Mrs. Brown

Background:

Scottish entertainer Billy Connolly first enjoyed success in the U.K. as a musician and standup comedian before gaining the attention of American audiences with his performance in the commercially successful Hollywood version of “The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball” (1982). His American career gained a further boost eight years later when he was showcased on HBO's “Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Connolly in Performance” (1990). Connolly subsequently replaced Howard Hesseman in the final season of the ABC sitcom “Head of the Class” (1990-1991) playing Billy MacGrego, a role he would reprise on the short lived spin off show “Billy” (1992). As an actor, Connolly has also appeared in a number of films. He is perhaps best recognized as the Scottish servant in the Judy Dench drama “Mrs. Brown” (1997), from which he picked up nominations at the BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Other notable film credits include “The Impostors” (1998), “The Boondock Saints” (1999), “White Oleander” (2002), “Timeline” (2002), “The Last Samurai” (2003, with Tom Cruise), “The X Files: I Want to Believe” (2008) and “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” (2009). The comedian has toured extensively in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand and has released a number of musical and comedic recordings since the early 1970s, including his breakthrough hit “Solo Concert” (1974). He is also a playwright.

In July 2001, Connolly received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Glasgow. He earned a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honors List in 2003. Three years later, he was granted an honorary doctorate by Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) thanks to his service to the performing arts.

Connolly has been married twice. He has a son and a daughter with first wife Iris Pressagh, whom he was married to from 1969 to 1985. He and current wife Pamela Stephenson (married since 1989) have three daughters together. Connolly has lent his support to the National Association for Bikers with a Disability.

Glasgow

Childhood and Family:

Billy Connolly was born William Connolly on November 24, 1942, in Anderston in Glasgow, Scotland, to William Connolly, Sr., an instrument technician, and Mary Connolly, a hospital cafeteria worker. His parents separated in 1946 when he was four years old. Billy and his younger sister Florence were then raised by paternal aunts Margaret and Mona after the kid's mother abandoned them while their father was away at war. According to the biography “Billy,” written by wife Pamela Stephenson, Billy was sexually abused by his father from age 10 to around 14 or 15.

Billy attended St Peter's Primary School in Glasgow and St Gerard's Secondary School in Govan, but dropped out of school at age 15. He then worked as a delivery boy until age 16 before taking a five year apprenticeship as a shipyard welder. He quit in the early 1960s to join the parachute regiment of the Territorial Army. After leaving the military, he finished his welding apprenticeship and spent time in Nigeria building an oil rig. He returned to Glasgow and moved to London in the mid 1960s to pursue a career in music.

On June 27, 1969, Billy married Iris Pressagh. Their first child, son Jamie Connolly, was born in 1969. The couple's second child, daughter Cara Connolly, followed in 1974. Billy and his wife divorced on August 1, 1985, after having been together for 16 years and he received custody of his two children. Billy married Pamela Stephenson, a comedian and psychologist, on December 20, 1989, in Fiji. They have three daughters together named Daisy (born on December 31, 1983), Amy (born on July 7, 1986) and Scarlett Layla Connolly (born on July 28, 1988).

Solo Concert

Career:

Growing up in an unhappy home, Billy Connolly knew he wanted to be an entertainer when he was 13 years old. After dropping out of school, landing odd jobs and serving in the military, he began to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a musician. In 1965, the Scotland native founded the two man folk group The Humblebums with guitarist Tam Harvey and they played local pubs and clubs. Connolly sang, played banjo and guitar and entertained audiences with his amusing introductions to songs. With the addition of singer/songwriter Gerry Rafferty, the group performed as a trio for a time but Harvey left the group after recording one album titled “First Collection of Merry Melodies” (1969). Connolly and Rafferty continued performing as a duo until they split up in the early 1970. While together, they produced the albums “The New Humblebums” (September 1969) and “Open Up the Door” (June 1970).

After The Humblebums disbanded, Connolly worked as a solo musician. The duration of his humorous introductions in live performances increased and recognized for his knack with comedy, the head of Transatlantic Records, Nat Joseph, encouraged Connolly to drop folk singing and concentrate on becoming a comedian. Connolly followed the advice and has since become famous for his standup acts.

Following his first solo concert in 1971, Connolly was established as a popular entertainer thanks to “The Great Northern Welly Boot Show,” an original musical play based on his days at the shipyard. Premiering at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the play enjoyed praise at its opening in London. Connolly released his debut solo album “Billy Connolly Live,” which was a blend of comedy songs and short monologues, in 1972. However, he did not score a breakthrough hit until he released the double album “Solo Concert,” which was a charted success upon its release in 1974. Featuring one of his most celebrated comedy routines, “The Crucifixion,” the Nat Joseph produced album faced being banned from a number of radio stations but with the help of his Scottish fans, Connelly was able to break into the U.K. market.

