Millennials and Gen-Z people know the 68-year-old Walter Bruce Willis for his contribution to Hollywood movies. Active from 1980, the American actor retired last year due to health issues. He came into the limelight after starring in Moonlighting (1985 – 1989), a comedy-drama series.
Bruce was bullied for stuttering in childhood, but acting on stage helped him overcome that problem. Further, he completed a journey from being a security guard in a nuclear power plant to an exceptional Hollywood actor. He got his first leading role in a feature movie, Blind Date, in 1987.
Bruce was involved in low-budget movies and their promotion during the final years of his acting career. However, he charged a hefty amount for that. He was inclined toward the military and played various military characters in his movies. He also met the Iraqi soldiers in 2003.
Bruce married Demi Moore in 1987 and divorced in 2000. He blamed himself for letting his marriage fail. Further, Bruce engaged to Brooke Burns and separated in 2004. Five years later, he married Emma Heming, and the couple is still together, fighting his deteriorating health.
Bruce Willis’ Health History
Assassin was Bruce’s final movie. However, his colleagues spotted a problem in his listening ability while filming previous movies and had to deal with it accordingly. For instance, he appeared confused while filming Out of Death (2021).
So, the filmmakers decreased the number of Bruce’s dialogues, filmed his scenes within a day, and fed him the remaining lines through an earpiece. Bruce is sixty-eight, and people often get diagnosed with dementia between their forties and sixties.
Bruce Willis was stepping away from his career day by day, and his fans learned the reason when his family publicly disclosed his aphasia in February 2022. Demi Moore, his ex-wife, did not hesitate to express her concern on Instagram when the news spread.
Unfortunately, aphasia was only an early sign. Little did Bruce’s supporters know what was yet to come. He was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), according to a public statement released by his family the following month.
Bruce’s family and doctors discovered the exact problem but struggled to solve it because there was no proper verbal communication from his side. Emma Heming, Bruce’s wife, confessed to requiring help, though doctors were working on Bruce.
We cannot forget that FTD has no cure. Meanwhile, the caregivers suffer with the patients too. So, when Emma shared her pain regarding Bruce’s treatment, it hit people hard. Doctors agree that the caregivers care for the patients, putting their own financial, mental, spiritual, and physical well-being at stake.
Dementia is hereditary, but there can be exceptions. It can be prevented through early discovery, which includes complex lab and genetic tests. A healthy lifestyle with no smoking, limited or no alcohol intake, and minimum stress helps minimize the risk.
Bruce Willis’ Health Update
Glenn Gordon Caron is an American producer, writer, and director. He created the comedy-drama television series Moonlighting in 1985, and Bruce played the leading role, David Addison, throughout the series.
Glenn confessed to meeting Bruce every month. Accordingly, he visited Bruce in October 2023. Bruce cannot speak properly, but it does not prevent Glenn from seeing him. He informed The New York Post about his friend’s current condition.
According to Glenn, Bruce loved to live life to the fullest. So, we must not neglect that person only by looking at the current situation. Bruce recognized Glenn within the first few minutes of their recent meeting.
Only a few people, including Glenn, knew how a good reader Bruce was. Bruce did not want more people to learn about it. However, the reader in him is lost now. Glenn is glad to have Bruce, though he lacks language skills. According to Glenn, Bruce is present, but his love for life is not.
Previously, Emma Heming shared her experience as a caregiver to her husband in an interview on TODAY on 25 September 2023. She called dementia hard and explained how her husband’s FTD took a toll on their family.
According to Emma, Bruce did not understand what was going on. Meanwhile, his two daughters take it positively and learn how to love or be patient with someone. Bruce’s eldest daughter, Rumer Willis, shared a picture depicting her, her newborn baby, and Bruce on Instagram.
