These great acting careers were cut short by disease

The sudden disappearance of your favorite actress or actor from movies and series always surprises fans. Some of these situations are the aftermath of scandals, some have a more tragic dimension. The careers of many top actors from the world of Hollywood and the Polish scene were interrupted by debilitating diseases that they did not always manage to overcome. What diseases do the biggest stars of cinema, television and theater face?

1. Many well-developed Hollywood and Polish acting careers were interrupted by diseases
2. Some stars affected by disease engage in spreading knowledge about them and fight for the rights of those affected. Among them there was, among others Michael J. Fox, who fell ill with Parkinson’s as a 30-year-old, and Selma Blair, who is dealing with multiple sclerosis
3. In recent years, the theater and film circles have become involved in helping their colleagues and often allow them to continue to perform in front of the audience in roles tailored to their needs
4. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

photo: Ian West / PAP, Robin Platzer / Twin Images / PAP, DANNY MOLOSHOK / PAP, Tomasz Gzell / PAP, Radek Pietruszka / PAP)

Among the actors who openly decided to talk about their illnesses were the star of “Schools of Seduction” Selma Bleir, Michael J. Fox known from the “Back to the Future” trilogy or Marek Walczewski from “The 13th Police Station”.

Selma Blair suffers from multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis gradually attacks the nervous system and affects the brain and spinal cord. It most often affects young people and causes visual impairment, balance, sensation and increasing muscle paresis. The disease is incurable and patients are only given medications to relieve symptoms, pain and progressive changes.

Worldwide, about 2,1 million people suffer from multiple sclerosis. The disease also affected actress Selma Blair, known from Hollywood productions. in the films “The School of Seduction” or “Hellboy: The Golden Army”. The star did not know for many years that she had MS and did not realize that the more and more frequent dysfunctions of her body that she had to deal with (difficulties with walking, feeling and memory) resulted from this disease.

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Further part below the video.

Selma Blair found out in August 2018 that she had multiple sclerosis and shared information about her health with fans. On Instagram, she wrote:

I am disabled. I sometimes fall over. I drop things. My memory is blurring more and more. The left side of my body is asking for directions broken GPS in my head. I don’t know exactly what will happen to me or what to do, but I do know that I will do my best. I hope that my confession will be a ray of hope for other people.

The star decided to fight for her health, and the driving force behind her actions is her son, whom she is raising herself. Selma Blair, who underwent chemotherapy, as a result of which she lost her hair and uses a cane, does not cut herself off from her fans and shows them on social media what her everyday life looks like, in which periods of illness intertwine with remission. The actress tries to show that you can live with MS, and the changes that occur in the body are not a reason to stigmatize the diseases that are affected by it.

Selma Blair recorded a documentary about her life and struggles with SM, in which she told, among others, about chemotherapy and the method of stem cell transplantation she underwent.

In the Discovery + TCA virtual panel, which accompanied the premiere of the production of “Introducing, Selma Blair”, the actress revealed that thanks to stem cell transplantation, her prognosis for the future improved and the disease was in remission. In an interview with Good Morning America she stated that although she has problems with speech from time to time, she feels great and wants to motivate others with her attitude.

Michael J. Fox has Parkinson’s disease

Michael J. Fox won the hearts of cinema lovers with the role of Marty McFly in the three-part series “Back to the Future” and he could choose from offers to work from major studios. In 1991, on the set of the romantic comedy “Doctor Hollywood”, the actor began to notice disturbing shaking hands and went to a neurologist who assured him that it was a temporary state that would pass.

Unfortunately, the trembling in his left hand worsened, accompanied by arm stiffness and pain. Michael J. Fox decided to change doctor and received a devastating diagnosis. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a the doctor told him that if he had the disease at such a young age (he was 30 at the time), he would most likely not live to old age.

«I really had a good time then, everything was going well. Until I heard from the doctor: you have Parkinson’s disease. It was the last thing I expected! I think he understood my condition, because he added: The good news is that you have about ten years of life ahead of you, ”Michael J. Fox told David Letterman.

