Actress Diane Keaton has revealed her brother has been diagnosed with dementia and admitted she’s worried he doesn’t know who she is anymore.
Speaking to People magazine recently, the 73-year-old said she is the main support for her brother Randy Hall, who is currently living in a senior facility.
On top of her busy acting schedule, Keaton explained she spends a lot of time with her 71-year-old sibling, who has sadly “had a hard life” with many health problems including a battle with mental illness. In fact, the actress said she is writing a book about Randy and his “complicated life”.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in senior living facilities [recently] with my brother Randy, who has dementia,” the Book Club star told the news outlet.
“He’s a very interesting person. Very sensitive, a writer and poet. But also a big drinker and completely solitary. It’s so complicated.”
Sadly, before developing dementia Keaton said Randy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a disorder which affects the central nervous system. His condition is so bad that he has been unable to support himself and had to be cared for by his parents until their deaths, and now Keaton, who plays a big part in his life.
According to the star, things are now on a downwards spiral as Randy can no longer walk or talk. His dementia is also continuing to worsen with the mother-of-two explaining: “I don’t know if he knows who I am.”
Thankfully though, the Father of the Bride star said Randy is living in a great facility and has many friends on the dementia ward. Keaton told People they all celebrated his birthday together recently and enjoyed a “huge cake”.
It between helping to care for her brother, Keaton has been working on her upcoming movie Poms which she stars in alongside Rhea Perlman.
The actress plays the role of Martha, a woman who after moving to a retirement village decides to start a cheerleading club with a group of residents.
Throughout the hilarious comedy the retirees work to build their dance skills and take on much younger competitors at major events. According to director Zara Hayes, it wasn’t an easy task for the actresses who had to go through some strict workout regimes to prepare for filming.
Speaking to People previously, she said: “It’s not like any of these women are dancers, they’ve never really been in a dance movie before.
“They had so much fun with the dancing, that’s when everyone really bonded and got to know each other. There’s something about movement and dancing that really breaks down any shyness or barriers. [It all] has to go out of the way when you’re in exercise gear dancing together.”