Family: Willis’ condition progressing
Nearly a year after Bruce Willis’ family announced that he would step away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, his family says his “condition has progressed.”
In a statement posted Thursday, the actor’s family said Willis, 67, has a more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.
“While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,” the statement read. “FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone.”
Last March, Willis’ family said his aphasia had affected his cognitive abilities. The condition causes loss of the ability to understand or express speech. In Thursday’s statement, his family said communication challenges were just one symptom of frontotemporal dementia.
The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration describes FTD as a group of brain disorders caused by degeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain that affect behavior, language and movement.
The family’s statement was posted on the association’s website and was signed by Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, his ex-wife, Demi Moore, and his five children: Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel and Evelyn.
“Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead,” the family’s statement read. “As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.”
Dench gives eye condition update: Dame Judi Dench made an appearance
Friday on “The Graham Norton Show” and revealed that her degenerative eye condition is making it increasingly difficult to act.
“It’s become impossible and because I have a photographic memory, I need to find a machine that not only teaches me my lines but also tells me where they appear on the page,” she said, according to People magazine.
Dench, 88, has spoken about her macular degeneration before and was first diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration in 2012.
Stars attend Westwood memorial:
Fashion and music stars including Victoria Beckham, Stormzy and Kate Moss gathered at a London cathedral Thursday at a memorial service for Vivienne Westwood, the designer who helped create the outrageous look of punk rock.
Musicians Bob Geldof,
Nick Cave and Chrissie Hynde, and actors Elle Fanning, Helena Bonham Carter and Vanessa Redgrave were among the mourners attending the service at Southwark Cathedral to commemorate Westwood, who died in December at age 81.
Figures from the fashion world included Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, British Vogue editor Edward Enninful and designer Erdem Moralioglu.
Many wore tartan or bold tailoring in honor of the designer.
Singer Yoko Ono is 90. Singer Herman Santiago is 82. Singer Irma Thomas is 82. Singer Dennis DeYoung is 76. Actor Cybill Shepherd is 73. Actor John Travolta is 69. TV personality Vanna White is 66. Actor Matt Dillon is 59. Rapper Dr. Dre is 58. Actor Molly Ringwald is 55. Actor Ike Barinholtz is 46.