Certainly a little cringe-worthy and likely forgotten by many now, but Bruce Willis made it work. The man eventually starred in one of my favorite movies of all time (Pulp Fiction), one of my favorite action movies of all time (Die Hard) and one of my favorite television shows from the ’80s (Moonlighting). It is hard to believe he was pimping wine coolers, of all things, back in the day. He probably could have been trying to sell anything and it would have seemed cool. After a diagnosis with the disorder aphasia, Bruce Willis’ family announced his retirement, ending a 42-year career.
Other than genetics, there are no other known risk factors, although researchers are investigating what role the thyroid and insulin may play in the onset of the disease. For much of the ’80s and throughout the ’90s, Willis was one of the biggest movie stars on the planet — with help from longtime agent Arnold Rifkin, at one time the president of the William Morris Agency. In 2000, Willis and Rifkin formed Cheyenne Enterprises, a production company that would produce both films with Willis and without him. Such films were throwbacks to box office fare of the ’80s and ’90s, sometimes featuring stars of the era in a limited capacity, but enough that producers can put a certain face and name on the poster. Before his diagnosis and retirement, Willis had been facing increasingly-loud displeasure from certain corners of the pop culture landscape, wondering how the star of “Die Hard” had become the king of Redbox. The story goes that in 1997, Willis was doing a project for Disney called “Broadway Brawler,” a romantic comedy that had him playing a retired pro hockey player who falls in love with a woman played by Maura Tierney.
Willis was battling alcoholism while promoting Seagrams wine coolers
But during the table scene when McClane fires from under a table to kill one of the terrorists, the sound proved so loud that – combined with the close quarters near Willis’ ear – Willis lost two-thirds of his hearing in his left ear. It was almost even more surprising when Willis was offered $5 million for the role. By this point in his career, he hadn’t been in many other projects, none of the film’s scope, and was considered a television actor, not movie star. But he was given an offer he couldn’t refuse – though it came with a different price. Willis starred alongside Bill Murray, Edward Norton, and Frances McDormand in Moonrise Kingdom (2012).
He feuded with Kevin Smith
In 2001, the family was struck by tragedy with the death of Robert Willis, who died of pancreatic cancer. Bruce issued a statement that said, “We very much loved our brother. He was not only a good brother but a wonderful son to our parents. We will sorely miss him.” To avoid a legal battle with the studio, Willis agreed to sign on to three films for Disney. The studio utilized motion capture and photo-mapping to copy Willis’s likeness for the main character, and he also provided the voice. Though the studio did hit a few snags along the way, “Apocalypse” was fairly well-received by game critics — even if almost no one remembers it now.
And the very charismatic Bruno was one of the place’s most beloved barmen. Not to mention a rooting interest for everybody, because he was clearly in the top echelon of talents. His family announced last year that the 67-year-old “Die Hard” star was retiring from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a language and communication disorder. Sometimes, the absence of big booms and shattering glass gives the actors time to breathe and strut their stuff in subtler ways.
- Willis retired in 2022 due to aphasia, and was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023.
- They can’t tell me in words, but they can tell me in pictures,” Paulson said.
- FTD is a group of dementias that mainly affect personality and behavior or language and speech because of damage to the front or sides of the brain, Sebastian Crutch, professor of neuropsychology at UCL’s Dementia Research Centre, UK, told Insider.
- Willis has remained largely quiet on the matter, but a representative of the actor gave The Hollywood Reporter a summary of his issues.
- “I had been sober for a while. But once I realized that I wasn’t gonna run myself off the pier of life with alcohol, drinking vodka out of the bottle every day … I have wine now, mostly when I eat.”
Personal life
“Tears rolled down my face and now I know the switch is not turned off, that there is life after death. I don’t know how it works but I believe it,” he said (via the Irish Examiner). Willis, who stars in “A Good Day To Die Hard,” which opens in theaters on Feb. 14, has had a long and impressive career, but he still has goals in sight. Willis won an Emmy for “Moonlighting” in his TV days, but he’s not upset if he never adds an Oscar to that shelf.
Following a trend Steven Seagal once trailblazed, Willis’ last several movies have been deliberately awful, but they’ve earned him a huge payday, since producers use his name and image to make a buck in international markets, according to Vanity Fair. Willis was usually paid $2 million for two days of work, according to The LA Times. Some believe in the power behind seeking sober help throughout the course of one’s life, even if it’s been years after finding sober living. Others believe that once you’re free of the grip of addiction, you’ve learned your lesson and there’s little to no chance of getting caught in the destructive cycle again. For instance, experts say that recovery, sober living, is not only the absence of engaging in self-destructive behavior. It is also the ability to have healthy relationships, including with oneself.Researchers believe that although a person might have entered recovery there are still parts of his or her personality that warrant healing.
Prior to his diagnosis with aphasia, his demeanor was attributed to jet-lag and disinterest in the movies he promoted, but Rumer suggested he just couldn’t hear the questions. Willis’ family, including ex-wife Demi Moore, said in a statement on Thursday that his aphasia diagnosis, which the family announced in March, had progressed to frontotemporal dementia. While Bruce Willis had enjoyed a successful film career, he didn’t lose his love for the theater. In 2015, he found his way onto the Broadway stage, playing Paul Sheldon in a stage adaptation of Stephen King’s thriller, “Misery.” Playing opposite Willis as the obsessed fan, Annie Wilkes, sun rock strain was Laurie Metcalf of “Roseanne” fame.