Sir Billy Connolly has revealed he has learned to ‘hypnotise’ his hand into becoming still when he begins shaking due to his Parkinson’s disease.
The 79 year-old veteran comedian known as The Big Yin was diagnosed in 2013, and he retired from comedy five years later. He has always been transparent about the challenges he is facing.
He explained to The Radio Times that his disease is progressing and he cannot write letters anymore. However, he boasted that he uses hypnosis to manage his hands.
New skills: Sir Billy Connolly has revealed he has learned to ‘hypnotise’ his hand into becoming still when he begins shaking due to his Parkinson’s disease (pictured 2018)
Billy told the publication: ‘I’ve learnt to hypnotise my hand. I stare at the thing and it just kind of quivers. It stops after a while. It’s quite a good trick. We love it.’
Reflecting on his condition, he added: ‘I’ve never tried to cover up the illness. I’m p**sed off with it. It won’t go away. It is almost like a prison. It’s hard to stay positive, but I try.
He said that his biggest problem is not being able to write anymore. He shared how much he loved writing letters, but that his writing has become difficult to read.
He has a small collection of fountain pen and ink, but is unable to use them. Billy added that he confronts condition by saying: ‘Bugger off, I’m going to get on with my life.’
Open and honest: The veteran comedian, 79, also known as The Big Yin, was diagnosed with the disease in 2013 before retiring from live performances five years later
The Scottish stand-up also said he dislikes Parkinson’s help groups.
He described how patients can find support from other people by having lunch with them to discuss the disease. However, he said that he couldn’t think of anything worse and insists that he does not want the topic to become the main focus of his life.
Sir Billy has written Windswept and Interesting, an autobiography about his time as a stand-up comedian. He said that he enjoyed the humors of old shows.
According to him, he has the sensation of watching another person who isn’t like him. He also said that it was a good feeling.
This is his latest conversation, which comes just after Billy posted a funny video by Pamela Stephenson about his sexlife.
The comedian, 78, joked that he only lasted ‘seven seconds’ in the bedroom while recording his new audiobook Windswept & Interesting.
In a clip posted by Pamela, 71, captioned: ‘Billy’s talking about me again’ Billy said: ‘My wife’s a sexologist – a rather limiting subject, I think. You can’t study anything that lasts for 7 seconds.
‘My own sexual demands are extremely simple: I like the missionary position – standing in a cook pot wearing a safari suit, looking towards Africa. ??!’ Does that sound too complicated?
After being married to Pamela for over a decade, the actor later admitted how terrible he had been at “chatting up” women when he was single.
His response was: “I have had problems with sex since childhood. Not the sex itself so much – more the beginning. It was not something I could do well at. The moment it started working, I was unsure. It is important to have sex. Terrible stuff happens when people are f***less.
Troubles: He claims he doesn’t like writing letters anymore and has a large collection of ink and fountain pens that he cannot use.
“When a woman was at my case, it wasn’t obvious to me. The message was not clear to me. I used to hear my friends tell me that she was mad at you. ‘Who?’ “Who?” ‘What one?’
Billy and Pamela live now in Florida Keys, as he struggles with Parkinson’s Disease.
Sir Billy – a former shipyard worker – has already written two books – Tall Tales and Wee Stories and Made in Scotland – that touched on his life growing up in Glasgow.
Windswept & Interesting tells the complete story of his eventful existence that propelled him from being a welder on the Clyde docks via a stint as a folk singer to become one of the world’s best-loved comics.
Listen to the complete interview on Radio Times.
Couple: The star, who has been married to Pamela since 1989, later discussed how bad he was at ‘chatting women up’ when he was single (pictured 2012)
More: Read the full interview with Billy in Radio Times.