BYE, BYE BRUCE…

This is definitely a tribute for die hards, Bruce Willis is retiring from acting and when hearing the news, I felt the same way I felt the last time I saw Harry Stamper in Armageddon. I wasn’t ready for Harry to leave then, and I’m not ready for Bruce to leave us now. I felt as if his fans, myself included, were A.J. Frost played by Ben Affleck in the film, and we pulled the short straw.

Bruce has always remained a favorite actor among viewers and even though he hadn’t made any Blockbuster films recently, he was steady working and releasing films regularly. Most of the work he was doing towards the end of his career, was considered low-budget-film work due to it not receiving heavy marketing across advertising platforms and media and being released strictly on streaming services and missing theaters all together. He didn’t seem to care if the film wasn’t all that great and critics panned the work as not worth watching, Bruce loved being an actor and making films for viewers to enjoy.

BRUCE’S ACTING BUG…

It wasn’t about the critics; it was about the fans that kept watching his movies and them anticipating the next film. If his films were in demand from fans, he was going to continue to make them. Fans were even holding out hope that he might return once more to play his most famous role, as John McClane in the Die Hard film series. There was talk in the industry that he had planned on it and was waiting on a script to be written. It appears now that there was more going on surrounding why that never came to fruition, despite rumors that a script was written for another Die Hard film.

A FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT…

On March 30, 2022, Demi Moore and Emma Heming Willis released a statement on behalf of Willis and his family. Moore is the mother to his three daughters Rumer Willis, Scout Willis and Tallulah Willis. He also has two daughters, Evelyn Penn Willis and Mabel Ray Willis, with his current wife Emma. In the statement Moore & Heming Willis announced that Willis has been diagnosed with Aphasia, which is a disorder that affects the brain’s language center and hinders a person’s ability to understand and express speech. The family states that he had been experiencing some health issues related to the diagnosis, which more than likely those health issues had to do with his cognitive abilities. It was rumored before the announcement for years that he was having cognitive problems while making films, it appeared that Willis was already showing symptoms of the Aphasia.

Moore & Hemings Willis made the joint announcement on Instagram and addressed it to “Bruce’s amazing supporters” and said it was a challenging time for the family and that acting meant so much to him before having to step away from it as a result of his health. They ended it by quoting Bruce by saying they intended to ‘Live it up’ together as a family as they work together to get him through the diagnosis.

AN IMPROMPTU GOODBYE…

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As a result of this abrupt and sudden end to an iconic career that seemed like it would last for the ages, a tribute is necessary to remember the accomplishments of such a storied career in film. We will go back to the beginning to bring us to where we are in our celebration of the 67-year-old actor who needs no introduction. Bruce Willis has been an actor for as long as I have been alive, as I grew up, so did his career. I am shocked and saddened by this news, but his tribute shall be bittersweet. He has played in so many iconic roles on film, it is sometimes hard to pick one favorite, but I shall try. But let us first start in West Germany, where Willis was born.

BRUCE’S FAMILY & CHILDHOOD…

Walter Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany. His mother was from Kassel, Germany and his father was an American soldier stationed in Germany when they met. When his father was discharged from the military in 1957, he relocated the family to Carneys Point Township, New Jersey. Willis has a younger sister, Florence and two younger brothers named David and Robert, who is deceased. After relocating to New Jersey, his mother worked in a local bank while his father worked as a welder, master mechanic, and factory worker. When asked about his childhood and upbringing Willis has often described his background as a “long line of blue-collar people”.

BRUCE’S HIGH SCHOOL YEARS…

Willis attended Penns Grove High School in Carneys Point Township, New Jersey where he spoke with a stutter and was nicknamed by his classmates, “Buck-Buck”. It was there that he first discovered his love of acting when he joined the drama club as well as finding that acting on stage reduced his stutter, he was eventually elected student council president before graduating in 1973.

BRUCE’S FIRST JOB MOONLIGHTING AND SCOUTING…

Willis’s first job out of high school was not an acting one, but that of a security guard at the Salem Nuclear Power Plant located at Lower Alloways Creek, in Salem County, New Jersey. He would transport crew members at the Dupont Chambers Works Factory in Deepwater, New Jersey. His next job was working as a private investigator before turning to acting full time. His breakout performance would be in Television on the show Moonlighting in 1985 with Cybill Shepard, where he ironically played a private investigator. He would later play a private investigator again in 1991 in The Last Boy Scout.

