"Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes!"
Today, as you may have guessed, we’re talking about another favorite of mine, Scottish comedy legend Billy Connolly, known by many as The Big Yin, which considering the accent would mean ‘the big one’. It’s a nickname that hails from his early club days, when he was performing one of his most famous skits ever, the one about The Crucifixion. Got him in quite a bit of trouble with the local priests, I can tell you that.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Billy was born in Glasgow in 1942. Like many funny people, he was the survivor of an extremely harsh, difficult childhood. His father served in the war, wasn’t even at home when Billy was born and only met the boy years later, after the war was over.
After his father came home a stranger from the war, his mother abandoned him and his sister. What always surprised me about Billy is how understanding he was later about the whole thing, how kind towards all those people who were not kind to him in his youth. Of his mother, he said he completely got it, that she was very young, with two little children, living in poverty. He didn’t blame her life was hard.
"When people say "life is short". What the f***? Life is the longest damn thing anyone ever f****g does! What can you do that's longer?"
And it got even harder after she left. Billy and his sister were brought up by their two very strict aunts, who were frequently violent with the children and emotionally abusive. His relationship with his father wasn’t much better, to put it mildly.
I hate to dwell on such stories, mainly because it feels like gossip to say ‘you know, he was abused as a child’, but there are some people who overcome these conditions so astoundingly that you can’t help mentioning it. Sure, many people have hard lives, difficult childhoods, toxic relationships with their parents and guardians, but few manage to not only survive but make something of themselves, be happy etc.
Billy is and always has been a huge inspiration to me.
"Who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he think he was doing at the time?"
In his youth, he worked on the shipyards, from sixteen up until the age of 24, as a welder. It was a demanding, tiring job and in Billy’s own words, he was lucky to get out when he did. He told the story of one of the older shipyard workers telling him he could make something of his life, he could do something other than this and that he should get out while he still could. Otherwise, he might’ve ended up working his whole life there until he was too old, his back too broken, his hands too tired. And the world would have been a lot poorer if he had.
After leaving the shipyards, he started playing in a band called The Humblebums with a young Gerry Rafferty. Although later, he became more focused on comedy and stand-up, Billy still plays the banjo today and has released several funny songs that have become hits in Scotland.
After The Humblebums broke up in 1971, Billy began developing his routines and like many British comedy legends, had one of his big breaks at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1972. He made quite a name for himself with his irreverent sense of humor, his stories that could go on forever and often digress into another story, and of course, the copious amounts of swearing.
"A lot of people say it's a lack of vocabulary that makes you swear. Rubbish. I know thousands of words but I still prefer f***k."
Now, it would be a bit pointless to begin telling you all the things Billy Connolly did. He appeared on hundreds of televised programs, comedy specials, recorded his own travel series, recently authored a book, performed live across the world. It would also be a bit pointless telling you which of these appearances brought him more fame. Basically, in the decades since, Billy Connolly has become a household name in Scotland, who often poses for selfies with fans whenever they ask him on the street.
They’ve dedicated murals to him. He’s a legend, what more can one say, really?
Like with all the people I’ve featured in this series, I’d much rather let the man speak for himself, so I’d encourage you to watch the videos I’ve linked to this post, to get a feel of what I’m talking about.
"I get claustrophobic easily and I don’t get why aeroplane toilets don’t f****g have windows. I mean it’s not as if anyone can f*****g see in…Unless of course you are the most determined pervert in the world."
Oh, he also appeared in numerous movies, including most recently ‘The Hobbit’, proving his versatility as an actor.
A few years ago, Billy announced he’d been diagnosed both with cancer (which he later defeated) and Parkinson’s disease. Last year, he announced he was retiring from performing live, as he could no longer do it, due to the disease spreading. In 2019, he released a two-part TV mini series called “Billy Connolly: Made in Scotland”, about his life, childhood, time as a welder, comedy career, as well as some hugely touching considerations on death.
It's as if I'm being prepared for something. Some other adventure, which is over the hill. But I've got all this stuff to lose first.
He is, quite simply, one of the most remarkable people in the Universe.
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