‘This is Heartbreaking’: Danny Glover’s Daughter Started Noticing Something Was Wrong Long Before Doctors Had an Answer
Danny Glover, 79, made the shocking announcement about his health for the first time.
The beloved “Lethal Weapon” star has slowly pulled back from the Hollywood scene, making fewer and fewer public appearances over the years.
Glover’s younger brother, Martin “Marty” Glover, and daughter, Mandisa, joined him in a show of support as he shared the devastating news.
During a segment on the “Today” morning show with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt on July 1, Glover revealed that his three-year-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
His brother, who is 12 years younger, sat next to him, saying, “I love him to death, and I’m here to help him out. It’s my turn.”
But it was Glover’s daughter who started noticing something was wrong long before doctors gave him a diagnosis in 2023.
Alzheimer’s disease, a fatal neurodegenerative disease, affects more than 7 million Americans over age 65.
At 79, Glover is still learning to accept what has changed about his life.
“I’m still not accepting in my mind all parts of it,” Glover told People in a separate interview. “There are the moments that you keep remembering that validate the fact that you can remember stuff. And there are moments I’ll never forget.”
Neither will his daughter, Mandisa, 50, who first began noticing changes in her father’s behavior in 2022. The same year he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an honorary Oscar.
“The history of my dad is that he remembers every single thing back to 1970,” Mandisa explained to the magazine.
She added, “He’d tell you so much about his parents — and I’ve heard those stories over and over — and there would be pieces of the story missing. I said, ‘I wonder what’s going on.’”
Glover shares his only child with his first wife, Asake Bomani. They were married for 25 years before divorcing in 2000.
“I still have my daughter,” he declared. “I have friends. I want to just say, your life continues.”
The news of Glover’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis sent shock waves across the internet as fans sent him well wishes.
“Danny Glover has always been a fighter. Alzheimer’s is brutal, but he’s facing it with the same strength he brought to every role,” one person on X expressed.
A second tweeted, “Alzheimer’s is no joke. Prayers to him and his family.” Similarly, another fan posted, “Sending good vibes to Danny and his family.”
One commenter compassionately proclaimed, “This is heartbreaking. Prayers for Danny Glover and his family.”
In response to a clip of Glover’s appearance on “Today,” one supporter admitted, “My heart hurts seeing this.”
Glover has been wowing moviegoers for decades. His extensive filmography also includes roles in 1994’s “Angels in the Outfield,” 2004’s “Saw,” 2010’s “Death at a Funeral,” and 2016’s “Almost Christmas.”
Glover entered the Hollywood scene after his role as an inmate in 1974’s “Escape from Alcatraz.”
In the 1980s, he starred in “The Color Purple” alongside Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg and as Sergeant Roger Murtaugh in the “Lethal Weapon” action-comedy franchise.
The same year he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Glover took on the role of Santa Claus in the Disney Channel’s “The Naughty Nine” holiday movie.
The news carries a bittersweet irony as Alzheimer’s disease has impacted several celebrities.
Former President Ronald Reagan and singer Tony Bennett were both diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. “Blazing Saddles” actor Gene Wilder later died from complications of the disease in 2016.
In 2023, the family of fellow 1980s action movie star Bruce Willis announced that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia at 68, another incurable neurodegenerative disease.
The connection between the two actors runs even deeper. Decades earlier, Willis reportedly turned down the role of Martin Riggs in “Lethal Weapon,” the quintessential buddy cop film that paired Glover with Mel Gibson for one of Hollywood’s most iconic action duos.