Longing for home: Beloved comedian Billy Connolly shares where he’d like to be laid to rest

Reflecting on his life and health in recent years, comedy legend Sir Billy Connolly has hinted at where he’d like to be laid to rest.

Born in 1942, the 82-year-old Scottish-born Connolly has enjoyed a highly successful and lengthy career as a comedian.

Rising to fame in the 1970s, he quickly became a household name with his unique comedic style which combines observational comedy with anecdotes from his life, touching on topics ranging from everyday absurdities to social commentary.

Born in Glasgow, Connolly moved to the US in the 1980s, first to California then to New York before finally settling in Florida where he now lives with his wife, Pamela Stephenson.

Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013, the star has weathered the storm of his illness with his unwavering humour and a positive outlook.

Throughout the latter years of his life, the stand-up maestro has hinted at where he’d ultimately like to be laid to rest.

In 2018 he opened up about his plans to return to Scotland while filming a documentary series entitled Billy Connolly’s Ultimate World Tour.

At the time he revealed that he plans to be buried near the banks of Loch Lomond, outside of Glasgow.

“I remember standing by the shores of Loch Lomond, Inversnaid, and the sky was beautiful,” he said.

“I remember that line, I forget whose line it is: ‘Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, who never to himself hath said, this is my own, my native land’.

“I don’t like to look like a bagpiper with heather in my ears but sometimes your love for the place just has to find a stage. I’d like to die there.

“It’s a weird subject to bring up, but I wouldn’t like to stay away forever. I’d like to be planted there eventually – in Loch Lomond.”

In addition to where he wants to be laid to rest, Connolly has also previously shared the humorous message he wants etched into his gravestone.

In his 2023 book Rambling Man: My Life on the Road, Connolly not only revealed the witty inscription he plans to have on his grave but also shared the one his wife vetoed.

“I was thinking I’d like: ‘Jesus Christ, is that the time already?’ on mine, but my wife Pamela was shaky about it, so we settled on ‘You’re standing on my balls!’ in tiny wee writing,” he wrote.

In a more serious reflection, Connolly spoke of his thoughts on death and what is waiting for us on the other side.

“I used to think about death, and about the life I led, and would ask myself, ‘How will I be held responsible for it when I come to judgment before God?’ I don’t believe that any more, although the whole thing is still a mystery to me,” he shared.