Bruce Willis’ battle with neurodegenerative disorder frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has progressed to a point that he has trouble communicating, according to Moonlighting creator and director Glenn Gordon Caron. The sitcom creator, 69, opened up about his relationship with Bruce, 68, and gave a health update in a new interview with The New York Post, published on Wednesday, October 11.
Glenn revealed that he tries to regularly visit the Die Hard star once a month and keeps in touch with him and his wife, Emma Heming Willis. He explained that he thinks that Bruce remembers him when he visits, even if he can’t talk to him. “My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am,” he said. “He’s not totally verbal; he used to be a voracious reader — he didn’t want anyone to know that — and he’s not reading now. All those language skills are no longer available to him.”
Earlier in the interview, Glenn admitted that Bruce is an “extraordinary person,” and it’s heartbreaking to watch him battle the disease. ” The thing that makes [his disease] so mind-blowing is [that] if you’ve ever spent time with Bruce Willis, there is no one who had any more joie de vivre than he. He loved life and … just adored waking up every morning and trying to live life to its fullest,” he told The Post. “When you’re with him you know that he’s Bruce and you’re grateful that he’s there, but the joie de vivre is gone.”
Glenn also said that he’s sure that the actor is glad that Moonlighting is available to stream on Hulu. He said that they’d discussed making the 80s show, which also stars Cybill Shepherd, available again before his disease had progressed.
Bruce’s wife Emma, ex-wife Demi Moore, and daughters Rumer Willis, Tallulah Willis, Scout Willis, Mabel Willis, and Evelyn Willis, released a joint statement announcing that he would retire from acting after he was diagnosed with aphasia in March 2022. The family revealed that he’d been diagnosed with FTD and that his condition had worsened in February.
This story originally appeared on Hollywoodlife
