Danny Glover's Heartbreaking Story Of Alzheimer's Diagnosis After Receiving 2022 Humanitarian Oscars: I Can Live With It

Veteran Hollywood star Danny Glover has revealed that he is battling Alzheimer's disease, which he's been living with for years. The 79-year-old actor, whose credits include Lethal Weapon and The Color Purple, opened up about his experience to help reduce stigma around the disease and encourage conversations about living with it. In an interview with former NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt that aired on The Today Show, Glover said he was diagnosed soon after receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2022 Oscars. The disease has affected his memory, speech and movement, but he still retains his activity and involvement in life. He said it was his family, including daughter Mandisa Glover and younger brother Marty Glover, who urged

him to go public with his diagnosis.

Danny Glover reveals battling Alzheimer's disease

"In a way, I can live with it," said Glover, who accepts his reality, even though he knows things can change as the condition progresses. His family also spoke out about Glover's fight. Mandisa said she wanted him to say all this because her father should be the one speaking about his own story. According to her, it was time for him to talk frankly about his experience, which hadn't been without its difficulties.

The family also stressed that Glover's Alzheimer's story isn't just about the disease, but about moving forward to find purpose, connection and moments of joy. "I don't see the diagnosis as the end of my life," the actor says. Rather, he believes that there is still significant work to be done. "I don't feel this is the end of my life. We got work to do," the 79-year-old added."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," Glover said in another interview with Today. "I'm still not accepting in my mind all parts of it," he further told PEOPLE. Ahead of his 80th birthday on July 22, Glover is optimistic as he looks back on his life, career and his present. "At least I've got my daughter, I've got friends," he said. "Life keeps going."

Danny Glover's Hollywood legacy

Danny Glover has an impressive career, one of the most respected in Hollywood, with more than 170 acting credits in film, television and theatre. He became an international star in the late 1980s as Detective Roger Murtaugh opposite Mel Gibson's Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon franchise. The action-comedy series became one of the defining buddy-cop franchises and made Glover a global star.Before that breakthrough, he received critical praise for his performances in such films as Places in the Heart (1984) and The Color Purple (1985), earning widespread recognition for his work. His other noteworthy projects include Angels in the Outfield (1994), Beloved (1998) and The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019).

Glover's deeds of activism and social justice

Glover is also an activist and humanitarian, aside from acting. He has used his platform throughout his career to speak out on social justice, equality and political issues. His activism eventually led him to start a production company to produce films on socially relevant themes.Glover has said he often functions as a means to make sense of the world and give people a voice. "So I was a citizen. I started acting. Acting gave me a voice," he said.Glover's diagnosis comes amid increasing conversations about Alzheimer's and dementia, as more and more celebs open up.