Bruce Willis Is Not Really Communicative, ‘Moonlighting’ Creator Says

“Moonlighting” creator Glenn Gordon Caron is sharing an update on Bruce Willis, who is battling frontotemporal dementia.

While they haven’t worked together since the ‘80s, they have stayed in touch all these years.

Caron tries to see Willis monthly. He shared with Page Six, “I’m not always quite that good, but I try, and I do talk to him and his wife [Emma Heming Willis] and I have a casual relationship with his three older children. I have tried very hard to stay in his life. He’s an extraordinary person. The thing that makes [his disease] so mind-blowing is [that] if you’ve ever spent time with Bruce Willis, there is no one who had any more joie de vivre than he. He loved life and… just adored waking up every morning and trying to live life to its fullest. So, the idea that he now sees life through a screen door, if you will, makes very little sense. He’s really an amazing guy.”

Glenn believes that Bruce recognizes who he is during the visits. He said, “My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am. He’s not totally verbal; he used to be a voracious reader — he didn’t want anyone to know that — and he’s not reading now. All those language skills are no longer available to him, and yet he’s still Bruce.”

Caron stressed, “When you’re with him, you know that he’s Bruce and you’re grateful that he’s there, but the joie de vivre is gone.”

“Moonlighting” is currently streaming on Hulu, something that Glenn thinks Bruce is “really happy” about. He commented, “I know he’s really happy that the show is going to be available for people, even though he can’t tell me that. When I got to spend time with him, we talked about it and I know he’s excited.”

Bruce knew that “Moonlighting” was coming to Hulu before his dementia got the best of him. Glenn explained, “The process [to get ‘Moonlighting’ onto Hulu] has taken quite a while, and Bruce’s disease is a progressive disease, so I was able to communicate with him before the disease rendered him as incommunicative as he is now, about hoping to get the show back in front of people. I know it means a lot to him.”

Bruce’s wife Emma recently opened up about his condition during an interview with “Today.” She admitted, “Dementia is hard. It’s hard on the person diagnosed, it’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say this is a family disease, it really is."

Emma noted that “it’s hard to know” if Bruce is aware of his dementia.

Over a year ago, Bruce was forced to step away from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia.

In a statement, his family said, “To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities.”

His family added, “This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.”