Peter Buck
American musician; guitarist for R.E.M., songwriter, record producer
William Connolly, a Scottish comedian, actor, artist, musician, and television presenter, is known for his idiosyncratic and often improvised observational comedy. He started as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards before transitioning to a career in folk singing and comedy. Connolly has been recognized as one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time and has appeared in numerous films over the years. In recent years, he has established himself as an accomplished artist.
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About the Billy Connolly
Sir William Connolly is a Scottish retired comedian, actor, musician and television presenter, and currently an artist. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yinin the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade to pursue a career as a folk singer. He first sang in the folk rock band The Humblebums with Gerry Rafferty and Tam Harvey, with whom he stayed until 1971, before beginning singing as a solo artist. In the early 1970s, Connolly made the transition from folk singer with a comedic persona to fully-fledged comedian, for which he is now best known. In 1972, he made his theatrical debut, at the Cottage Theatre in Cumbernauld, with a revue called Connolly’s Glasgow Flourish. He also played the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In 1972, Connolly’s first solo album, Billy Connolly Live!, was produced, with a mixture of comedic songs and short monologues. In 1975 he topped the UK Singles Chart with “D.I.V.O.R.C.E.”
As an actor, Connolly has appeared in various films, including Water(for which he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role), The Boondock Saints (1999), The Last Samurai (2003), Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008), Brave (2012), and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). On his 75th birthday in 2017, three portraits of Connolly were made by leading artists Jack Vettriano, John Byrne, and Rachel Maclean. These were later turned into part of Glasgow’s official mural trail. In October that year, he was knighted at Buckingham Palace by Prince William, for services to entertainment and charity.
Connolly announced his retirement from comedy in 2018, and in recent years he has established himself as an artist. In 2020, he unveiled the fifth release from his Born on a Rainy Day collection in London, followed by another instalment later that year and has subsequently issued another five collections. During the filming of the ITV documentary Billy Connolly: It’s Been a Pleasure, he described how art had given him “a new lease of life”.
Frequently Asked Questions
Billy Connolly started his career as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, but later transitioned to a career in folk singing and comedy, ultimately becoming one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time.
Billy Connolly is known for his idiosyncratic and often improvised observational comedy, frequently including strong language.
In 2022, Billy Connolly received the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He has also topped many UK polls as the greatest stand-up comedian of all time.
In addition to being a renowned comedian, Billy Connolly is also an accomplished actor, artist, musician, and television presenter.
In recent years, Billy Connolly has established himself as an artist, unveiling several collections of his artwork, and has described how art has given him ,a new lease of life, after announcing his retirement from comedy in 2018.
Billy Connolly is sometimes known by the Scots nickname ,the Big Yin,, which means ,the Big One, and is a reference to his larger-than-life personality and comedic presence.
Billy Connolly started his career as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, but gave up that trade towards the end of the 1960s to pursue a career as a folk singer, first with the band The Humblebums and then as a solo artist, before transitioning to becoming a fully-fledged comedian.
21 Quotes by Billy Connolly
- 1.
The great thing about Glasgow is that if there’s a nuclear attack it’ll look exactly the same afterwards.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 2.
I love Los Angeles. It reinvents itself every two days.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 3.
If Jesus was a Jew, how come he has a Mexican first name?
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 4.
I don’t believe in angels, no. But I do have a wee parking angel. It’s on my dashboard and you wind it up. The wings flap and it’s supposed to give you a parking space. It’s worked so far.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 5.
I think my securities far outweigh my insecurities. I am not nearly as afraid of myself and my imagination as I used to be.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 6.
I’m a citizen of the world. I like it that way. The world’s a wonderful. I just think that some people are pretty badly represented. But when you speak to the people themselves they’re delightful. They all want so little.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 7.
Fame is being asked to sign your autograph on the back of a cigarette packet.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 8.
My parents used to take me to the pet department and tell me it was a zoo.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 9.
I loved Japan. I used to read a lot about it when I was a child. And I always wanted to go. And it was delightful. I absolutely loved it. What a smashing place.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 10.
The only time I would like to see was the 20s and 30s in America because I love the music and the style and the optimism, I wanted to see New York being built. I wanted to see all that, you know.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 11.
Ally MacLeod thinks that tactics are a new kind of mint.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 12.
It seems to me that Islam and Christianity and Judaism all have the same god, and he’s telling them all different things.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 13.
I don’t know why I should have to learn Algebra… I’m never likely to go there.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 14.
Marriage is a wonderful invention: then again, so is a bicycle repair kit.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 15.
My definition of an intellectual is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 16.
Never trust a man, who when left alone with a tea cosey… Doesn’t try it on.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 17.
I have been made redundant before and it is a terrible blow; redundant is a rotten word because it makes you think you are useless.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 18.
I don’t have wild dogs chasing people with scripts away from my door. I get my share. I’ve done okay. But I usually do independent stuff because that’s mostly what I’m offered.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 19.
I don’t believe in angels and I have trouble with the whole God thing. I don’t want to say I don’t believe in God, but I don’t think I do. But I believe in people who do.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 20.
There are two seasons in Scotland: June and Winter.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian
- 21.
I’ve always wanted to go to Switzerland to see what the army does with those wee red knives.
Billy ConnollyScottish actor and comedian