Contents
Billy Connolly
Turning rambling Glasgow stories into a distinctive and influential style of stand-up comedy.
Solo Concert · An Audience with Billy Connolly
- Born
- 24 November 1942
- Birthplace
- Glasgow, United Kingdom
More people
Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly is a Scottish comedian whose career grew from shipyard work and folk music into international stand-up, acting and travel television. His spontaneous storytelling earned him the nickname the Big Yin.
Early life
Glasgow childhood
Grew up in tenements and was partly raised by his aunts.
Shipyard apprenticeship
Trained as a boilermaker before pursuing music professionally.
Career
- 1960s
Folk clubs
Performed with the Humblebums, whose members included Gerry Rafferty.
- 1975
Television breakthrough
An appearance on Parkinson brought his irreverent comedy to a national audience.
- 1990s
Screen and travel work
Expanded into television journeys and dramatic film roles.
- 2022
BAFTA Fellowship
Received BAFTA’s career honour for his contribution to entertainment.
Selected work
Solo Concert
A live album capturing the storytelling that established his reputation.
An Audience with Billy Connolly
A television stand-up performance delivered before an invited audience.
Mrs Brown
Played John Brown opposite Judi Dench’s Queen Victoria.
Beyond work
Drawing
Developed an exhibiting practice in art alongside his performance career.
Charitable work
Appeared in Comic Relief and Amnesty benefit performances.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Further source: bafta.org ↗Photo: Eva Rinaldi. CC BY-SA 2.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