Bruce was cast as David Addison Jr. for the television series Moonlighting, which aired from 1985 until 1989. Willis beat out over 3,000 other actors for the lead role, which would establish him as a comedic actor. The show ran for five seasons and Bruce won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Drama Series, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy. It was during the height of the show’s success that he was asked to do Seagram advertisements where he provided the singing. He received between $5 and $7 million over two years for the commercials. In 1988, Willis decided on a sober lifestyle and decided not to renew his contract due since he gave up drinking alcohol.

You can watch the 1985 Official TV Trailer for the first season of Moonlighting here:

BRUCE’S COLLEGE DRAMA…

Bruce Willis would turn to acting by first enrolling in the Drama Program at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. Willis was cast in the theatrical production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Bruce would leave school in 1977 in pursuit of a film career and move to New York City. He lived in the Hell’s Kitchen Neighborhood while supporting himself as a bartender through the early 1980’s at the Manhattan art bar Kamikaze.

WE DON’T TALK ABOUT BRUNO…

In the late 1980’s while working the bar scene, Willis tried his hand at recording artist and even went as far as creating a rockstar alter ego that could separate his music career from his breakout film career. He went by the name Bruno Radolini in 1987, with the release of his first album titled The Return of Bruno which included ten song tracks and surprising appearances from featured musicians like the Pointer Sisters and the Temptations. His album was labeled an R&B album and peaked on the Billboard charts 200 album at an impressive number 14, this was partly due to Willis’ popular single “Respect Yourself”. The song reached number five on the Billboard charts. It was a remake of the original sung by The Staples Sisters in 1971, Bruce remade it with June Pointer.

You can watch the Music Video for Bruce’s single “Respect Yourself“ here:

https://youtu.be/UTIjgkp0Xws

BECAUSE HE DROPPED BRUNO…

His follow-up single “Young Blood” didn’t fare as well on the charts, only reaching number 68 in the United States. But his rendering of “Under the Boardwalk” was very popular in the United Kingdom and managed to chart at number two. Along with releasing his debut album, Willis filmed an hour-long mocumentary as Bruno which coincided with the album release that year. The mocumentary featured music superstars like Elton John, Ringo Starr and Brian Wilson, and all of them discuss the influence that Bruno was on their music. The footage also included Bruno playing music in various concerts throughout the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s, and included interviews with his former bandmates. Around the same time of the album’s release Willis had signed a contract to be the spokesperson for Seagram’s Golden Wine Coolers and as a result, Willis could be heard singing in a series of advertisements.

You can watch the Music Video for “Young Blood“ here:

You can watch the Music Video for “Under the Boardwalk“ here:

You can watch one of Bruce’s commercials for Seagram’s Golden Wine Coolers here:

BRUNO DIED HARD…

Unfortunately for Bruno, but great for Bruce, his singing career was left behind when Die Hard was released in 1988 and grossed $40 million in the domestic box office while taking home $30 million in the UK. But even though he was busy throwing Hans Gruber from the roof of Nakatomi Towers as John McClane, he did release another album. In 1989, Bruce released his second album titled If It Don’t Kill You, It Just Makes You Stronger. It featured ten singing tracks, which this time included several tracks the actor co-wrote, the only thing missing from the album was Bruno himself, due to this album being released under his acting name instead.

You can watch the 1988 Official Trailer for Die Hard here:

BRUCE WAS NOW ON PLANET HOLLYWOOD…

Willis would not completely give up singing in the early 1990’s, Bruce and his then-wife Demi Moore invested in the Planet Hollywood chain of franchise restaurants with co-investment for ownership along with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He often sung with his blues band The Accelerators for the chain restaurant grand openings that were always a celebrity affair throughout the United States. He would pull out of the film memorabilia themed restaurants in the early 2000’s when the stock was de-listed on Wall Street and the chain filed for bankruptcy. The failure was blamed on the rapid expansion of the chain restaurant as the main reason it wasn’t profiting anymore, believing it was a mistake to open so many restaurants at one time. It would eventually be re-listed after taking their restaurants from 85 to 35. By that point Willis and Schwarzenegger would sever all financial ties to the restaurant and stop appearing for events.

