At first glance, it might seem that they have everything. A promising career, money, power, and fame. However, they currently lack the most important thing. These stars were betrayed by their health and had to at least temporarily hang up their work.
The actor, whose smile and charisma were envied by many men and women, had to hang up his acting career a few years ago due to serious health reasons. His family, who currently take care of him and offer him great support, announced two years ago that the actor suffers from aphasia, manifested by loss of speech and other cognitive abilities. But as it turned out, unfortunately, that wasn't all, and in 2023 the relatives of the star of Armageddon announced that a worse, devastating diagnosis stands behind the aphasia. As doctors later discovered, Bruce Willis suffers from incurable frontotemporal dementia. It is an incurable degenerative brain disease that affects fifty-year-olds and younger. Therefore, the hopes of the actor's return to the film are unfortunately slim.
Christina Applegate, whom viewers could see for example in the series Married... with Children or in the newer Netflix series called Dead to Me, which she finished recording with serious problems, came last year in March with a cruel announcement. She unfortunately ends with demanding filming. The reason is her neurological disease called multiple sclerosis. Because of it, she has to walk with a cane and is grateful for every day she doesn't need its support.
I can't imagine being able to get up at five o'clock in the morning again and spend twelve, fourteen hours on set. At this moment, I just don't have it in me,
explained Christina to the Los Angeles Times. Even though Christina is really strong and bravely fighting the disease, she has better and worse days, her disease already prevents her from being as active as she used to be. The actress is considering that she might be able to stay in the film industry in the future, but no longer in front of the camera. As she confessed, she would like to have a position in film production, for example.
Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary singer and former frontman of the Black Sabbath band, is battling several life-threatening diseases at once. In addition to musicians being tormented by extensive back problems for several years, Parkinson's disease was diagnosed a few years ago. In addition, a tumor was found between vertebrae during a further back surgery not long ago. The energetic singer, however, does not make much of the unfavorable diagnoses and still believes that he will return to performing one day. His wife, who sometimes wonders about his unhealthy lifestyle, is more worried about him. On the contrary, the singer is proud that despite all his excesses he is still alive, which he sometimes wonders himself. Since the last back surgery during which doctors removed the tumor from his body, he has been having problems with balance and can't stand up without the necessary support.
The star of the Back to the Future trilogy struggles with Parkinson's disease, just like Ozzy Osbourne, but he has been dealing with it since he was 29. The brave sixty-two-year-old actor last appeared in public on February 18, 2024 at the BAFTA awards presentation. He arrived in a wheelchair and delivered his speech standing up with prior assistance from a caregiver who helped him get up. It's no surprise that his performance, in which he announced the winner of the best film category, Oppenheimer, received a standing ovation. The actor's wife, Tracy Pollan, is also a strong support for him. They've been together for 36 years and she stood by his side during the awards ceremony.
Numerous health problems also plague the seemingly energetic Michael Caine, who celebrated his ninety-first birthday this year. As late as 2021, he was our main star during his visit to the film festival in Karlovy Vary. Due to major problems with walking caused by spine issues, his health condition no longer allows him to participate in filming, and three years ago he had to definitively end his acting career. However, the talented actor, known for example from the legendary films The Dark Knight, Dunkirk, or the Czech film Jan Žižka, definitely does not plan to completely give up. He has taken up writing and aspires to become a writer, who can provide his fans with a lot of fun and joy.
Sources: latimes.com, cool.iprima.cz, rollingstone.com, novinky.cz, blesk.cz, csfd.cz