Billy Connolly can't play musical instruments with his left hand anymore
Sir Billy Connolly can't use his left hand to play musical instruments anymore.
The 79-year-old comedian - who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2013 - has revealed how his condition "strikes when you least expect it", and opened up on how he tries to stay positive.
Appearing on BBC Radio 2's 'Steve Wright in the Afternoon', he said: "I try not to feel sorry for myself. I do it by thinking of children who are sick, and they handle it, so the least I can do is get on with it.
"I have good days and bad days. I had a bad day today, when I was coming on the way here, I was walking like a drunk man, but it's cured itself so I'm quite happy.
"It's a peculiar disease, it strikes when you least expect it. My left hand is no use to me anymore, so I don't play my instruments anymore."
The comedy legend recently admitted he "thinks about death" every day, insisted he isn't "frightened" of passing away because it's just the "next step" at the end of a long life.
He said: "I’ve got absolutely no regrets. I feel great. I think about death a lot. Not an excessive amount. I think about it every day.
"I’ve seen people die and it’s OK. It’s not painful. You just go away. You exhale and it’s gone. It’s nothing to be frightened of. It’s just the next step.
“Buddhists think you come back as a recreation of someone else. I don’t know — I’ll settle for whatever they’ve got.”
And although he's also had to give up a number of his favourite pastimes, Billy is determined to keep a brave face for his five adult children - two with first wife Iris and three with his spouse of 32 years, Pamela Stephenson - because he doesn't want them to think he's a "dead loss".
He added: “Parkinson’s has taken a lot from me. I can’t play the banjo any more. It’s just a noise. I can’t yodel any more — I used to like yodelling. I can’t smoke cigars.
“As it goes along it’s taken more and more of what I like. And it’s kinda painful. I have to behave in a certain way so my children don’t think I’m a dead loss. I want them to think: ‘He does well with what he’s got.’”
