30th March 2005
BILLY CONNOLLY
by Janey Godley
He is the grandfather of Scottish comedy. I can remember sitting listening to his comedy on vinyl as a child and being amazed that he could make really 'ordinary' stuff funny. He is a legend for sure. If you ask people to name a famous SCOTTISH comedian, they will most times say Billy Connolly. He is a true artist and comedy should be recognised as an art due to his efforts. I think the fact he helped influence a generation of comics and gave Scottish comedy a platform from which to spring is a great thing, I was given very nice comments and treatment when I did some gigs in LA as I came from the same city as Billy Connolly. I think Scotland does have the 'tall poppy' syndrome at times. |
We do tend to cut down anything that gets too big. We are a nation of people who scream in support of the 'wee man' yet if he gets too big we stab him. When Billy Connolly was filming in the Calton Glasgow years ago, my daughter was only five years ago. She went over to talk to him and he kneeled down to her and chatted for ages. She asked him where his children were and he explained that he missed them because they were in Los Angeles. My daughter hugged him quickly and said, "If my daddy was away from me I would cry every day for him." Billy's eyes misted over and she hugged him tighter. I was so embarrassed that my daughter was making him so sad: the man who was my hero for making me laugh! |