Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly,
CBE,
D.Litt (born
24 November,
1942) is a
comedian,
musician,
presenter, and
actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native
Scotland, by the nickname
"The Big Yin" ("The Big One", a reference to his 6' height).
Birth and formative years
Billy Connolly was born at 65 Dover Street ("on the linoleum, three floors up") in
Glasgow,
Scotland, to Mary and William Connolly, the son of an Irish immigrant. In 1946, with their son barely four years old, Connolly's parents divorced. He and his sister, Florence ("Flo"), would be looked after by two aunts, Margaret and Mona, his father's sisters.
Connolly was brought up in the
Anderston, and later
Partick, districts of Glasgow. He attended St. Peter's Primary School in Glasgow and St. Gerard's Secondary School in
Govan. At the age of 12, he decided he wanted to become a comedian but felt he didn't fit the mould; he felt he needed to become more "windswept and interesting". Instead, at the age of 15, he left school and became a
welder in a
Glasgow shipyard. Around the same time he joined the
Territorial Army's
Parachute Regiment. At the medical, the doctor noted to him, "You're not very big downstairs, are you?", to which Connolly replied, "I thought we were only going to
fight them."
1960s
In 1965, after he had completed a five-year apprenticeship as a welder, Connolly accepted a ten-week job building an
oil rig in
Nigeria. Upon his return to Scotland, he focused on being a
folk singer.
On
27 June,
1969, a 26-year-old Connolly married his first wife, Iris Pressagh. In December of that year, his first child, Jamie, was born. He has four more children, all girls — one (Cara, b. 1973) with Iris, and three with his second wife, Pamela: Daisy (December 31, 1983), Amy (1986), and Scarlett (1988).
1970s
Connolly's biggest break came when he appeared on the
BBC's
Parkinson talk show in 1975 and told an off-colour joke about a man who'd murdered his wife because he needed a place to park his bike. He became a close friend of the host,
Michael Parkinson, and now holds the joint record (along with
Kenneth Williams) for appearances on the programme, having been a guest on eight occasions. He later said, "That programme changed my entire life." Parkinson, in the documentary
Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years, states that people to this day still remember Connolly telling the punchline to the bike joke decades after the fact.
In 1976, Connolly opened for
Elton John on the latter's US tour. "In Washington, some guy threw a pipe and it hit me right between my eyes," he told Michael Parkinson two years later. "It wasn't my audience. They made me feel about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit."
1980s
In 1985, he divorced from his wife of sixteen years (they had separated four years earlier). He was awarded custody of their two children. That same year, he recorded
An Audience With.... In July of '85 he once again opened for Elton John at Live Aid, in Wembley Stadium.
1986 saw him visit
Mozambique to record a documentary for
Comic Relief.
Connolly completed his first world tour in 1987, including six nights at the
Royal Albert Hall in London, which resulted in the
Billy and Albert video.
When the Fox Network aired
Freedomfest: Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Celebration in 1988, Connolly was still virtually unknown in the States, but his performance drew attention, particularly from producers, and interest in him grew.
In 1989, Connolly's father died after a stroke, his eighth. His mother died only four years later. On December 20, 1989, in
Fiji, Connolly married his current wife,
New Zealand-born (but a naturalised Australian)
Pamela Stephenson, with whom he had been living since 1981. "Marriage to Pam didn't change me, it saved me," he later said. "I was going to die. I was on a downwards spiral and enjoying every second of it. Not only was I dying, but I was looking forward to it."
It was also in 1989 that Connolly shaved off his trademark beard for a film role, and he would remain clean-shaven until the mid-to-late 90s.
1990s
In 1990,
HBO brought him to the US, where he appeared as half of
Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Connolly in Performance, a special produced by New York's
Brooklyn Academy of Music. Goldberg introduced Connolly, and the rest, as they say, is history. The following year saw Connolly and Stephenson move to Los Angeles. The family won green cards in the
Morrison Visa Lottery.
