PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio, AP) — Actor and South Jersey native Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with dementia.
In a statement posted Thursday, the 67-year-old actor's family said Willis has a more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.
“While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,” the family statement read. “FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone.”
The news comes nearly a year after Willis retired from acting, after being diagnosed with aphasia.
“What Bruce Willis is suffering from is a condition that basically takes away your ability to communicate, your ability to speak, to be understood easily,” KYW Newsradio medical editor Dr. Brian McDonough explained when Willis received his aphasia diagnosis in March 2022. “[It] could even impact language like writing, those types of things.”
Willis' family says his condition has progressed, leading to a more specific diagnosis of fronto-temportal aphasia, which is the most common form of the disease.
Willis, who grew up in Carneys Point, New Jersey, began his career in the '80s with roles in films like "Blind Date," before breaking through as a romantic comedy lead in the hit show "Moonlighting" and an action hero in "Die Hard."
Willis' last major film roles were in 2019's "Motherless Brooklyn" and M. Night Shymalan's "Glass," which was shot in Philadelphia and Allentown.
In Thursday's statement, his family said communication challenges were just one symptom of frontotemporal dementia.
Related
“Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead,” the statement read. “As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.”
The statement was posted on the website for The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration and signed by Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, his ex-wife Demi Moore, and his five children, Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel and Evelyn.
The National Aphasia Association estimates 2 million Americans are affected and nearly 180,000 get the disorder every year.