Bruce Willis confirmed his retirement from acting this year due to aphasia, a degenerative brain disease that affects speech and communication. The beloved actor is now cared for by his family, predominantly his wife, Emma Heming Willis.
The last few months have been hard on the Willis family after the 67-year-old’s diagnosis was confirmed, but it also pushed them closer together, with Bruce and Emma selling their home in Westchester, New York, to move to California.
According to reports, it seems as though Willis isn’t leaving the house much – instead, he’s “trapped” in his mind.
Now, the news that Bruce Willis had been diagnosed with aphasia shocked the world. The long-time, beloved actor – known for his roles in Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, and Sixth Sense, among others – is only 67, but he’s appeared in his final ever film.
But before we get to that, let’s take a look at Bruce’s famous career.
He was born on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany, where his father was stationed in the U.S. military. The oldest of four children, Willis, at age two, moved back to the United States with his family, settling in Carney’s Point, New Jersey.
By all accounts, Willis’ childhood was hugely affected by his stuttering. As quoted in the 1997 book Bruce Willis: The Unauthorized Biography, the actor revealed that his stuttering was so bad that he could hardly talk.
Luckily, he managed to find help in the most unexpected place.
“It took me three minutes to complete a sentence. It was crushing for anyone who wanted to express themselves, who wanted to be heard and couldn’t, it was frightening. Yet, when I became another character, in a play, I lost the stutter. It was phenomenal,” he said.
Moreover, a school speech therapist helped him to build up confidence and conquer his stuttering through several exercises. In high school, Bruce tried his best to fit in by becoming the class clown. This also led to him getting involved in the school’s drama group.
Following Bruce’s graduation from Penns Grove High School, he went on to first work in a chemical factory and later as a security guard.
He eventually returned to school, enrolling at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where he quickly rediscovered drama. Bruce was eager to attain the skills necessary to become an actor. Fortunately, he had gotten great help from his drama professor, Jerry Rockwood who quickly saw the promising actor’s potential.
He ended up cutting classes and instead traveling to auditions in Manhattan. In January 1977, he got his first part in the play Heaven and Earth.
In his sophomore year, Bruce decided to drop out of education to pursue his acting career. To give himself the best chance, he moved to New York.
”I thought How much time do I need?’” Willis told Rolling Stone in 1986. ”I always had the idea of 10 years in the back of my mind. But if it had taken 20, I’d have still done it. I knew this was what I wanted.”
At that point, Willis’ work in plays wasn’t enough to pay the rent. He subsidized it by working as a bartender, as well as a model for brands such as Levis and Ray-Ban.
In the early 1980s, Bruce got his first couple of uncredited roles on screen. He was a young, stubborn, and promising actor who went his way at castings. That was a tactic that would eventually pay off big-time.
In 1985, he landed the role of David Addison in the ABC television series Moonlighting. More than 3,000 people auditioned for the role – and it turned out to be his big breakthrough.
Bruce stayed on Moonlightning for 66 episodes, until 1989, when the show got canceled. By that stage in his life, he was no longer a promising actor roaming around looking for the next gig, but a future star in the making. Moreover, he had committed to a relationship with fellow actor Demi Moore.
Willis and Moore met in 1987 at the premiere party for the film Stakeout. They both had other dates with them that night – Moore’s then-fiancé Emilio Estevez was the star of the film.
At first, Willis and Moore became friends. But in the end, love took over. Their intentions became clear during the first night they met, as Willis made a move.
“I’d never encountered treatment like this before,” Moore wrote in her memoir, Inside Out.
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