The show will go on, says Billy Connolly

LONDON: Billy Connolly has vowed to continue his stage and screen career after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and undergoing surgery for prostate cancer.

A spokeswoman for the 70-year-old comedian and actor said: “Billy Connolly recently underwent minor surgery in America after being diagnosed with the very early stages of prostate cancer. The operation was a total success, and Billy is fully recovered.

“In addition, Billy has been assessed as having the initial symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, for which he is receiving the appropriate treatment.”

Connolly – who began working as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards but quit in the late 1960s to become a folk singer before turning to stand-up – is determined to return to work.

The spokeswoman added: “Billy has been assured by experts that the findings will in no way inhibit or affect his ability to work.”

Connolly, who played a dwarf warrior in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit series, admitted earlier this year that he had started to forget his lines. There is no cure for Parkinson’s but the symptoms, which include memory loss, can be controlled. Last year actor Bob Hoskins disclosed that he had the disease at the age of 69, and announced his immediate retirement. However Michael J Fox, the actor diagnosed in 1991, has continued to work.

One in eight men will develop prostate cancer, according to research. But the survival rate for men aged 70 and over, if the diagnosis is made early enough, is 87 percent.

Connolly is married to New Zealand-born actress and psychologist Pamela Stephenson.

In an interview with the BBC this year, he said: “Stay young. Me? I’m 37! I haven’t changed my attitude to things since I was 37.” – The Independent