Actor Bruce Willis had a long and wildly successful career, with plenty of iconic projects on his resume. In addition to movies like Die Hard, he also got a few TV projects under his belt like the series Moonlighting. But he retired due to a frontotemporal aphasia diagnosis, with generations of fans rallying around the 68 year-old icon. The creator of Moonlighting recently gave a health update about Willis, saying “He’s not totally verbal.” Let’s break down what he shared.
This latest bit of information comes to us from Glenn Gordon Caron, who created the show that Willis starred in for 5 seasons (and is now available to stream with a Hulu subscription). He spoke to Page Six about his experience visiting Willis, both earlier in his diagnosis and more recently. The two spoke about getting their show on streaming, as Caron shared:
The process [to get ‘Moonlighting’ onto Hulu] has taken quite a while and Bruce’s disease is a progressive disease, so I was able to communicate with him, before the disease rendered him as incommunicative as he is now, about hoping to get the show back in front of people.
There you have it. While Willis’ condition has seemingly gotten worse, it sounds like the Sixth Sense actor was thrilled about Moonlighting eventually ending up on streaming. And given how invested his generations of fans are with the aphasia diagnosis, smart money says plenty of fans will be discovering the show for the first time. They’re already re-watching Willis’ best movies.
Glenn Gordon Caron has seemingly been visiting Bruce Willis and his family fairly regularly throughout this difficult time. Later in that same conversation with Page Six, he spoke about what it’s been like seeing his friend and collaborator as the aphasia symptoms continue to take hold. As Caron put it,
My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am. He’s not totally verbal; he used to be a voracious reader — he didn’t want anyone to know that — and he’s not reading now. All those language skills are no longer available to him, and yet he’s still Bruce. When you’re with him you know that he’s Bruce and you’re grateful that he’s there, but the joie de vivre is gone.
Talk abot a sobering account. While it’s hopeful that he thinks Bruce Willis can reocgnize him, it’s hard to imagine the iconic actor without the spark that made him a star. But there is comfort that his family and wife Emma are caring for Willis, and making sure he’s as happy and comfortable as possible.
Bruce Willis’ family seems to be a united front on his care, with his daughters praising Emma Hemming Willis for advocating for him and others with aphasia. And while Willis had to retire as a result of his diagnosis, there are rumors that Quentin Tarantino wants him for a small role in his final film. Given how much the filmmaker loves cinema, this would presumably be a sendoff for the Pulp Fiction actor. We’ll have to see if that actually comes to fruition. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.