Photo: Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images
Danny Glover has been living with Alzheimer's disease for several years.
The 79-year-old actor disclosed his diagnosis in a TODAY exclusive interview that aired on Wednesday (July 1), sitting down with former NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt alongside members of his family. Glover said he was diagnosed shortly before receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy's 2022 Governors Awards.
Glover said the disease has slowed his movement, speech, and memory, though he remains active in his native San Francisco, where he continues attending community events.
"I'm sure as it advances, things are going to be different and changing," he told Holt. "They've got my back," he added, referring to his family.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, Black Americans are twice as likely as white Americans to develop Alzheimer's or another form of dementia, a disparity linked in part to higher rates of cardiovascular disease.
Glover is among more than 7 million Americans over 65 currently living with the disease. He is now working with the Alzheimer's Association, which advises that physical activity, managing blood pressure and diabetes, quality sleep, and social connection can all play a role in managing the disease.
The organization also emphasizes early detection, noting cognitive changes can begin up to 15 years before a formal diagnosis.
Glover's daughter Mandisa told Holt the family decided the time had come for her father to speak publicly. "I think it's really important for him to have control of his own narrative, of his own life story," she said. "It's important because people ask questions sometimes, and I don't want to be a dishonest person and say, 'Oh, yeah, everything is all right. It's all great.'"
Glover has nearly 200 film and television credits spanning more than five decades, including The Color Purple, Places in the Heart, and the Lethal Weapon franchise. He has also been a prominent activist throughout his career, serving as a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador beginning in 1998 before becoming a UNICEF Ambassador in 2004.
His youngest brother Martin also appeared in the TODAY interview. "He took me under his wing, and I love him to death," Martin said. "It's my turn."
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