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Bruce Willis’ Friend Just Gave An Emotional Update On His Health Status After Dementia Diagnosis: He’s ‘Not Totally Verbal’

October 17, 2023 by Maria Pierides

 
Splash News

Following Emma Heming Willis’ “happy news” that Moonlighting was finally available to stream on Hulu for the first time ever, the show’s creator has given Bruce Willis‘ fans a heartbreaking update on his current health status.

Moonlighting originally aired between 1985 and 1989, and the popular comedy-drama was considered to be the show that gave the 68-year-old actor his big break. He played the role of wisecracking detective David Addison, while Cybill Shepherd played Maddie Hayes, a former model who owned the Blue Moon Detective Agency. Willis retired from acting in 2022 after being diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disorder frontotemporal dementia; and the hit 80s dramedy being available to stream for the first time ever is something that Willis’ family and fans have been very excited about.

'Moonlighting' Creator Says Bruce Willis Was Pushing For The Show's Return For Quite A While

Moonlighting creator Glenn Gordon Caron, who reportedly visits Willis about once a month and keeps in contact with his wife on a regular basis, talked to the New York Post about the hit 80s show arriving on Hulu on Tuesday, October 10th, and said it was something the Die Hard actor was hoping would happen for quite a while. But in doing so, he also revealed the heartbreaking news that the neurodegenerative disease has rendered Willis somewhat incommunicative.

"The process [to get Moonlighting on a streaming platform] has taken quite a while and Bruce's disease is a progressive disease, so I was able to communicate with him, before the disease rendered him as incommunicative as he is now, about hoping to get the show back in front of people," Caron told the New York Post.

"I know he's really happy that the show is going to be available for people, even though he can't tell me that," Caron explained. "When I got to spend time with him we talked about it and I know he's excited."

Bruce Willis Is Now Reportedly 'Not Totally Verbal' 

"I have tried very hard to stay in his life," Caron continued, before going into more detail about the effects of FTD. "The thing that makes [his disease] so mind-blowing is [that] if you've ever spent time with Bruce Willis, there is no one who had any more joie de vivre than he. He loved life and just adored waking up every morning and trying to live life to its fullest. So the idea that he now sees life through a screen door, if you will, makes very little sense."

Caron said that he believes his friend knows who he is within "the first one to three minutes" of his visit, although "he's not totally verbal." Caron added: "He used to be a voracious reader and he's not reading now. All those language skills are no longer available to him, and yet he's still Bruce. When you're with him you know that he's Bruce and you're grateful that he's there, but the joie de vivre is gone."

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