SIR Billy Connolly’s wife has paid tribute to her “genius” husband for continuing to work despite his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Pamela Stephenson told of her pride in the funnyman for forging a new career as an artist after retiring from stand-up comedy.
The showbiz pair attend an afterparty in 1982 for film Brimstone and Treacle[/caption]
Connolly, 81, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 12 years ago after a doctor spotted him walking strangely through the lobby of a hotel in Los Angeles.
He announced his retirement from live performances in 2018 but has continued to make TV documentaries as well as creating his popular drawings.
Stephenson, 74, said Connolly has an “extraordinary brain” and still makes her and their children laugh at their home in the Florida Keys.
She said: “I try to keep as little stress on Billy as possible.
“He is still working. He has stopped performing live but he’s become an artist and he does extraordinary drawings so he’s always having exhibitions and he still does TV stuff.
“He has an extraordinary brain. He speaks truth, he continues to blow me away with the things that come out of his mouth.
“My kids say ‘Mum leave the comedy to Dad’. Billy is a genius.”
New Zealand-born Stephenson spoke to the Florida Keys Weekly Podcast about how the couple came to settle in the area after living in New York for many years.
She told how she bought a house in Key West without telling Connolly because she wanted him to live in a warmer climate after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
The Glasgow-born comic was delighted when she told him about the purchase because he had been there many times on fishing trips.
Stephenson said: “After we moved to New York Billy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“At that point, with the extremes of temperature in New York, we decided to go somewhere where we could really de-stress and really enjoy our environment.
“I came to Key West having never been here before and I thought ‘This is an environment where people can be who they are and nobody is going to bother them’.
“I went into a real estate agent’s office and I bought a house right away.
Sir Billy and actress Pamela attend the British Independent Film Awards in London[/caption]
“When I went back to New York I said to Billy ‘I’ve just bought a house in Key West’. He said ‘I love Key West, I fish down there all the time’.
“I didn’t know. He went off on these fishing trips and I didn’t know where he was.
“So it was mutually a very good idea.”
Stephenson, who became a psychologist after a career in comedy, met Connolly during the filming of an episode of BBC sketch show Not The Nine O’clock News and they have been married for 35 years.
The doting wife revealed the secret to their long, happy relationship was spending large periods of time apart.
She said: “Don’t spend too much time together. Look at our lives, Billy was touring, I was touring, so we managed to maintain our individuality and then it would be exciting to be together again.
“That happened most of our lives and it still happens because we still have our individual interests.
“You don’t want to get so connected that you are always finishing each other’s sentences. You have got to maintain who you are and be comfortable with each other going off and doing their thing.”
