife, and his children. Moore is the mother of Rumer, Scout and Tallulah, and Heming Willis is mother to Mabel and Evelyn.
I was cursing both my arthritis and my not so great vision this morning, when out running an errand, because my old horseback riding knee injury was acting up, plus I couldn’t see the damn street sign to make a turn. Such are the inconveniences of getting up in our sixties. But mentally, at least, I’ve still got it cooking and I hope and pray that will continue to be the case.
Best of luck to Bruce Willis. He’s reportedly got ten pictures in post-production so it’s not like he’s leaving the silver screen any time soon. He leaves behind an impresive body of work.
This one just makes me sad as hell. Willis is the textbook definition of “problematic” (especially in more recent years but that part may have been due to the aphasia’s progress) but you’d think he still had at least one memorable performance to give before…this. People will talk about in the usual stuff: Die Hard, The Sixth Sense. But I’ll remember him for “Shatterday” (first third of the 1980s Twilight Zone pilot), Mercury Rising and Unbreakable (THE best M. Night Shyamalan film ever made). May his last years be happy ones.
Bruce Willis is so fortunate to have the support and obvious love of ex-wives and partners as shown here. I’d call that signs of a life well lived.
Vale Bruce.