We would all hope that if diagnosed with an illness that prevented us from fully understanding or communicating with those around us, the people who love us would take care of and protect us. We would hope.
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On Wednesday, Bruce Willis’ daughter Rumer Willis announced on Instagram that her dad, who starred in the Die Hard movie franchise, would be “stepping away” from acting due to “aphasia,” which is “impacting his cognitive abilities.”
She added: “This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion, and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.”
The National Aphasia Association (NAA) describes the condition as an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language, and the person’s ability to speak and understand others. It does not affect someone’s intelligence.
NAA stated on its website that the organization was “saddened to hear of Bruce Willis’ recent diagnosis of aphasia,” adding that “we understand the impact of this diagnosis.”
“What appears to be happening with Bruce Willis, although we don’t know for sure, is that this is something that’s accompanying some cognitive decline on his part,” Darlene Williamson, president of NAA, tells Daily Kos. She points out that “aphasia is a symptom of something else happening to you.”
Williamson is referring to the common reasons for aphasia like a stroke, or a traumatic brain injury. But a small percentage of people also experience aphasia as a result of cognitive decline.
According to reporting by Los Angeles Times writers Meg James and Amy Kaufman, it’s been obvious in recent years to everyone who’s worked with Willis that he’s experienced a significant decline, with dozens of people on sets with the actor voicing distress and doubt about whether he was even aware of where he was.
One film director sent an email to the screenwriter of a film Willis was working on to ask that the 67-year-old actor’s lines be cut down; sources also told the Los Angeles Times that the actor was often aided by an earpiece and fed lines. His management team and agents from Creative Artists Agency devised contracts to limit his working days to eight hours, but, according to Times sources, Willis often only worked for four hours.
The Times also reports that Willis fired a prop gun at the wrong cue.
But Willis continued to work, despite his difficulties. The Times reports he made 22 films in four years, and 70 films during his entire career.
In story after story, the Times found production folks who talked about noticing issues with Willis’ cognition.
Two crew members told the Times that at one point during a shoot, Willis asked: “I know why you’re here, and I know why you’re here, but why am I here?” At one point, Willis was at the point where he was being fed lines through an earpiece for him to puppet.
Willis’ assistant-turned-handler Stephen J. Eads was the primary person ushering the Pulp Fiction star from set to set, according to the article. He reportedly began working with Willis in the 1990s.
Eads was given producer credits on Willis’ movies while actor Adam Huel Potter, the person who prompted Willis’ lines of dialogue into an earpiece, was given small roles in Willis’ films and was paid $4,150 per week, according to the Times.
Williams tells Daily Kos that she believes Willis’ decline appears to have been happening over a period of time, which is perfectly possible.
She adds that as soon as a person is diagnosed, they should be connected with a good speech pathologist in order to put communication strategies in place immediately to help the family communicate with the individual and the individual communicate with family and friends.
“You don’t wait until the person can’t communicate until you teach the person how to use some alternative form of communication. There are lots of possibilities on a tablet or phone, but you don’t wait until their cognition declines until they don’t benefit from that,” Williamson says, adding that all of this can stave off the impacts of aphasia.
As for whether or not Willis was aware of how many movies he was working on, where he was on any set at any given time, or if the people around him weren’t addressing his diagnosis is a complex question to answer.
Williamson says it’s perfectly possible to have moments of complete clarity and then other moments of confusion. She says, without being specific to Willis’ case, it is also not uncommon to have instances occur over a period of a couple of years or more.
“Many people with this kind of aphasia, their loved ones will say, ‘you know, I think this was going on for a couple of years, but we just kinda’ kept moving and didn’t address it.’ But at some point, you can’t [ignore it], and I suspect that’s what happened here.”
In the end, we’ll probably never know if Willis wanted to keep working and ignored his illness, or if people around him took advantage of his condition. But Hollywood and film fans have essentially lost a great one in Willis.
My particular favorites are The Sixth Sense, Pulp Fiction, Unbreakable, and Armageddon. What are yours?
