Channel: DJDiscoCat

Category: Music

Description: Aphasia is a language disorder caused by damage in a specific area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension. Aphasia leaves a person unable to communicate effectively with others. I recently found out the sad news that my hero, Bruce Willis suffers from that condition and I haven't been able to get him off my mind. "Moonlighting" was my fave and when he started in action movies, there was no one better than Bruce who often used offbeat humor and sarcasm. Life is strange and full of unexpected surprises, but aphasia screws with your communication skills. There is nothing more frustrating that NOT being able to express yourself. Apparently, stroke victims could suffer temporary aphasia while the brain repairs itself, but it could also remain chronic. I was working on Staple Singers "I'll Take You There" which I chose to remix over "Respect Yourself" when I found out the news and quickly set up to remix Bruce's "Respect Yourself" from 1987 with the Pointer Sisters. Bruce Willis was born March 19, 1955 in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany to a German mother Marlene, and an American soldier David Willis. The family included Florence, Robert and David. As a child, he spoke with a stutter. He attended high school where his friend affectionately named him "Buck Buck" and he joined the drama club which helped him with his stutter and became student council president. After high school, he worked as a security guard at a nuclear power plant and transported employees to the DuPont factory in New Jersey. Then he became a private investigator and after that fizzled out, he turned to acting. "Moonlighting" had him opposite Cybill Shepherd and he developed his signature humor. He was one of over 3000 hopefuls who applied for the role. He won an Emmy and a Golden Glove for his performances. His first feature film was Blake Edward's "Blind Date" starring Kim Basinger and John Larroquette followed by his role as Tom Mix in "Sunset" in 1988. "Die Hard" offered him a chance at an action role that turned him into a superstar. He performed most of his stunts. In 1987 he was persuaded to record an album, "The Return Of Bruno" an album full of soul classics with his cover of The Staple Singers "Respect Yourself" that peaked at #5 on the Hot100 and was his sole Top40 hit. The Staple Singers version peaked at #12 in 1971. He had two flops, "The Bonfire Of The Vanities" and "Hudson Hawk" were not well received, but "Striking Distance" revived his career and it went down again with the release "Color Of Night" when MAXIM magazine ranked his sex scene in the film as the best in history. Since then Bruce has availed himself to Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film "Pulp Fiction", hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guest Katy Perry and in 2015 was on the Broadway stage opposite Laurie Metcalf in "Misery". His undiagnosed aphasia began to take its toll when film producers notice his confusion, forgetting why he was there and ended up having his lines fed to him through an earpiece. The Golden Raspberry Awards, a tongue in cheek program that rewards bad performances with a raspberry chose his performance in "Cosmic Sin" but to their credit, cancelled the dubious honor once they found out that it was a medical condition that caused his lackluster performance. He announced his retirement from performing and I for one am sad to see him go, but I understand he has completed photography on eight films scheduled for release during 2022 - 2023.