Connolly was dealt a blow in 1993 when his close friend and fishing partner, Jimmy Kent, passed away.
In early January 1994, Connolly began a 40-date
World Tour of Scotland, which would be broadcast by the
BBC later in the year as a six-part series. It was so well received that the BBC signed him up to do a similar tour two years later, this time in Australia. The eight-part series followed Connolly on his custom-made
Harley Davidson trike [
1].
Also in 1996, Connolly recorded a BBC special, entitled
A Scot in the Arctic, in which he spends a week by himself in the
Arctic Circle. A notable feature of these shows is that he strips
naked in one scene in each of them, usually in some remote wilderness area where no one is likely to complain, although for
Comic Relief he once danced naked around
Piccadilly Circus.
In 1998, Connolly's best friend, Danny Kyle, died. "He was me dearest, dearest, oldest friend," Connolly explained to an Australian audience on his
Greatest Hits compilation, released in 2001.
In November of 1998, Connolly was the subject of a two-hour retrospective entitled
Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years, which included tributes from
Dame Judi Dench,
Sean Connery,
Whoopi Goldberg,
Robin Williams,
Dustin Hoffman, and
Eddie Izzard. The special was released on
DVD in
North America in 2004.
The following year, Connolly undertook a four-month, 59-date sellout tour of
Australia and
New Zealand. Later in the year, he completed a five-week, 25-date sellout run at London's
Hammersmith Apollo. Not content, in 2000 he travelled to
Canada for two weeks on a 13-date tour.
2000s
In 2001, Connolly completed the third in his "World Tour" BBC series, this time of
Ireland, Wales and England, which began in
Dublin and ended in
Plymouth. It was broadcast the following year.
Also in 2001, Pamela Stephenson's biography of her husband,
Billy, was published. It outlines his career and life, including the
sexual abuse by his father that lasted from his tenth to his fourteenth years. Much of the book is about Connolly the celebrity but the account of his early years provides a context for his humour and point of view. A follow-up,
Bravemouth, was published in 2003.
Connolly himself is credited with writing several books, including
Billy Connolly (late 1970s) and
Gullible's Travels (early 1980s), both based upon his stage act, as well as books based upon some of his "World Tour" television series. Connolly, however, has stated that his comedy does not work on the printed page.
A fourth BBC series,
World Tour of New Zealand, was filmed in 2004 and aired that winter. Also in his 63rd year, Connolly performed two sold-out
benefit concerts at the
Oxford New Theatre in memory of
Malcolm Kingsworth, who for twenty-five years was Connolly's
tour manager and
sound engineer.
In October 2004, during an 18-night stint at London's
Hammersmith Apollo, the comedian was criticised for making jokes about the hostage
Kenneth Bigley [
2]. Shortly after Connolly joked about the future beheading of the hostage, Bigley was beheaded in Iraq. Connolly still strongly denies that the incident ever happened.
However, despite the bad press, in January 2005, Connolly came 8th in
The Comedian's Comedian, a poll voted for by fellow comedians and comedy insider and embarked on a major UK tour with an impressive 15 sold-out nights in
Glasgow.
Also in 2005, Connolly and Stephenson announced they were returning to live in the former's native land after living in
Hollywood for fourteen years. They purchased a 120-foot yacht with the profits from their house-sale, and now split the year between
Malta and an estate in
Aberdeenshire.
Later in the year, Connolly topped
Channel Five's poll of "Britain's Favourite Comedian" ahead of the likes of
John Cleese,
Ronnie Barker,
Dawn French, and
Peter Cook.
During the months of May and June of 2006, Connolly performed a five-week stand at the
37 Arts Theater in
New York City as part of his "Too Old To Die Young" tour [
3], [
4].