ROCKET SHIP TO SUCCESS IN THE PLANET OF HOLLYWOOD…

Willis’s first feature film lead role was in the 1987 film Blind Date, directed by Blake Edwards and he co-starred with Kim Basinger and John Larroquette. Edwards would cast Willis again in the 1988 film Sunset co-starring James Garner to play real-life cowboy and actor Tom Mix.

But it was his unexpected turn from comedy drama into action in the film Die Hard in 1988 as NYPD Cop who’s always having a bad day, John McClane that rocketed him into movie star and action hero status. In the film, Willis performed most of his own stunts, and the film grossed $138,708,852 worldwide at the box office. Following the success of Die Hard, Willis followed it up with a leading role in the 1989 war drama In Country as Vietnam veteran Emmett Smith and would also work with Kirstie Alley as her talking baby by providing the voice in the 1989 film Look Who’s Talking and its sequel Look Who’s Talking Too in 1990. The film’s also co-starred John Travolta.

You can watch the 1987 Official Trailer for Blind Date here:

You can watch the 1988 Official Trailer for Sunset here:

You can watch the 1989 Official Trailer for In Country here:

You can watch the 1989 Official Trailer for Look Who’s Talking here:

You can watch the 1990 Official Trailer for Look Who’s Talking Too here:

SKY HIGH IN FAME TOWN…

In the early 1990’s, having catapulted to fame, personal success and gaining a large following and influence from playing John McClane in Die Hard, Willis would return to play the leading role in the sequels Die Hard 2 in 1990 and Die Hard with a Vengeance in 1995. The first three installments in the franchise grossed over $700 million internationally at the box office. It would propel him to the top of Hollywood action stars lists for studios. But whatever goes up and must come down, Willis would suffer a slump in his film career as well in the early 1990’s.

He would have two flops back to back with The Bonfire of the Vanities in 1990 and Hudson Hawk in 1991 but would also have a success in 1991 with The Last Boy Scout. He would find more success in 1993 with Striking Distance co-starring Sarah Jessica Parker but flopped again in 1994 with the film Color of Night at the box office. But at this same time the home video market was introduced with the VCR and VHS tapes and video stores opened everywhere nationwide, and Color of Night would become one of the Top 20 most-rented films in the US in 1995. Maxim Magazine also would rank the sex scene in the film as one of the best in film history.

You can watch the 1990 Official Trailer for Die Hard 2 here:

You can watch the 1995 Official Trailer for Die Hard with a Vengeance here:

You can watch the 1990 Official Trailer for The Bonfire of the Vanities here:

You can watch the 1991 Official Trailer for Hudson Hawk here:

You can watch the 1991 Official Trailer for The Last Boy Scout here:

You can watch the 1993 Official Trailer for Striking Distance here:

You can watch the 1994 Official Trailer for Color of Night here:

BRUCE DIDN’T BOTTOM OUT FOR LONG…

In 1994 he would find himself back on top when he appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s ensemble crime film in a leading role in one part of the multifaceted story that was Pulp Fiction. The boost in his career would bring more offers and he would executive produce and star in the cartoon TV show Bruno the Kid in 1996, and it included a CGI representation of himself and the title character’s name was taken from his singer alter ego.

The show lasted one season and following the animated film of the same name. That same year, he would star with his then-wife Demi Moore in Mike Judge’s animated film Beavis and Butt-head Do America. The plot of the film sees his character, a drunken criminal named “Muddy Grimes”, who mistakenly sends the title characters to kill his wife, Dallas, voiced by Moore. He would in 1995 also make the cult classic, 12 Monkeys and in 1997 his other cult classic, The Fifth Element.

You can watch the 1994 Official Trailer for Pulp Fiction here:

You can watch the 1996 Official Trailer for Bruno the Kid here:

You can watch the 1996 Official Trailer for Beavis and Butt-Head Do America here:

You can watch the 1995 Official Trailer for 12 Monkeys here:

You can watch the 1997 Official Trailer for The Fifth Element here

WHAT GOES DOWN, MUST COME UP…FOR BRUCE ANYWAY…

He would fall into another film slump with a series of critically panned films starting in 1997 with The Jackal, 1998’s Mercury Rising and in 1999 with Breakfast of Champions. But he would also have a success in the mists to salvage his career with Armageddon in 1998 which was to compensate for his failed production of the film Broadway Brawler. It would payoff for him in more ways than one, with Armageddon ending up as the highest-grossing film of 1998 globally.

