Scottish Blog

Billy Connolly is regarded as one of the best comedians in the world.

Billy Connolly was born on the 24th of November 1942, in Glasgow (65 Dover Street, to be more precise). He and his sister were abandoned at a young age by their mother and their father was away, fighting in World War II. He was then taken in to the care of his two aunts, who raised the two children in the Anderston area of Glasgow. Billy Connolly attended St. Peter’s Primary School and later St. Gerard’s Secondary School. It is said that at the age of 12 Billy Connolly had already decided that he wished to become a comedian. Later, at the age of 15, Billy Connolly left school and began work as a welder at the Glasgow shipyards, also joining the Territorial Army’s Parachute Regiment.

Billy Connolly continued to work as a welder, at one point even going to Nigeria to work on the building of an oil rig. Upon his return to his home country of Scotland, Billy Connolly began to pursue a career as a fold singer. This continued throughout the 1960s, apparently he made no particular attempt at being especially comedic, but his ability to do so was noted and praised by reviews from whom Billy Connolly received critical acclaim.

In the 1970s, Billy Connolly’s reputation as a comedian began to spread and so did his fame. At one point he even enlisted the help of Elton John, who offered Billy Connolly a spot in the opening of some of his concerts in America. Although, his original performance was not welcomed in America, this soon changed with his appearance in many movies along side the Mo0nty Python actors.

Since that day, the fame of Billy Connolly has spread throughout the world; he has won numerous awards for his comedic and musical skills. He was at one point even voted the second most “Scottish man in the world”, in the Glasgow Herald.

See also: Famous Scots.