The end of Bruce Willis’ film career due to illness was announced a year ago. At that time, the diagnosis was aphasia – a disease that leads to speech disorders. Now there is more clarity about the state of health of the 67-year-old. “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in Spring 2022, his condition has progressed. We now have a more accurate diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia,” said the family of wife Emma Heming-Willis and ex-wife Demi Moore.
According to the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, this is “a rare form of rapidly progressing dementia” in which nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain die off. The disease cannot be cured. “Although this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,” the family said. Communication problems are just one of the symptoms.
No therapy possible
The Willis family said it was a “cruel” disease that many would not know about but could affect anyone. So far there is no therapy. “Bruce has always believed in using his voice in the world to help others and raise awareness of important things,” the statement said. He would do the same today if he could, the family is convinced of that. There must be more information about this disease and its consequences for those affected and their families.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
End of career at the age of 67
Bruce Willis was still shooting several films in 2021, but now the Hollywood star is stepping down. Health problems forced him to take this step, his family said on Instagram. “As a result, and after careful consideration, Bruce is retiring from a career that has meant so much to him.” We look back on the career of a world star who was born in Germany.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
Walter from the Hunsrueck
Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955 in Idar-Oberstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, an idyllic small town. His German mother Marlene calls him Walter – Bruce is only his middle name. His father David, an ex-GI, is moving his family back to the United States before Bruce’s second birthday. Willis grew up in New Jersey with three younger siblings.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
Bumpy start
The man who will one day kiss Demi Moore on the red carpet never dreamed of such a life as a boy. In high school, Bruce is shy and starts to stutter. His classmates tease him with the nickname “Buck-Buck”. He only feels comfortable on stage. Theater courses serve him as therapy and help him to get rid of his speech impediment.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
The smart guy next to Cybill Shepherd
In 1984, Willis, who had only had a supporting role in one episode of Miami Vice, was cast as an unknown to play private detective David Addison on the series The Model and the Snoop. Cybill Shepherd is the real star in it. The hit series, which won an Emmy and a Golden Globe, is Willis’ stepping stone to the big Hollwoood career.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
Yippie-ya-yeah, pig cheek!
In 1988, Bruce Willis played New York police officer John McClane in the action thriller Die Hard. The annoyed cop in a dirty undershirt becomes his signature role and makes him a world star. Alongside colleagues such as Mel Gibson, he embodies a new type of action hero: the chummy pounder who constantly gets better, but still doesn’t give up until he reaches his goal.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
Play with the big ones
Bruce Willis soon enjoyed the same popularity as an action star as his older colleagues Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Together with them and other celebrities, Willis also becomes an entrepreneur at the Planet Hollywood fast food restaurant chain, which later goes bankrupt. Here are the three action heavyweights opening a Santa Ana branch in 1992.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
The change of image
In the mid-’90s, Willis slowly but steadily made an image shift into character. He begins as a time-travelling convict in Terry Gilliam’s science fiction thriller 12 Monkeys (1995). In addition to “Pulp Fiction” and “Trainspotting”, the film is one of the absolute cult films of the 90s, whose posters should not be missing in any student flat. Here Willis in a scene with Brad Pitt.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
“I see dead people”
At the end of the 90s, Willis finally arrived in the character field. Willis stars as a child psychologist who makes a horrific discovery opposite 11-year-old Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense. The dark drama received critical acclaim, was nominated for an Oscar in six categories and has grossed almost $700 million worldwide. It is Willis’ biggest film success to date.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
And always the savior of the world
Willis has arrived in the Hollywood Olympus and can choose his roles. As Korben Dallas he saves the earth in the French production “The 5th Element” (1997). His hairstyle is reminiscent of the designer Jean-Paul Gaultier. This is no coincidence: Gaultier designed the costumes for the film. A year later, Willis saves the world again in “Armageddon” in the less fashionable astronaut outfit.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
Sangesfreudig
In his free time, Bruce Willis is an occasional R&B singer and harmonica player. He recorded his debut album The Return of Bruno in 1987 with musicians such as Grammy winner Booker T. Jones and the Temptations. It was released on the legendary Motown label and charted in the top ten of the Billboard charts. Here he is on stage with soul legend Tina Turner in 1996.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
Nineties icons
In 1987 Bruce Willis married his colleague Demi Moore. The two have three daughters together. In this snapshot they are – still – a glamor couple. However, after 13 years of marriage, they divorce. The two remain very close, with Willis even attending the 2005 wedding of Demi Moore and then-partner Ashton Kutcher.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
Family man
The man with the tough image is actually an absolute family man. Willis is now the father of five daughters. He is pictured in 2004 with then-girlfriend Brooke Burns and daughters Rumer, Scout and Tallulah from his first marriage to Demi Moore.
-
Bruce Willis retires from acting
Happy second marriage
Willis has been married to British-Maltese model Emma Heming since 2009. Attending the Turks and Caicos wedding were Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, along with his three daughters. The couple have two daughters together, Mabel Ray and Evelyn Penn. Willis and Heming often travel with them to visit mutual friends and Willis’ relatives in Germany.
Author: Philipp Jedicke
Colleagues and fans expressed their condolences, including stars such as Melanie Griffith, Paris Hilton, Rita Wilson and Selma Blair, who suffers from multiple sclerosis. Willis was born in Germany. He was born in 1955 as the son of a US soldier and his German wife in the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Idar-Oberstein. He has worked as an actor since the 1970s.
In 1988 he became a superstar with the action film Die Hard. Willis was also seen in the cult film “Pulp Fiction” by director Quentin Tarantino, in “The Fifth Element”, “Armageddon” and “The Sixth Sense”.
Demi Moore and Willis married in 1987 and announced their separation in 1998, they have three adult daughters. Willis has been married to model Emma Heming since 2009 and the couple have three daughters. The two families are closely related.
cwo/AR (afp, dpa)
