Billy Connolly is a comedian, musician, actor and presenter of Scottish descent. He started out as a welder in his hometown of Glasgow before becoming a folk musician and later a successful stand-up comic and actor. Described in Britain as the father of modern comedy, he has inspired a generation of comedians. Learn more about him including his biography, difficult childhood, life story and achievements without missing his wife and children.
Billy Connolly Bio (Childhood)
William Connolly was born on November 24, 1942 in Anderston Glasgow, Scotland. His father’s name was William Connolly while his mother’s name was Mary “Mamie” McLean. His mother came from the Clan MacLean, one of the oldest clans in the Scottish Highlands. Connolly had an older sister, Florence, with whom he grew up in very modest circumstances. When he was only four years old, his mother left him and his sister because of difficult times. He and his sister had no choice but to move in with their paternal aunts, Mona and Margaret, as their father was in Burma and served in the army.
His aunts kind of resented that they had been saddled with young children and they took it out on them; verbally and emotionally abuse them. According to Connolly, he had suffered the consequences of this abuse for a long time and would rather have been sent home to a group than live with them.
Her father returned shortly thereafter, but there was no rest for Connolly. He endured physical and sexual abuse from his own father from the ages of 10 to 15. The abuse also followed young Billy to his elementary school, where he described the teachers/nuns as violent.
Billy Connolly completed his education at the age of 15, graduating as an engineer from St Gerard Secondary School. After graduating, he worked as a delivery boy in a bakery before joining Alexander Stephens and Sons, a shipbuilding company. There he completed a five-year apprenticeship as a welder and boilermaker. He finished his education at the age of 21 and stayed another year before working for other engineering firms. He named time for his welding career at the age of 24.
Career (resume)
According to Billy Connolly, he first realized that he wanted to make people laugh when he was in elementary school at the age of 7/8. From there he began to practice his comic book skills. His skills were further honed in the Glasgow shipyards, where the men who worked there had a ruthless sense of humour.
After attending the Edinburgh Arts Festival in the 1960s, Connolly decided to become a folk musician. He bought a banjo and began opening for Scottish folk singer Danny Kyle at various concerts. From there he formed his own folk rock band called the Humblebums. The group consisted of Connolly, guitarist, Tam Harvey and vocalist Gerry Lafferty. The Humblebums released a total of three albums before splitting up in 1971. After the split, Connolly became a solo musician again. Meanwhile, his label boss Nat Joseph noticed his comics talents due to his lengthening funny monologues and advised him to pursue a career in stand-up comics. Connolly took that advice and the rest, as they say, is history.
In a career spanning four decades, he embarked on several comedy tours (Big Wee Tour of Britain, World Tour of Scotland, World Tour of Australia, World Tour of New Zealand) and released many successful comic book albums (B illy Connolly Live! 1972 and Solo Concert 1973 ). Video recordings of his tours were also released and he became a popular comic worldwide.
He has also appeared on several talk shows in and outside the UK . A memorable example is the BBC talk show Parkinson where he has had numerous successful performances. Billy Connolly added acting to his portfolio. Some of his films are Water, Indecent Proposal, Pocahontas, Mrs. Brown, The Man Who Sued God, The Last Samurai, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Garfield: A Tail From Two Kittens, Open Season, The X-Files: Me want to believe Brave, Quartet and The Hobbit: The Clash of the Five Armies. Billy Connolly is currently retired. He is now an artist and his first exhibition was unveiled in 2012. His art has been described as similar to Surrealist Automatism as well as cave painting from the Aurignacian period.
comedian achievements
Billy Connolly has received multiple awards and honors in recognition of his work. They include honorary doctorates from the University of Glasgow in 2001, Nottingham Trent University in 2010 and the University of Strathclyde in 2017. He also received a lifetime achievement award at the BAFTA in 2003 and a special mention at the 2016 National Television Awards. In 2003 the comic was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by the Queen. In 2017 he was knighted by the Queen for services to entertainment and charity. That’s why he’s now Sir Billy Connolly.
wife and children
Billy Connolly first married in 1968. He married Iris Pressagh, another Scottish woman, with whom he had two children, Jamie and Clara. They separated in 1981 and divorced in 1985.
Connolly is now married to New Zealand-born comic actress and psychologist Pamela Stephenson. They met in 1979 when both appeared in the BBC comedy Not the 9 O’Clock News . They lived together for 10 years and had three daughters (Amy, Daisy and Scarlett) before marrying in Fiji on December 20, 1989.
Pamela has written several books, including a best-selling biography of her husband simply titled Billy .
Connolly was diagnosed with prostate cancer and Parkinson’s in 2013. He successfully conquered the prostate and is now struggling with Parkinson’s disease.