RELATED STORY: Props union reports the gun Alec Baldwin fired, killing one, injuring another, held a 'live round'
On Wednesday, Bruce Willis’ daughter Rumer Willis announced on Instagram that her dad, who starred in the Die Hard movie franchise, would be “stepping away” from acting due to “aphasia,” which is “impacting his cognitive abilities.”
She added: “This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion, and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.”
The National Aphasia Association (NAA) describes the condition as an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person’s ability to process language, and the person’s ability to speak and understand others. It does not affect someone’s intelligence.
NAA stated on its website that the organization was “saddened to hear of Bruce Willis’ recent diagnosis of aphasia,” adding that “we understand the impact of this diagnosis.”
“What appears to be happening with Bruce Willis, although we don’t know for sure, is that this is something that’s accompanying some cognitive decline on his part,” Darlene Williamson, president of NAA, tells Daily Kos. She points out that “aphasia is a symptom of something else happening to you.”
Williamson is referring to the common reasons for aphasia like a stroke, or a traumatic brain injury. But a small percentage of people also experience aphasia as a result of cognitive decline.
According to reporting by Los Angeles Times writers Meg James and Amy Kaufman, it’s been obvious in recent years to everyone who’s worked with Willis that he’s experienced a significant decline, with dozens of people on sets with the actor voicing distress and doubt about whether he was even aware of where he was.
One film director sent an email to the screenwriter of a film Willis was working on to ask that the 67-year-old actor’s lines be cut down; sources also told the Los Angeles Times that the actor was often aided by an earpiece and fed lines. His management team and agents from Creative Artists Agency devised contracts to limit his working days to eight hours, but, according to Times sources, Willis often only worked for four hours.
The Times also reports that Willis fired a prop gun at the wrong cue.
But Willis continued to work, despite his difficulties. The Times reports he made 22 films in four years, and 70 films during his entire career.
In story after story, the Times found production folks who talked about noticing issues with Willis’ cognition.
Two crew members told the Times that at one point during a shoot, Willis asked: “I know why you’re here, and I know why you’re here, but why am I here?” At one point, Willis was at the point where he was being fed lines through an earpiece for him to puppet.
Willis’ assistant-turned-handler Stephen J. Eads was the primary person ushering the Pulp Fiction star from set to set, according to the article. He reportedly began working with Willis in the 1990s.
Eads was given producer credits on Willis’ movies while actor Adam Huel Potter, the person who prompted Willis’ lines of dialogue into an earpiece, was given small roles in Willis’ films and was paid $4,150 per week, according to the Times.
Williams tells Daily Kos that she believes Willis’ decline appears to have been happening over a period of time, which is perfectly possible.
She adds that as soon as a person is diagnosed, they should be connected with a good speech pathologist in order to put communication strategies in place immediately to help the family communicate with the individual and the individual communicate with family and friends.
“You don’t wait until the person can’t communicate until you teach the person how to use some alternative form of communication. There are lots of possibilities on a tablet or phone, but you don’t wait until their cognition declines until they don’t benefit from that,” Williamson says, adding that all of this can stave off the impacts of aphasia.
As for whether or not Willis was aware of how many movies he was working on, where he was on any set at any given time, or if the people around him weren’t addressing his diagnosis is a complex question to answer.
Williamson says it’s perfectly possible to have moments of complete clarity and then other moments of confusion. She says, without being specific to Willis’ case, it is also not uncommon to have instances occur over a period of a couple of years or more.
“Many people with this kind of aphasia, their loved ones will say, ‘you know, I think this was going on for a couple of years, but we just kinda’ kept moving and didn’t address it.’ But at some point, you can’t [ignore it], and I suspect that’s what happened here.”
In the end, we’ll probably never know if Willis wanted to keep working and ignored his illness, or if people around him took advantage of his condition. But Hollywood and film fans have essentially lost a great one in Willis.
My particular favorites are The Sixth Sense, Pulp Fiction, Unbreakable, and Armageddon. What are yours?