Danny Glover has spent decades telling other people's stories. This week, he chose to tell his own.
A disclosure on his own terms
Glover, who turns 80 this month, revealed that he is living with Alzheimer's disease in an interview aired on NBC's "Today," appearing with family members including his daughter, Mandisa, and his brother Martin, NBC reported. His family said he had been diagnosed several years ago. "I think it's really important for him to have control of his own narrative," Mandisa Glover said of the decision to speak publicly.
Glover spoke plainly about the road ahead. "I can live with it, in a sense," he said. "I'm sure as it advances, things are going to be different and changing." Of his family's support, he said simply: "They've got my back."
A career of craft and conscience
Glover, 79, built a career spanning more than 200 roles over five decades, CBS News noted. He became a household name as detective Roger Murtaugh opposite Mel Gibson in the "Lethal Weapon" series beginning in 1987, and drew acclaim for Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple," the miniseries "Lonesome Dove" and "Mandela," and later Bay Area films including "Sorry to Bother You" and "The Last Black Man in San Francisco." In 2022 the film academy gave him its Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, honoring an activism that has ranged from United Nations goodwill work to civil-rights causes.
About the disease
Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for most cases, and is a progressive condition with no cure, according to the Alzheimer's Association; recently approved medications can slow decline in some early-stage patients. Glover's family said they hoped his openness would help ease the stigma many still attach to the disease. His brother Martin put the moment in personal terms: "He took me under his wing… And I'm here to help him now."
