Billy was born on 24 November 1942 in Anderson, Glasgow. He was raised by his father's sisters when parents' marriage ended in 1946 and in 1957 dropped out of school at age 15. He then worked as a bicycle delivery boy for John Smith's Bookshop in Glasgow, then worked delivering bread. In 1960 Billy began five-year apprenticeship as a welder at the Glasgow shipyards.
In the 60's, Billy played banjo in a popular folk band called The Humblebums. The group was successful, but it soon became evident that his jokes were the best part of the show. In 1971 he disbanded The Humblebums and began his solo career.
By this time, he was a star in Scotland, one of a select group that was raising the international profile of Scottish entertainers. When he released the album, Solo Concert, Connolly raised the ire of religious officials who objected to his brand of humor, but the protests didn't succeed in slowing down sales of his records or tickets to his shows. In 1975 Billy became national star when he made appearance on "Parkinson", hosted by Michael Parkinson, and told a joke about murdering his wife.
In 1989, Pamela and Billy married in Fiji, with their three young daughters in attendance. Since then, he and his family have lived in London, and become friends with the young royals, a lifestyle that has sometimes drawn more criticism from his home country.
From 1990-1992 Billy was introduced to American audiences on TV series "Head of the Class" and went on to perform with Whoopi Goldberg, star in "Pale Blue Scottish Person" and his own series "Billy".
In 1993, Connolly returned to Scotland to film Down Among The Big Boys in Glasgow, and in 1994 he created a variety-show tour of Scotland, "World Tour of Scotland," which was part music, part comedy, and part information. The quality of his recent work was recognized in 1995, when three of his projects won British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards: "World Tour of Scotland" won Best Entertainment Program; "Down Among the Big Boys" won Best Drama; and the BBC program, "The Bigger Picture," hosted by Billy, won the award for Best Arts Program.
Billy made his big impact in the cinema in 1997 as co-star of the historical drama "Mrs. Brown". This film was massive and really brought Billy's acting talents to the fore. Since then has appeared in many films and TV series' and is currently accross British screens with his Musical Tour of New Zealand. The music for this is co-written with John McCusker. | 
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