# Glen Campbell reveals Alzheimer's diagnosis **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-reveals-alzheimers-diagnosis/586501 "2011-06-22T23:29:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-reveals-alzheimers-diagnosis/586501/1 "2011-06-22T23:29:36Z")
> [@](#): > > The country singer/actor, 75, and his wife, Kim, tell People magazine that Campbell has Alzheimer’s disease. > > They have decided to go public with Campbell’s health news diagnosis because he’s hoping to say farewell with a final slate of live performances this fall – and they want his fans to be aware of the musician’s condition, reports People. Full story at: [USA Today](http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/06/glen-campbell-reveals-alzheimers-diagnosis/1) Can’t think of many celebrities going public. I know Rita Hayworth also had it as well as Charlton Heston and of course Ronald Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-reveals-alzheimers-diagnosis/586501/2 "2011-06-22T23:53:06Z")
Wow. Sorry to hear that. That’s a terrible diagnosis. I hope he has the same network of support from his friends and family that President Reagan did in his final years. I hope that once he retires from public life, he will be allowed the peace and privacy he deserves. I wasn’t a huge country fan, but I remember him from his TV show and I did like his songs like Rhinestone Cowboy and Gentle On My Mind. And I liked him for his association with the Beach Boys. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-reveals-alzheimers-diagnosis/586501/3 "2011-06-23T01:05:27Z")
I read an essay Yasmin Khan wrote, about her mother Rita Hayworth’s illness. This was before Alzheimer’s was a household word. When I read about Hayworth’s decline I thought “Hmm, that sounds like “D””, a close friend of the family. And indeed it was Alzheimer’s, the first victim I ever knew personally. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-reveals-alzheimers-diagnosis/586501/4 "2011-06-23T01:11:22Z")
Pity. Campbell’s had a serious recurring drinking problem- I wonder if that delayed the diagnosis. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-reveals-alzheimers-diagnosis/586501/5 "2011-06-23T04:14:38Z")
Drinking may be a mask, Yasmin Khan wrote her mother was drinking to cover the symptoms of forgetting things. People blamed her forgetfulness on the booze, but it was AD causing it and Rita Hayworth’s way of coping was by drinking ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-reveals-alzheimers-diagnosis/586501/6 "2011-06-23T04:16:28Z")
Man. That’s sad. I’m never gonna be able to listen to _Gentle on My Mind_ with its “…rivers of my memory…” in quite the same way again. I mean that in a bittersweet way. He had some great songs. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-reveals-alzheimers-diagnosis/586501/7 "2011-06-23T04:40:59Z")
Dang…sorry to hear that. But if he’s going on tour again, then I know at least one present I can get my dad that I know he would love. 🙂 Edit: Of course most of them are in the UK, so that’s not gonna fly unless I get REALLY lucky in Vegas this weekend. \>.\< ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glen-campbell-reveals-alzheimers-diagnosis/586501/8 "2011-06-23T05:15:38Z")
Peter Falk has it too, dangit.