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Biography

Sir Billy Connolly [B.1942, Glasgow]

William “Billy” Connolly, CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin (The Big One). His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade to pursue a career as a folk singer in The Humblebums and subsequently as a soloist. In 2012, Billy Connolly’s ar tistic expression took a new path, in the form of fine ar t. “Ar t, for me, bears no relation to comedy or music. My ar t is pure and unjudged, I am creating it for myself.”

2001 Awarded an honorary doctorate from University of Glasgow 2002 Presented with a Special Award by British Academy of Film and Television Ar ts (BAFTA) 2003 Made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s Bir thday Honours list 2006 Awarded an honorary doctorate from Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama 2010 Awarded an honorary doctorate from Nottingham Trent University 2010 Made a Freeman of Glasgow with the award of the Freedom of the City of Glasgow

2012 Presented with the Outstanding Contribution Award by BAFTA Scotland 2016 Presented with National Television Awards (NTA) Special Recognition Award 2017 Received a knighthood in the Queen’s Bir thday Honours list 2017 Received an honorary doctorate from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow 2019 Named the 'Greatest Glaswegian’ by the GlasgowTimes

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