Danny Glover Reveals He’s Living With Alzheimer’s Disease

Danny Glover

Danny Glover Reveals He’s Living With Alzheimer’s Disease

Legendary actor Danny Glover is opening up about his Alzheimer’s diagnosis for the first time, sharing that he hopes speaking publicly about his health journey will help remove the stigma surrounding the disease.

In an exclusive interview with TODAY, the Lethal Weapon star revealed he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Although he acknowledged the diagnosis has slowed his speech, memory and movements, Glover said he has found a sense of acceptance. “I could live with it, in a sense,” he shared. The 79-year-old also remains active in his native San Francisco, continuing to attend events and engage with his community despite the challenges that come with the progressive disease.

Glover said his desire to keep serving others hasn’t changed. “We have challenges in the world,” he said. “I think art becomes a reframe, a way of looking at that, you know?” Though he can no longer travel as extensively, the acclaimed actor said he still enjoys encouraging young people to become active in their communities. “Justice is our collective responsibility,” Glover said. “One thing I learned from my parents most of my life is the capacity of people to change through their own. They become the architect of their change.”

The Oscar-honored humanitarian also reflected on the people who shaped his life, particularly his late mother and father, whose activism inspired his own lifelong commitment to social justice. “The one thing about my parents was their activism,” Glover said. “A sense of being and belonging and making the contribution. When I saw the Montgomery bus boycott… I knew I wanted to be like those people. I wanted to be in that moment and part of the role.”

Glover’s daughter, Mandisa, said the family supported his decision to go public because it allowed him to tell his own story. “I think it’s really important for him to have control of his own narrative, of his own life story,” she said. “What better time but now for him to speak for himself?” She added that she never wanted to pretend “everything is all right. It’s all great,” when that wasn’t the reality.