Best Actress front-runner Julianne Moore playing a victim of early-onset Alzheimer’s in Still Alice has been drawing the lion’s share of attention to that mind-robbing disease this awards season, but it’s a fictional character. There is another Alzheimer’s-related Oscar story that is even more compelling — because it’s real, as one of this year’s most recognizable nominees is deep into his own battle with the horrible disease.
Country superstar Glen Campbell, now living in a facility in Nashville and suffering from an advancing case of Alzheimer’s, received his first Oscar nomination for the remarkable song, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” from the documentary Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me, which chronicles his final concert tour as the disease closed in on him. The song, serving as a goodbye to his loved ones, wryly and knowingly gets to the heart of what it’s like to suffer from this debilitating and heartbreaking illness and is becoming an anthem of sorts in the Alzheimer’s community. And it’s going far beyond that as well, having just won a Best Country Song Grammy for Campbell and co-writer Julian Raymond on Sunday night.
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