Folk music
In 1965, together with
Tam Harvey, Connolly started a group called the
Humblebums. At their first gig, Connolly introduced them both to the audience by saying, "My name's Billy Connolly, and I'm humble. This is Tam Harvey, he's a bum." The band would later include
Gerry Rafferty. Connolly sang, played
banjo and
guitar, and entertained the audience with his humorous introductions to the songs.
In his
World Tour of Scotland, Connolly reveals that at a trailer show during the
Edinburgh Festival, the Humblebums took to the stage just before the late
Yehudi Menuhin.
The trio broke up in 1971, at which point Connolly went solo. His first solo album in 1972,
Billy Connolly Live! on
Transatlantic Records, features Connolly as a singer, songwriter, and musician.
His early albums were a mixture of comedy performances with comedic and serious musical interludes. Among his best known musical performances were "The Welly Boot Song", a comical ode to the working class which became his theme song for several years; "In the Brownies", a parody of the
Village People classics "
Y.M.C.A." and "
In the Navy" (for which Connolly filmed a
music video); "Two Little Boys in Blue", a tongue-in-cheek indictment of police brutality done to the tune of
Rolf Harris' "Two Little Boys"; and the ballad "I Wish I Was in Glasgow" which Connolly would later perform on a guest appearance on the 1990s American
sitcom Pearl (which starred
Rhea Perlman).
In November 1975, his spoof of the
Tammy Wynette song "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" had a one-week spell as the UK's No. 1 single. Wynette's original was about parents spelling out words of an impending marital split to avoid traumatizing their young child. Connolly's version "
D.I.V.O.R.C.E.", on the other hand, played off of the fact that many dog owners use the same tactic when they do not wish their pet to become upset about an impending trip to the
veterinarian.
His song is about a couple whose marriage is ruined by a bad vet visit (spelling out "W.O.R.M." or "Q.U.A.R.A.N.T.I.N.E.", for example.)
His song "No Chance" was a parody
J.J. Barrie's "No Charge".
In 1985 he sang the theme song to
Supergran, which was released as a single. By the late 1980s, Connolly had all but dropped the music from his act, though he still records the occasional musical performance. In 1998 he covered
The Beatles' "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" on the
George Martin tribute,
In My Life and he also recorded a rewritten version of
Alanis Morissette's "Hand in My Pocket" entitled "The Evil Scotsman". Most recently, he sang a song during the film
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Stand-up comedy
It is as a stand-up comedian that Connolly is best known. His
observational humour is idiosyncratic and often scatalogical. He talks about himself, who he is, where he's been, what he thinks and how he reacts to the world around him. He has outraged audiences, critics and, of course, the media with his free use of the word "
fuck". He has used
masturbation,
blasphemy,
defecation,
flatulence, sex, his father's illness and his aunts' cruelty to entertain. By exploring these subjects with humour, Connolly has done much to strip away the taboos surrounding them. Yet he does not tell jokes in the conventional way. At the end of a concert the audience can be convulsed with laughter but few can remember a specific "funny" line.
One of Connolly's most famous comedy skits is "The Crucifixion", an early 1970s recording in which he likens
Christ's
Last Supper to a drunken night out in
Glasgow. The recording was banned by many radio stations at the time. Around this same time, a joke told during a television talk show appearance (about a murderer and his
bike) became a sensation that, reportedly, people still remember three decades after the appearance. (A transcript of the complete joke can be found
here).
Billy Connolly also performed a sketch broadcast on TV, when talking about national anthems, and comparing the UK's slow tune to the lively ones of many other nations, Billy suggested that it should be replaced by the theme tune to
The Archers.
Connolly's style has changed over the years to be less controversial and more observational. Including topics such as himself aging, stories about where he has been and other aspects of his life. He also exclaims "Oh, I must tell you!" and vocalises whatever thought occurs to him. Another feature is his ability to break off onto a tangent mid-topic and return to it later -- sometimes as long as an hour later.