With his growing popularity in the U.K., Connolly landed a high profile gig on the BBC television talk show “Parkinson,” which was hosted by Michael Parkinson. In his debut performance on the show in 1975, he made a big impact on audiences and would frequently return to the show as a guest. Connolly also signed with Polydor Records in 1975 and released three albums called “Get Right Intae Him,” “Words and Music” and “The Big Yin” that same year. His parody version of Tammy Wynette’s country classic “D.I.V.O.R.C.E.” was a hit in the U.K., where it rose to No. 1 on the U.K. Singles chart.

Also in 1975, Connelly made his television acting debut in the BBC movie “Just Another Saturday,” where he was cast as Paddy. It was followed by a performance alongside Jon Morrison in another BBC film, “The Elephant's Graveyard” (1976). He also starred and wrote the TV comedy special “Connolly” (1976) and did the same duty for the movie “Big Banana Feet” (also 1976), based on his comedy tour. It was also in 1975 that Connelly wrote his first non-musical play, “An' Me Wi' A Bad Leg Tae,” which debuted in London in 1977 and enjoyed a successful run at the Royal Court Theater. He would write two more non-musical plays titled “When Hair Was Long And Time Was Short” (1977) and “Red Runner” (1979).

Already famous in New Zealand, Canada, Australia and England, Connelly tried to break into the American market in 1976 when he was hired by Elton John as an opening act for John's 1976 U.S. tour. The initial attempt, however, proved to be unsuccessful perhaps due in part to his Scottish accent that was hard to understand for most Americans. After the failure, he launched the U.K. tour “The Billy Connolly Extravaganza” in 1977. Connolly also returned to the studio to record the album “Atlantic Bridge” in 1976. It was followed by “Billy Connelly” and “Raw Meat for the Balcony” in 1977, “Anthology” in 1978 and “Riotous Assembly” in 1979.

Back to acting, Connolly portrayed the supporting role of Blakey in “Absolution” (1978), a British drama written and directed by Anthony Page that starred Richard Burton. After writing and starring in his TV special “Billy Connolly in Concert” and appearing in Scottish Opera's production of “Die Fledermaus” (both 1978), he joined the cast of “The Secret Policeman's Ball” (1979), the third of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work for human rights. The show was directed by John Cleese and produced by Martin Lewis and Peter Walker. Connelly also appeared in the show's comedy album (released in December 1979 by Island Records) and the full length film (released in 1980).

Connolly first gained notice in the United States when he rejoined John Cleese and Martin Lewis for the subsequent Amnesty concert “The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball” (1981). Like in its predecessor, his performance was again reported as one of the show's highlights and he was featured in the follow up comedy album (1981) and U.K. film (1982). The American version of the “The Secret Policeman's Other Ball” film (1982) enjoyed commercial success and successfully introduced Connolly to more American viewers. Around the same time, Connolly's compilation album “Pick of Billy Connolly” (1981) achieved gold status. His subsequent releases included “ A Change is Good as Arrest” (1983), “In Concert” (1983), the compilation album “Big Yin Double Helping” (1984), “Wreck on Tour” (1985) and “Billy & Albert” (1987).

In 1982, Connolly played Des in the British TV film “Blue Money” opposite Tim Curry and Debby Bishop. Following a stint in the BBC comedy series “The Kenny Everett Television Show” (4 episodes, 1982), he was cast as Hawkeye McGillicuddy in “Bullshot” (1983), a comedy film directed by Dick Clement that starred Alan Shearman. He went on to act in such films as Dick Clement's “Water” (1985, starred Michael Caine and Valerie Perrine), Terence Ryan's indie comedy “To the North of Katmandu” (1986, with Ringo Starr), Mike Batt's “The Hunting of the Snark” (1987) and Richard Laster's “The Return of the Musketeers” (1989, starred Michael York and Oliver Reed). He also appeared in episodes of “Super Gran” (1985) and “Minder” (1989)

Connolly performed in “Live Aid” with Elton John in July 1985. After that, he appeared in “Comic Relief” (1986), where he also served as a writer. He then completed his first world tour in 1987 and his performance at the Royal Albert Hall was documented in the video “Billy and Albert: Billy Connolly at the Royal Albert Hall” (1987).

