Billy Connolly life and biography

William "Billy" Connolly, Jr. is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin (The Big One).

Born in Glasgow, Scotland on Nov. 24, 1942, Connolly suffered family discord at four years old when his parents, William and Mary, divorced. As a result, Connolly and his younger sister, Florence, were raised by an abusive father and two aunts in a poor, unhappy home. By the age of 13, Connolly knew he wanted to be an entertainer, but he was torn between his love of American country music records and his admiration for the comedians at the local variety show. Music ended up being Connolly's first pursuit, but it was nearly a decade before he made a name.
He dropped out of school at 15, then worked as a delivery boy before taking a five-year apprenticeship as a shipyard welder. He spent a brief tour building an oil rig off the coast of Nigeria, after which he moved to London in time to join the booming folk rock scene as a banjo and guitar player. He co-formed the folk group, The Humblebums, along with future pop star Gerry Rafferty, and while playing around local clubs, Connolly's between-song banter proved to be a hit with audiences which he parlayed it into a sideline in standup comedy.

His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder (specifically a boilermaker) in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade to pursue a career as a folk singer in the Humblebums and subsequently as a soloist. In the early 1970s he made the transition from folk-singer with a comedic persona to full-fledged comedian, a role in which he continues.

He also became an actor, and has appeared in such films as Indecent Proposal (1993); Mrs. Brown (1997), for which he was nominated for a BAFTA; The Boondock Saints (1999); The Man Who Sued God (2001); Water (1985); The Last Samurai (2003); Timeline (2003); Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004); Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006); Open Season (2006); The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008); and Open Season 2 (2008). Connolly reprised his role as Noah "Il Duce" MacManus in Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. Connolly appears as the King of Lilliput in the 2010 remake of Gulliver′s Travels.

Back in his native land, he filmed another BBC tour series, this time performing in England, Ireland, and Wales, before returning to American film with a highly visible role opposite Michelle Pfeiffer in "White Oleander" (2003). His film profile continued to rise with "Timeline" (2003), director Richard Donner's lackluster adaptation of the Michael Crichton bestseller.

Connolly has been married to his second wife, comedian and psychologist Pamela Stephenson, since 1989. In the book Billy, and in a December 2008 online interview, Connolly states he was sexually abused by his father between the ages of 10 and 15. He believes this was a result of the Catholic Church not allowing his father to divorce after his mother left the family.Due to this, Connolly has a "deep distrust and dislike of the Catholic church and any other organization that brainwashes people".

Discography:
1972 - Billy Connolly Live
1974 - Cop Yer Whack for This
1974 - Solo Concert
1975 - Get Right Intae Him!
1975 - Words and Music
1975 - The Big Yin
1976 - Atlantic Bridge
1977 - Billy Connolly
1977 - Raw Meat for the Balcony!
1978 - Anthology
1979 - Riotous Assembly
1981 - The Pick of Billy Connolly (compilation)
1983 - A Change is Good as Arrest
1983 - In Concert
1984 - Big Yin Double Helping (compilation)
1985 - An Audience With Billy Connolly
1985 - Wreck on Tour
1987 - Billy & Albert
1991 - Live at the Odeon Hammersmith London
1995 - Musical Tour of Scotland
1999 - Comedy and Songs (compilation)
1999 - One Night Stand Down Under
2002 - The Big Yin - Billy Connolly in Concert (compilation)
2003 - Transatlantic Years (compilation of material recorded between 1969 and 1974)
2005 - Billy Connolly's Musical Tour of New Zealand
2007 - Live in Concert
2010 - The Man Live in London, recorded January 2010

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