That same year he would offer his voice again to a role, but this time it was for a PlayStation video game titled Apocalypse. And he would have another hit and critical success in 1999 with the starring role of Malcolm Crowe, the child psychologist, in M. Night Shyamalan‘s The Sixth Sense. The film would receive six Academy Awards but The Academy would snub Willis in the nominations Best Actor category even after his role was praised as one of his best in his career. The film would be the second-highest-grossing film of 1999 taking in an estimated $293 million domestically and $379 million internationally.

You can watch the 1997 Official Trailer for The Jackal here:

You can watch the 1998 Official Trailer for Mercury Rising here:

You can watch the 1998 Official Trailer for Armageddon here:

You can watch the 1999 Official Trailer for The Sixth Sense here:

BRUCE’S NEW MILLENNIUM…

Willis would finally receive some accolades for his acting in 2000 with his guest starring role on the comedy series Friends, for which he received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, it was for his role as Ross Geller’s much-younger girlfriend’s father. He would also in 2000, star in the film The Whole Nine Yards as Jimmy “The Tulip” Tudeski alongside his Friends co-star Matthew Perry.

In 2000, Willis started a motion picture production company with his business partner Arnold Rifkin called Cheyenne Enterprises. Willis also owns several small businesses in Hailey, Idaho, including The Mint Bar and The Liberty Theater. In probably the poorest of choices in his career, Willis was supposed to play the Andy Garcia role of Terry Benedict in Ocean’s Eleven, but dropped out to work on recording another album in 2004.

He does, however, appear in the sequel Ocean’s Twelve in 2004 in a cameo as himself. In 2005, he appeared in the Robert Rodriguez film adaption of the graphic novel Sin City. He then lent his voice once more in 2006 to the film Over the Hedge as the voice of RJ the Racoon. He would also collaborate with Rodriguez on the double feature Grindhouse in the Planet Terror half of the film in 2007 as the mutant soldier villain.

You can watch a scene from Bruce Willis’ episode of Friends here:

You can watch the Official 2000 Trailer for The Whole Nine Yards here:

You can watch the Official 2001 Trailer for Ocean’s Eleven here:

You can watch the Official 2004 Trailer for Ocean’s Twelve here:

You can watch the Official 2005 Trailer for Sin City here:

You can watch the Official 2006 Trailer for Over The Hedge here:

You can watch the Official 2007 Trailer for Planet Terror here:

BRUCE WILLIS: LATE NIGHT HOST?!

Willis even dipped his toes into late night host for a several occasions, appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman. He filled in for David Letterman last minute when he was ill and due to be on as a guest for the February 26, 2003, episode. Willis staged many elaborate skits and jokes, for instance, wearing a Day-Glo orange suit to mimic and honor the Central Park gates while having one side of his face painted to simulate the birdshot wounds after the Harry Whittington shooting by Dick Cheney, or trying to break a record of standing underwater for only twenty seconds to parody David Blane.

He would return to guest host on April 12, 2007, and June 25, 2007. Bruce was also was a spokesman starting in 1989 for the Japanese Subaru Legacy television commercials with Subaru releasing a limited addition in honor of the ads and called it the “Subaru Legacy Touring Bruce”. He continued appearing in the commercials into the early 2000’s.

You can watch Bruce’s Original 1989 Japanese Commercial for the Subaru Legacy here:

SAMUEL L. JACKSON MAY HAVE BEEN BRUCE’S FAVORITE CO-STAR…

Before they had worked together in 1995 on the third sequel Die Hard with a Vengeance, Willis had already worked with Samuel L. Jackson twice, they both appeared in the 1993 parody film of the Lethal Weapon franchise, Loaded Weapon 1, which also featured Emilio Estevez. They then appeared together again in Pulp Fiction in 1994. Willis and Jackson would appear in two other films together, M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable in 2000 and the second crossover and sequel to the first film Glass in 2019 bringing their shared screentime to five films. The two films would also be Willis’s second and third time working with M. Night Shyamalan who cast Willis in The Sixth Sense. Willis and Jackson were slated to work together once more in the film Black Water Transit in 2009 before they both decided to drop out and the film was made with Laurence Fishburne and Karl Urban starring instead.