Michael J. Fox could count on the full support of his wife, Tracy Pollan, but parkinson progressed and the medications and rehabilitation he was taking no longer worked. Gwiazdor was professionally active, however, as he later admitted, as written by «Viva!» he was doing it for the sake of finances.

He did not speak about the disease in public until 1998, because, as he confessed, he was not prepared to talk about it and was ashamed of being ill. Over the years, however, the actor became convinced that the disease did not mean a death sentence.

The star reevaluated his life, put on his family and established the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which has already raised over a billion dollars. for research to find a cure for parkinson’s disease.

«This disease is a blessing for me for many reasons. She pulled me out of my old show business trash and showed me that there are more important things in life. Thanks to her, I became involved in those areas of my life that I would have missed under other circumstances, ”said Michael J. Fox in an interview in 2001.

The activities of the Fox Foundation have already brought results in the form of drugs and therapies that have changed the quality of life of people with Parkinson’s disease. In an interview with Variety, the actor admitted that thanks to their use, his quality of life has improved and now he hopes that the foundation will discover the earliest, non-obvious symptoms of the disease, so that doctors will be able to stop its development in time.

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The darkest moment in his life, however, came unexpectedly in 2018, when a tumor on his spine was detected. The actor had to undergo an operation, which was successful and allowed him to return to performances on the small and silver screen.

Patrick Swayze died of pancreatic cancer

Patrick Swayze, who was hugely popular with his daring performance in the films “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost” (“Believe in the Spirit”), remained high on the list of Hollywood actors for years. Despite the passage of decades, he was very active professionally, but at the end of 2007, after shooting the pilot episode of the series “The Beast”, he began to feel a great burning sensation in his stomach, prompting him to consult a doctor.

The diagnosis he received after the tests turned out to be tragic. Swayze found out that he had pancreatic cancer, which is stage IV, which did not give a good prognosis. Gwiazdor started treatment and underwent chemotherapy at the Stanford University Medical Center, where he was also given an experimental drug that was supposed to cut off the blood supply to the tumor.

Despite his painful illness, Swayze continued to work on the set of The Beast. According to media reports, he was also supposed to undergo surgery to remove a part of the stomach and in the second half of 2008 he declared that the treatments he undergo gave positive results.

The actor has been involved in collecting donations for the “Stand Up to Cancer” initiative. Patrick Swayzy’s family and fans experienced horror in January 2009 when he was hospitalized for pneumonia, which rumors circulated in the tabloid press as a complication of chemotherapy. In April 2009, doctors reported that the star of “Dirty Dancing” was suffering from liver metastases.

Significantly, Swayze was a heavy smoker for 40 years and smoked up to 60 cigarettes a day. Although he himself admitted that his heavy smoking may have contributed to the development of the cancer, he continued to smoke it, even while on chemotherapy.

Patrick Swayze died on September 14, 2009, 20 months after he was diagnosed with cancer.

Andrzej Zaorski suffered a stroke

Andrzej Zaorski was not only an outstanding radio and actor who was awarded the Victor statuette for the greatest television personality and the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, but also a director and cabaret artist.

In the 90s, Poles fell in love with his “Polish zoo”, but after 1993 he retired from active professional work in film and theater. The star returned to the industry at the end of the decade and began directing and appearing in series again. In 2004, he suffered a stroke, which, as he revealed in an interview with the portal Stratowcy, did not upset him very much at first, because his father had similar experiences and he used them unscathed.

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In an interview with Strokes, the artist admitted that before the stroke that occurred at night, he experienced disturbing symptoms during the day, such as inverted leaf color vision, but ignored them because he was exhausted at the time. As reported by «Super Express», Zaorski then recorded the program «Zsyp» on the radio, then he took part in the recordings of the talk-show «Joker», which he hosted, then he rehearsed for the play «Biznes» on the stage of Komedia Theater, and then he also appeared in Syrena theater. After returning home, he sat down at the computer to write a column. Then the image started to blur and he felt he was losing control of his right hand, his head started to ache, and he finally passed out.

Andrzej Zaorski was transported from Milanówek, where he lived, to a hospital in Pruszków. On the spot, it turned out that the tomograph was not working, which took away precious minutes for a correct diagnosis. After a stroke, the actor withdrew from public life and focused on the struggle to regain fitness, a process he described in his 2006 autobiography “Hand, leg, brain on the wall”.

