Danny Glover is sharing an update on his health ahead of his 80th birthday, revealing that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Glover, 79, broke the news in an interview with the Today show’s Lester Holt on Wednesday, July 1, adding that he was diagnosed in 2022 just months after receiving an honorary Oscar.
“I can live with it in a sense,” he said on Today regarding progressing symptoms. “I’m sure as it advances, different things will be different and changing.”
Despite his diagnosis, Glover still remains committed to speaking with “young people” about his social justice efforts.
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“A big deal is talking to young people and their responsibility,” he said. “[I have] a lot to learn, as well.”
Glover’s update comes weeks before his milestone birthday on July 22.
Glover rose to fame in the ‘80s thanks to his iconic role as LAPD detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon films, with fans quoting his signature line “I’m too old for this s***” to this day.
“It’s one of those lines that’s become a phenomenon,” Glover told Yahoo Entertainment in 2016, noting how often fans ask him to incorporate the line when signing autographs. “I say, ‘What do you want me to put on there?’ and they go: ‘I’m too old for this s***.’ Or they say: ‘It’s for my dad, so tell him, ‘You’re not too old for this s***.’”
In the original 1987 film, Glover starred alongside Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs, a former Special Forces soldier who struggled with suicidal impulses, as the pair investigated a young woman’s apparent suicide. The action thriller spawned three sequels and a 2016 TV adaptation starring Clayne Crawford as Martin and Damon Wayans as Roger.
Glover also starred in a lengthy list of other notable movies, including Places in the Heart (1984), The Color Purple (1985), Witness (1985), To Sleep with Anger (1990), Predator 2 (1990), Grand Canyon (1991), Bopha! (1993), Angels in the Outfield (1994), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Saw (2004), Dreamgirls (2006), Shooter (2007), Be Kind Rewind (2008), 2012 (2009), Death at a Funeral (2010), Beyond the Lights (2014), Sorry to Bother You (2018) and The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019).
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The San Francisco native is also known for his television work, including his Emmy-nominated roles as Nelson Mandela in HBO’s Mandela (1987), Joshua Deets in CBS’ Lonesome Dove (1989), Philip Marlowe in Showtime’s Fallen Angels (1995) and Will Walker in TNT’s Freedom Song (2000).
Outside of acting, Glover has become an avid civil rights and political activist. In 2022, he was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Governors Awards. He has also advocated for epilepsy awareness after battling the condition in his youth.
“I want people with epilepsy to know that there are ways in which they can play a role in their own recovery,” Glover, who learned to recognize the signs of oncoming seizures and managed his illness with medication until the seizures stopped in his 30s, once said, according to Epsy Health. “It’s all in how they approach what is happening and how they can use that as a catalyst for their own growth. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned, it’s that people are willing to embrace you if you share your story.”
Glover has continued both his humanitarian efforts and acting career to this day, with upcoming projects including the films Dionne, Killing Winston Jones and Long-Day Journey and the TV series The Prosecutor.
Glover is also a dad to daughter Mandisa, 50, whom he shares with ex-wife Asake Bomani. The exes were married from 1975 to 2000. He was also previously married to Eliane Cavalleiro from 2009 to 2022.