You can watch the Official 1993 Trailer for Loaded Weapon 1 here:

You can watch the Official 2000 Trailer for Unbreakable here:

You cam watch the Official 2019 Trailer for Glass here:

You can watch the Official 2009 Promo Trailer for Black Water Transit here:

WHEN ACTING RUNS IN THE FAMILY…

In 2005, Willis would have the opportunity to work with his eldest daughter, Rumer Willis, in the film Hostage where he played ex L.A. SWAT officer Jeff Talley who becomes a hostage negotiator for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. In 2006, Willis would star in the crime and drama film Alpha Dog co-starring Sharon Stone and Justin Timberlake. In 2007, Bruce would appear in the thriller Perfect Stranger with Halle Berry, and he also reprised his role as John McClane once more in Live Free or Die Hard. Willis left his production company to be run solely by Rifkin in 2007 after Live Free or Die Hard. In 2008, he would appear with Robert De Niro in the satire film What Just Happened and in 2009, Willis would star in the sci-fi comic book adaption of Surrogates.

You can watch the Official 2005 Trailer for Hostages here:

You can watch the Official 2006 Trailer for Alpha Dog here:

You can watch the Official 2007 Trailer for Perfect Stranger here:

You can watch the Official 2007 Trailer for Live Free or Die Hard here:

You can watch the Official 2008 Trailer for What Just Happened here:

You can watch the Official 2009 Trailer for Surrogates here:

THEN CAME THE EARLY SIGNS THAT LEAD TO A CAREER ENDING DIAGNOSIS…

Willis would work steadily into the next decade, starting in 2010, with the film comedy Cop Out, directed by Kevin Smith and co-starring Tracy Morgan about two police detectives investigating the theft of a baseball card.

The film was released in February 2010. In 2011, Kevin Smith appeared on Marc Maron’s podcast and said that working with Willis on the film was “soul crushing”. Smith complained that Willis wouldn’t even sit for the marketing campaign posters shoot, adding that:

“Were it not for Tracy (Morgan), I might have killed either myself or someone else in the making of fucking ‘’Cop Out.”

– Kevin Smith

You can listen to Kevin Smith in the mentioned segment of the Marc Maron podcast here:

You can watch the Official 2010 Trailer for Copout here:

But on March 30, 2022, when Willis’s Aphasia Diagnosis was announced, Smith apologized to Bruce Willis over the pettiness of the feud on set via Twitter: (see the tweet below)

Long before any of the Cop Out stuff, I was a big Bruce Willis fan – so this is really heartbreaking to read. He loved to act and sing and the loss of that has to be devastating for him. I feel like an asshole for my petty complaints from 2010. So sorry to BW and his family. https://t.co/npSgvkb5v7

— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) March 30, 2022

BRUCE’S STYLISH EXPENDABLE CAREER…

Willis would also appear in a music video in 2010 for the song “Stylo” by Gorillaz and then made a cameo with his former Planet Hollywood co-owners and popular 1980’s action stars Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film The Expendables.

His cameo would feature him as a “Mr. Church”, a bald mysterious man who apparently does business dealings inside a church but is actually an agent of the CIA and his real name is never revealed. The film was the first time the three notable action stars appeared on screen in a film together. It was one of the most highly anticipated scenes of the film despite how short it is, the three filmed the scene in an empty church in 2009.

The film received mixed reviews due to the action scenes being great but lacked an actual story to follow, it was a commercial success, however, it opened at number one at the box office in the US, UK, China and India grossing a total of $274 million worldwide and spawning two sequels in 2012 and 2014.

You can watch the Gorillaz 2010 Music Video for “Stylo” here:

You can watch the 2010 Official Trailer for The Expendables here:

WHEN BRUCE’S CAREER WAS LUCRATIVELY IN THE RED…

Willis then starred in another comic book film adaption, RED, in 2010 in which he played Frank Moses. The action comedy film had an ensemble cast that included: Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban and Mary-Louise Parker. The film followed Moses, a former black-ops agent who reunites with his old team to capture an assassin who has vowed to kill him. The film grossed $199 million and received positive reviews from critics and garnered a sequel RED 2 which was released in 2013. A third film had been announced in 2013 after the sequel release but did not come to fruition before Willis’ retirement.

You can watch the 2010 Official Trailer for RED here:

You can watch the 2013 Official Trailer for RED 2 here:

BRUCE’S KINGDOM OF EXPENDABLES…

In 2012, Willis would star alongside Bill Murray, Edward Norton and Frances McDormand in the Wes Anderson film Moonrise Kingdom and then Willis returned for The Expendables 2 in an expanded role.

