Well-known in the United Kingdom as a musician and groundbreaking stand-up comic since the 1970s, Scottish... (Learn more)
Top Projects: Head of the Class, Pocahontas, The Last Samurai (View All)
- Watch on Fancast
- 0Full Length Videos
- 2Full Length Videos 2Full Length Videos
- 14Clips & Other Videos
Billy Connolly’s Milestones
| Began performing comedy between songs | |
| Co-wrote (with Tom Buchan) the musical play "The Great Northern Welly Boat Show"; won praise at the Edinburgh Fringe | |
| Joined the Parachute regiment of the Territorial Army | |
| Raised by his Aunts (paternal) when his parents' marriage ended | |
| 1957 | Dropped out of school at age fifteen |
| 1960 | Began five-year apprenticeship as a welder at the Glasgow shipyards |
| 1965 | Formed the two-man folk group The Humblebums with Tam Harvey; later joined by Gerry Rafferty |
| 1971 | Disbanded The Humblebums; began solo career |
| 1972 | Released first solo album, Billy Connolly Live! |
| 1973 | Breakthrough album, Solo Concert; featured one of Connolly's most famous comedy routines "The Crucifixion" |
| 1975 | Breakthrough performance on the BBC's "Parkinson" hosted by Michael Parkinson; told a now famous joke about a man who had murdered his wife |
| 1975 | Made TV acting debut in the BBC movie "Just Another Saturday" |
| 1976 | Appeared in the documentary feature "Big Banana Feet" based on his comedy tour |
| 1976 | Was the opening act for British singer Elton John's US tour |
| 1977 | Launched the UK tour, "The Billy Connolly Extravaganza" |
| 1977 | Scripted first play, "An' Me Wi' A Bad Leg Tae" |
| 1978 | Appeared in Scottish Opera's production of "Die Fledermaus" |
| 1979 | Invited by producer Martin Lewis to join the cast of "The Secret Policeman's Ball"; also co-wrote screenplay |
| 1985 | Performed at the Wembley leg of Live Aid, immediately preceding Elton John |
| 1986 | Visited Mozambique to appear in a documentary for Comic Relief |
| 1990 | Co-starred with Liam Neeson in the feature film "The Big Man" |
| 1990 | Featured in the HBO special "Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Connolly in Performance"; cited as the moment that officially launched his career in the States |
| 1990 - 1991 | Made American TV debut, playing teacher Billy MacGregor the final season of ABC's "Head of the Class" |
| 1991 | Headlined the HBO special "Pale Blue Scottish Person" |
| 1992 | Reprised role of Billy MacGregor for the short-lived ABC spin-off series "Billy" |
| 1994 | Launched the 40-date "World Tour of Scotland"; later aired on BBC |
| 1997 | Portrayed John Brown, Queen Victoria's (Judi Dench) Scottish servant in the British drama "Mrs. Brown"; earned a BAFTA nomination |
| 1998 | Offered fine supporting turn as a gay tennis pro in Stanley Tucci's "The Impostors" |
| 1999 | Essayed the role of Il Duce for writer-director Troy Duffy's "Boondock Saints" |
| 2000 | Co-starred with Sharon Stone in writer-director Stephen Metcalffe's little-seen "Beautiful Joe" |
| 2000 | Played the mad wig salesman The Scalped in director Barry Levinson's offbeat misfire "An Everlasting Piece" |
| 2001 | Joined writer-director Chris Ver Weil's ensemble "Who is Cletis Tout?" |
| 2002 | Cast in crucial role of Barry Kloker in "White Oleander" |
| 2003 | Appeared as Prof. Edward Johnson in director Richard Donner's adaptation of Michael Chrichton's bestseller "Timeline" |
| 2003 | Cast opposite Tom Cruise in Edward Zwick's "The Last Samurai" |
| 2004 | Portrayed Uncle Monty in "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" based on the best-selling children's books by Daniel Handler |
| 2006 | Cast in the animated comedy, "Open Season" with Martin Lawrence and Ashton Kutcher |
| 2007 | Played the title role of a domesticated zombie in the Canadian feature film, "Fido" |
| 2008 | Played Father Joseph Crissman in "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" the second feature based on the popular series |
Latest Projects
Something wrong with our information? LET US KNOW