Film actor
|
Connolly in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events |
Connolly launched a second career as a film actor in the 1970s, and after a string of obscure and unsuccessful films, he was officially introduced to mainstream American audiences when he took over the lead role (from
Howard Hesseman) in the sitcom
Head of the Class in 1990, which was followed by a brief stint as the star of a
Head of the Class spin-off entitled
Billy. Since then, he has gone on to become a
character actor of some repute, appearing in a number of major films such as
Indecent Proposal,
The Boondock Saints,
The Man Who Sued God,
The Last Samurai and
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events . He received his best notices, including
BAFTA and
Screen Actors Guild award nominations for his co-starring role in
1997's
Mrs. Brown opposite Dame
Judi Dench.
Connolly was awarded an
honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the
University of Glasgow on 11 July, 2001. This particularly bemused his wife, who noted that she had studied for six years to obtain her
Ph.D., whereas Billy merely had to turn up and collect his. 2003 saw him presented with a
BAFTA Lifetime Achievement award and a
CBE in the
Queen's Birthday Honours List.
On July 4, 2006, Connolly was awarded an honorary doctorate by Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) for his service to performing arts [
5].
On one of his appearances on
Parkinson, the host put it to Connolly that it was his talent that was responsible for his success. The comedian responded:
"Anyone can do what I'm doing now: all you've got to do is want it."
*
Billy, Pamela Stephenson, Harper Collins, 2001. ISBN 0-000-711045-6
*
Bravemouth, Pamela Stephenson, Headline, 2003.
Television Guest Appearances
*
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as Himself on
10 May 2006 Enough Rope as Himself on
20 February 2006 *
Real Time with Bill Maher as Himself on episode (#3.22),
28 October 2005 *
Britain's Finest as Himself on episode "Actresses",
18 July 2005 and episode "Actors",
11 July 2005*
Last Call with Carson Daly as Himself on
22 December 2004 *
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as Himself on
15 December 2004 *
Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Himself on
14 December 2004 *
Parkinson as Himself on ??? 1975;
2 January 1978;
3 April 1982;
23 January 1998;
17 December 1999;
20 October 2001;
18 October 2003;
4 September 2004*
Tinseltown TV as Himself on
6 December 2003 *
The Late Late Show as Himself on
17 October 2003 *
Rove Live as Himself on
23 October 2001*
3rd Rock from the Sun as Inspector Macaffery on episode "Dial M for Dick" (#5.4),
9 November 1999 *
Tracey Takes On... as Rory Cassidy in episode "Culture" (#3.9),
1 March 1998 *
Veronica's Closet as Campbell in "Veronica's Got a Secret" (#1.11),
8 January 1998 *
Pearl as William 'Billy' Pynchon in episode "Billy Returns" (#1.22),
25 June 1997 and episode "Billy" (#1.4),
30 September 1996 *
Clive James as Himself in episode (#1.3),
6 March 1994 *
Late Show with David Letterman as Himself on
18 November 1993 *
Minder as Tick Tack in episode "Fatal Impression" (#7.3),
16 January 1989 *
Aspel & Company as Himself in episode (#2.11),
23 March 1985A partial list of recordings:
* 1972 -
Live* 1974 -
Cop Yer Whack for This* 1974 -
Solo Concert* 1975 -
Get Right Intae Him!* 1975 -
Words & Music* 1976 -
Atlantic Bridge* 1977 -
Billy Connolly* 1977 -
Raw Meat for the Balcony!* 1979 -
Riotous Assembly* 1981 -
The Pick of Billy Connolly* 1983 -
A Change is Good as Arrest* 1983 -
In Concert* 1984 -
Big Yin Double Helping* 1985 -
Wreck on Tour* 1987 -
Billy & Albert* 1991 -
Live at the Odeon Hammersmith London* 1996 -
Musical Tour of Scotland* 2005 -
Billy Connolly's Musical Tour of New Zealand*
Billy Connolly's web page