That same year, he would appear in the sci-fi film Looper, with co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the younger version of Willis’ character, Joe. Also, in 2012 he would star in the film titled Fire with Fire about a fireman who must save the love of his life and co-starred 50 Cent, Josh Duhamel and Rosario Dawson, he would also appear in another film, Lay the Favorite, which he co-starred with Vince Vaughn and Catherine Zeta-Jones and was directed by Stephen Frears, about a cocktail waitress in Las Vegas who becomes an elite professional gambler.

The last two films were considered low-budget and were only released on DVD and then streaming as it become the next new distribution in film entertainment.

You can watch the 2012 Official Trailer for Moonrise Kingdom here:

You can watch the 2012 Official Trailer for The Expendables 2 here:

You can watch the 2012 Official Trailer for Looper here:

You can watch the 2012 Official Trailer for Fire With Fire here:

You can watch the 2012 Official Trailer for Lay The Favorite here:

A GOOD YEAR TO DIE HARD…

In 2013, he would return one last time to his most famous role, John McClane, for a fifth and what would end up final time in A Good Day to Die Hard. There were rumors after the 2013 release that a sixth film was in the works and the script was being written, but it would not be finished or greenlit for production before Willis’ retirement. The fifth film would have McClane working alongside his now grown son mentioned in the first film but never actually seen on screen until this installment with Jai Courtney playing the CIA agent, Jack McClane, who was undercover in Russia, when his father assumes he’s in trouble and needs his help after being sent to a Russian Prison.

In an interview about the fifth installment, Willis said:

“I have a warm spot in my heart for Die Hard…. it’s just the sheer novelty of being able to play the same character over 25 years and still being asked back for the fun. It’s much more challenging to have to do a film again and try to compete with myself, which is what I do in Die Hard. I try to improve my work every time.”

– Bruce WIllis

You can watch the 2013 Official Trailer for A Good Day To Die Hard here:

WHEN YOU LIKE ACTION, BUT IT’S BROADWAY BABY…

In 2015, Willis would add Broadway to his resume where he made his debut in the William Goldman adaption of the Stephen King novel Misery starring opposite Laurie Metcalf at the Broadhurst Theatre. His performance was critically panned being called “vacant” and “Inert”. And in 2018, Willis was the honorary subject to be roasted by Comedy Central. But no worries, in the 2010’s, Willis had become the eighth highest-grossing actor in a leading role and 12^th highest including his supporting roles. His films had grossed between $2.64 billion in the US and $3.05 billion at the North American box offices.

You can watch Highlights from Bruce’s 2015 Misery performance here:

You can watch the 2018 commercial for The Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis here:

THE BEGINNING OF THE END…

In 2020, Willis saw a critical decline in the films he was choosing to make, mainly independent releases for streaming services, as well as showing signs of his Aphasia on set of these films with such issues as remembering his lines from the script, without realizing at the time they were possibly and most likely related to his health problems related to his 2022 diagnosis which would lead to his eventual retirement from acting.

You can watch the 2020 Official Trailer for Breach here:

You can watch the 2020 Official Trailer for Hard Kill here:

You can watch the 2020 Official Trailer for Survive The Night here:

A SIGN THAT THINGS WERE A BIT OUT OF SORTS FOR BRUCE…

During January 2021, Willis was asked to leave a Los Angeles Rite Aid store after not wearing a mask in the store during the mask mandate phase of the pandemic in California. While never confirmed and purely opinionated speculation on my part, it was more than likely, because he was having trouble reading signs due to his Aphasia to be diagnosed a year later. He was already showing signs while filming, it can be assumed he was also showing signs in how he went about living his daily life.

Willis would later comment to PEOPLE Magazine about the incident saying:

“It was an error in judgment. Be safe out there everyone and let’s continue to mask up.”

– Bruce Willis

You can read the full article from January 13, 2021 with the comment below:

THE OLDER YOU ARE, THE LESS YOU DIE HARD…

It was believed that the low-budget independent action films Willis was making towards the end of his career were probably partially related to his age while still working and were safe film choices as a result, he could continue to work, even though he can naturally do less than he could in his Die Hard days.This resulted in most of the films were released direct-to-streaming and were dragged by critics, Willis would not earn much in salary, not close to what he was taking in at the height of his career. The pay often totaled $2 million for a couple of days of work on a film, with the work totaling about 15 minutes screen time per film project.

