Even in the face of hardship, Sir Billy Connolly continues to make people laugh.
The comic king has been battling Parkinson’s disease for the past decade, but he has not lost his sense of humor because he refuses to allow his condition to ‘dictate who he is’.

He still believes that laughing is the best medicine in life, and he jokes that his numerous appearances on the late Michael Parkinson’s talk shows may have contributed to his health issues.

Connolly joked about what was going through his mind when physicians informed him that he had the degenerative disorder: “I immediately thought, ‘I have Parkinson’s.” I wish Michael had kept it to himself!”

The comedian stated that after receiving the tragic news in 2013, he has found it ‘simple’ to poke fun at himself because the entire situation seems like something out of a comedy sketch.

The 81-year-old described it as a ‘funny week’, which began with him responding to small problems before snowballing dramatically.

Connolly recently told the Mirror: “On Monday, I received hearing aids. On Tuesday, I received heartburn medicines that I must take daily, and on Wednesday, I learned that I had prostate cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

“The doctors told me over the phone, ‘Look, we have the results, and it is cancer.'”

“I said, ‘Oh, nobody has ever said that to be me before'”

So, a terrible week is a positive way to characterize what he went through in 2013.

The Scotsman stated that his wife of 35 years, Pamela Stephenson, was standing behind him at the moment and instantly ‘gave him a cuddle’.

“I wasn’t too worried,” Connolly continued.

Following his cancer diagnosis, he received the all-clear, but his Parkinson’s disease progressed.

Connolly, from Glasgow, previously described how the brain condition, which causes unwanted or uncontrolled movements such as shaking, stiffness, and trouble with balance and coordination, was affecting him.

In November of last year, he stated that ‘everything becomes stranger and more different’ with each passing day, but that he has found consolation in his battles with sketching, painting, and sculpting.

When asked what motivates him and how he has changed his thinking, Sir Billy stated that he just confronts challenges and makes decisions based on them. You just have to think, ‘Don’t assume you’re being mistreated [in life] or that you’ve got the worst of the bunch. You’re one of millions. Simply be yourself and relax.”

Given that this is a man who has already contemplated the humorous statement he wishes to have engraved on his gravestone, it is evident that Connolly has given his mortality considerable thought.

In recent years, however, he has come to terms with whatever awaits him on the other side.

“You then realize [death] is not the big thing everyone has made it out to be,” the actor from Indecent Proposal went on.

“It’s nothing. It’s simply an abrupt nothing.”

The comedian will discuss his life in the new BBC series In My Own Words, which premieres next Monday.

Connolly will be the first celebrity guest to appear on the new show, discussing his ‘hellish’ background, rise to stardom, and relationship with the late and great Robin Williams.

In the series, which airs on BBC One on September 2 at 10.40pm, he will also discuss his struggles with alcohol and his misgivings about becoming a dad.