In an interview for Udarowców, Andrzej Zaorski confessed that he had to learn to speak anew after a stroke. At first, learning was fast, but at some point the star came to a limit that he was unable to break, and so he decided that instead of returning to the game, he would continue directing.

Andrzej Zaorski died on October 31, 2021 and was buried in Powązki in Warsaw.

Marek Walczewski suffered from Alzheimer’s disease

For decades, Marek Walczewski has delighted both theater, cinema and television enthusiasts with his acting. Known for his devotion to the play, in 1994, however, he began to show symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, which was first noticed by his wife, known for her role as Lidka in “Four Tankers and a Dog”, Małgorzata Niemirska. However, people from the couple’s milieu calmed down the actress and blamed Marek Walczewski’s forgetfulness on his way of being.

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However, the disease progressed and in 1996, on the set of Maciej Dejczer’s “Scarlet Letter”, Marek Walczewski forgot the text of the long monologue he was to deliver. It broke him. He did not go to the doctor until four years later and he was diagnosed there.

Gwiazdor decided to take medications that slowed down the disease and continued to perform at the Warsaw Dramatic Theater, but finally gave up his stage play in 2003. The last play in which he appeared was “Erasing” by Krystian Lupa. The play lasted six hours, and Marek Walczewski played with headphones to use the prompter.

On the big screen, Marek Walczewski appeared for the last time in 2004 in the film “It” by Małgorzata Szumowska, who wrote the role especially for him. He played the role of the father of the main character, who was dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. For the role, he received the award for the best supporting actor at the Gdynia Film Festival. In an interview with PAP, the director admitted that the actor’s great talent and his personal experiences made the character played by him truly true:

I remember that when we talked about the role, he was always getting some things out of the second or third bottom. He could also improvise very well. He was a great artist, a man who did not approach his work schematically. He created (…) a powerful creation that was extremely authentic.

After some time, Marek Walczewski began to require round-the-clock care, which was provided by his wife and two nurses, but the disease progressed. Due to dementia, the actor flooded the kitchen, set fire to the basement and fell down the stairs, which forced Małgorzata Niemirska to make the difficult decision to move him to a private nursing home, where he spent the last five years of his life. Shortly before his death, which took place on May 26, 2009, Marek Walczewski regained his speech for a while and turned to his wife who was present with him, which was later written by the WP Teleshow website:

«I was saying goodbye to him every day. It was horrible to see a loved one lose her mind. I came to him, I stood at the door, and his eyes widened and he says: Małgolek, how beautiful you are. Nurses were dumbfounded, I cried, because he hadn’t spoken for a long time »recalled Małgorzata Niemirska.

Krzysztof Globisz suffered a stroke

Krzysztof Globisz took his first steps in theater, cinema and television in the early 80s and for decades he developed his acting skills to perfection, thanks to which he could not complain about the lack of roles. For years, the actor also held important functions at the Krakow PWST and helped educate a new generation of artists.

In July 2014, during the registration of Gogol’s “Dead Souls” in Radio Two, Krzysztof Globisz suffered a stroke which caused his partial paralysis and aphasia. However, Gwiazdor did not hang the proverbial gloves on a peg, he began rehabilitation and in 2015 he symbolically appeared in the show “Hamlet”, which was staged on the occasion of his 15th anniversary at the STU Theater. In 2016, Krzysztof Globisz, in a wheelchair, starred in the play Jelinek “Under the Care”, directed by Paweł Miśkiewicz.

In the same year, at the instigation of students of the theater school where he lectured, Globisz made his debut in the play “Wieloryb the Globe” at the Łaźnia Nowa Theater in Krakow, the text of which was written especially for him by Mateusz Paku. In the following years, the actor also appeared in “Szewce”, “Kingdom” and “Citizen Kane”.

The filmmakers also did not forget about the star – Krzysztof Gobisz starred in “I’m a murderer”, “Children’s Republic” and “Leśniczówka”. On the basis of his experiences, the film “The Real Life of Angels”, in which he played the main role, was also based.