You can watch the 2021 Official Trailer for Cosmic Sin here:

https://youtu.be/MNxsB6o6DJs

You can watch the 2021 Official Trailer for Midnight In The Switchgrass here:

You can watch the 2021 Official Trailer for Out Of Death here:

https://youtu.be/oJUYwj3izT8

You can watch the 2021 Official Trailer for Survive The Game here:

You can watch the 2021 Official Trailer for Apex here:

You can watch the 2021 Official Trailer for Deadlock here:

You can watch the 2021 Official Trailer for Fortress here:

You can watch the 2012 Official Trailer for American Siege here:

THE END WAS NEAR IF WE WERE PAYING ATTENTION…

It was in 2021 while making these films that Willis started to show symptoms of his Aphasia and mental decline. Those working with Willis would say that he would appear confused and would not understand why he was there on set. He would also wear an earpiece because he was having difficulty remembering his lines, so he would have them fed to him through the earpiece. For his 2021 film, Out of Death, the screenwriter was contacted days before Willis was scheduled to arrive on the film set, and instructed to reduce the role he was in by reducing his screen time, and was also instructed to abbreviate his dialogue.

Willis released a record number of eight films in 2021 and every single one of them was panned by critics to the point that the Golden Raspberry Awards, which are given out every year to the worst films and performances, dedicated an entire category to those films and called the category the Worst Bruce Willis Performance in a 2021 Movie. When his family announced that he was retiring due to his diagnosis of Aphasia, the Golden Raspberry Awards retracted its Willis category.

The co-founders of the awards show, John Wilson and Mo Murphy released a statement to the New York Post discussing the retraction:

“After much thought and consideration, the Razzies have made the decision to resind the Razzie Award given to Bruce Willis, due to his recently disclosed diagnosis. If someone’s medical condition is a factor in their decision making and/or their performance, we acknowledge that it is not appropriate to give them a Razzie.”

– John Wilson & Mo Murphy

You can read the full article from the New York Post below:

QUE SERA, SERA…

Throughout his film career, Willis has often played several military characters in films such as In Country, The Siege, Hart’s War, Tears of the Sun, and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. This was in some ways a tribute to his childhood growing up in a military family, in 2003 Willis visited Iraq as part of the USO tour, singing to the troops with his band, The Accelerators. Willis even considered joining the military to help fight in the second Iraq War, but ultimately didn’t as a result of his age.

You can watch the Official 1998 Trailer for The Siege here:

You can watch the Official 2002 Trailer for Hart’s War here:

You can watch the Official 2003 Trailer for Tears Of The Sun here:

You can watch the Official 2012 Trailer for G.I JOE: Retaliation here:

You can watch his Holiday Message through the USO for Deployed Troops here:

THE FAMILY THAT STAYS TOGETHER…

Demi Moore, one of the family members who released a statement regarding his diagnosis and retirement via Instagram met Willis at the premiere for the film Stakeout. Moore and Willis married on November 21, 1987, and they had three daughters together, Rumer, Tallulah and Scout. They announced their separation on June 24, 1998, and filed for divorce on October 18, 2000, and the divorce was finalized later that day.

Willis later stated regarding his divorce:

“I felt I had failed as a father and a husband by not being able to make it work.”

– Bruce Willis

IS A FAMILY THAT HEALS TOGETHER…

Willis still maintains a close friendship with Moore twenty years after the divorce. He met model Emma Heming in 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival, and they married in Turks and Caicos on March 21, 2009, and the guests at the wedding included his three daughters with Demi Moore. Moore also attended the wedding with her then husband Ashton Kutcher. Bruce and Emma welcomed their daughters, Mabel and Evelyn in 2012 and 2014.

On April 6, 2022, Emma Heming Willis posted two photos on Instagram of her and Willis in the wilderness. It was the first photos of Willis since his announced diagnosis and retirement, and he looked happy and peaceful, the pictures were bittersweet but left fans sad about his battle ahead and his untimely retirement. Bruce Willis was such a presence on screen and will be missed.

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At the time of his retirement, Willis had made another eight films that were awaiting release between 2022 and 2023.