Billy Connolly

Billy Connolly married his first wife, Iris Pressagh in 1969 and got divorced in 1985. He has a son and a daughter from this marriage.

He married Pamela Stephenson in 1989 and has three daughters from her. She is a well-known comedy actor from New Zealand.

In 2013, he was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer and underwent a minor surgery for its treatment. In the same year, it was revealed that he was also being treated for early symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Billy Connolly was born on November 24, 1942, in Glasgow, Scotland to William and Mary Connolly. His father was in the army and his mother was a cafeteria worker in a hospital.

At the age of 4, he was abandoned by his mother and was looked after by his aunts.

In 1956, at the age of 14, he went to a tenement in Glasgow. He studied in St. Gerard Secondary school and passed out with an engineering qualification at 15.

In 1958, he joined the shipyards and worked there as a delivery boy as well as a boilermaker in Linthouse.

Billy Connolly worked in oil platform in Nigeria till 1966, before fully concentrating in folk singing. He was a duet singer with Tam Harvey in the Humblebums.

In 1972, he came to fame as a solo singer with the release of Billy Connolly Live, after which he released numerous albums of his own.

In 1975, he joined the well-known TV show Parkinson, and during the late 70s he started making television appearances as well. He continued with his musical journey at the same time with the release of some of his music albums like words and music, The Bin Yin and Anthology during this period.

He has also penned down plays like ‘Red Runner’, ‘When the Hair Was Long And The Time Was Short’ in the ‘70s.

By the 80s, he was a well-known face and started getting offers from movies as well. He appeared in Television movies like Blue Money, Weekend in Wallop, and several other talk-shows and documentaries.

Billy’s first album as a solo singer was Billy Connolly Live!. It established him as a singer who is close to the heart of an ordinary man.

This popular singer turned TV actor appeared in the popular interview show Parkinson, which was aired on BBC. His regular but controversial appearance in the show from 1978 till 2007 made him a star in the true sense.

His Live performance in the Freedom fest, for the birthday celebration of Nelson Mandela in the year 1988 earned him great accolades and adulation from the people of USA.