Biography for
Billy Connolly More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

24 November 1942, Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Birth Name

William Connolly

Nickname

The Big Yin

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

Billy Connolly was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. He left school to work in the shipyards becoming a welder and joined the Territorial Army (in the parachute regiment) at around the same time. He developed an interest in folk music, eventually becoming an accomplished banjo player and a member of the band Humblebums with Gerry Rafferty (later of Baker Street fame). The jokes he told between songs eventually took over his act and he became a full-time comedian. Already a big star in Scotland, he became a household name in the UK after appearing on "Parkinson" (1971) in the early seventies. Billy has released many recordings and videos of his concert performances over the years. He has expanded his repertoire to include acting, appearing in a number of television dramas and films, most recently in the USA. In the 90s he made two documentary series for the BBC, about Scotland and Australia respectively, and in 1997 he starred in the award winning film Mrs Brown (1997). He is one of the UK's top comedian.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Spouse

Pamela Stephenson	(20 December 1989 - present) 3 children
Iris Pressagh	(27 June 1969 - 1 August 1985) (divorced) 2 children

Trade Mark

Beard

Tangential storytelling in stand-up comedy performances, often featuring multilayered digressions from original story.

Banjo playing

Use of bad language in his stand-up routines.

Long hair.

Trivia

Known for his long, messy hair, goatee and lots of bad language in his stand-up show.

American audiences are generally unfamiliar with Connolly's musical accomplishments, since he all but eliminated the songs from his act before he became popular in North America. An exception to this were his guest appearances on "Pearl" (1996) in which he sang one of his old songs, "I Wish I Was in Glasgow", in a duet with Malcolm McDowell.

Three Daughters with Pamela Stephenson: Daisy (born 31 December 1983), Amy (born 7 July 1986) and Scarlett (born 28 July 1988). Two children with his previous wife, Iris Pressagh: Son Jamie (born 1969) and Daughter Cara (born 1973).

Married Pamela Stephenson in Fiji on 20 December 1989.

July 2001: Received an honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow.

He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Entertainment.

He is a long time supporter of Glasgow Celtic Football Club.

He is a former reserve soldier in Britain's elite parachute regiment, serving with 15 Para (now a disbanded battalion).

In September 2005, he announced that he is returning to live in his native Scotland, after residing in the United States for some years.

Personal Quotes

"I'm now a Doctor of Letters. Most of them Fs and Bs."

"Life for me is great. I'm a very f***in' wealthy person, I'm married to a very beautiful woman and I get laid with monotonous regularity."

"I think my securities far outweigh my insecurities. I am not nearly as afraid of myself and my imagination as I used to be."

"In Scotland, there is no such thing as bad weather - only the wrong clothes."

"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!"

"There are two seasons in Scotland - Winter and July."

It's very awkward to be kind of big in your own field. It limits what you're offered. People are swayed by the fact that you're a comedian or a musician or whatever they think you are. When it comes to choosing you, they get a bit shaky about offering you a different type of role. But I've really been very lucky. When you compare me to other comedians, I've been very fortunate. So you'll get no complaints.

I'd never consciously left home to see a zombie movie. They were fine by me, but I had no intention of ever being in one. But I've been learning more about it as I've been doing interviews. I didn't even know there were specialist zombie magazines and clubs. I heard the other day that a radio station had asked people if they'd made preparations for an attack by zombies, and a staggering number of people replied yes!

I set out to be a cross between Lenny Bruce and Robert the Bruce -- my main thrust was the body and its functions and malfunctions -- the absurdity of the thing.

Where Are They Now

(May 2009) Fulham, London, England

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