Connolly's career in America gained momentum in 1990 when he was featured in the HBO special “Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Connolly in Performance.” Before long, he made his American television acting debut with the regular role of Billy MacGrego on the ABC sitcom “Head of the Class.” He was on the show during its last season from 1990 to 1991. 1990 also saw him costar with Liam Neeson in the film “The Big Man.”

Connolly headlined the HBO special “Pale Blue Scottish Person” (1991) before recreating the role of Billy MacGregor in “Billy,” a spin off of “Head of the Class.” The show, however, lasted only half a season on ABC. In 1993, he guest starred in the U.K. long running series “Screen On” and landed a supporting role in the Demi Moore movie “Indecent Proposal.” Meanwhile, in June 1992, Connolly performed his 25th anniversary concert in Glasgow. Parts of the show were documented in “The South Bank Show,” which was broadcasted later in the year. In 1994, he began his “World Tour of Scotland,” which aired on BBC that same year. The album “Musical Tour of Scotland” followed in 1995.

Connolly next provided the voice of Ben in the Academy Award winning animated film “Pocahontas” (1995), which also starred the voice of Mel Gibson and Christian Bale. He then played Billy Bones in the adventure film “Muppet Treasure Island” (1996), had the title character in the BBC film “Deacon Brodie” (1997) and was featured as a Japanese antique shop proprietor in Dennis Dugan's “Beverly Hills Ninja” (1997) before gaining recognition for his portrayal of John Brown, Judi Dench's Scottish servant, in the biographical film “Mrs. Brown,” directed by John Madden. For his good acting job, Connolly was handed a BAFTA Scotland nomination for Best Actor - Film, a BAFTA nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, a Golden Satellite nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Drama and a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.

After his film breakthrough, Connolly voiced PC in “Paws” (1997), landed a supporting role in the film “Middleton's Changeling” (1998), delivered a noted portrayal of a gay tennis pro in Stanley Tucci's “The Impostors” (1998), which starred Oliver Platt and Tucci, costarred with Stephen Rea in the British comedy “Still Crazy” (1998), starred as Nickie Dryden in Anthony Neilson's “The Debt Collector” (1999) and supported Willem Dafoe and Sean Patrick Flanery in Troy Duffy's “The Boondock Saints” (1999). On the small screen, he appeared in episodes of “Veronica's Closet” (1998) and “3rd Rock from the Sun.” Connolly closed out the decade releasing the albums “Comedy and Songs” and “One Night Stand Down Under.”

In 2000, Connolly teamed up with Sharon Stone in director/writer Stephen Metcalffe's little seen drama “Beautiful Joe.” He also portrayed the mad wig salesman Scalper in the Barry Levinson directed “An Everlasting Piece,” starring Barry McEvoy. After playing Kingdom Swann in the TV film “Gentlemen's Relish” (2001), he acted in the films “Gabriel & Me” (2001, as Gabriel), “Who Is Cletis Tout” (2001, as Dr. Mike Savian), “Prince Charming” (2001, TV), “The Man Who Sued God” (2001, as Steve Myers), the Peter Kosminsky helmed “White Oleander” (2002, as Barry Kolker), Richard Donner's adaptation of Michael Chrichton's bestseller “Timeline” (2002, as Professor Johnston), Edward Zwick's “The Last Samurai” (2003, as Zebulon Gant), the Jim Carrey vehicle “Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events” (2004, as Uncle Monty), “Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties” (2006, as Dargis), “Open Season” (2006, as the voice of McSquizzy) and “Fido” (2006, played the title role). He also appeared in “The X Files: I Want to Believe” (2008, as Father Joseph Crissman), “Open Season 2” (2008, reprised his voice role of McSquizzy) and the sequel “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” (2009, as Poppa).

Connolly finished his third world tour in 2001 and it was aired the following year under the title “Billy Connolly's World Tour of Ireland, Wales and England.” The show was nominated for a National Television Award in the category of Most Popular Comedy Performance. Connolly also released a compilation album in 2002 called “The Big Yin - Billy Connolly in Concert.” Another compilation album, “Transatlantic Years,” featuring material recorded between 1969 and 1974, followed in 2003. The next tour was filmed in 2004 under the name “Billy Connolly's World Tour of New Zealand.” The albums “Billy Connolly's Musical Tour of New Zealand” and “Live in Concert” were released in 2005 and 2007, respectively.

Connolly has completed filming “Good Sharma” (2010), an American/Indian film directed by Suri Krishnamma. In the movie, he plays Reverend Webster. He is also set to portray the King of Lilliputia in “Gulliver's Travels” (2010) for director Rob Letterman. Costars of the film include Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, Jack Black and Amanda Peet.

Awards:
---