Whoopi Goldberg has paid tribute to Bruce Willis, describing him as “one of the really great guys” who helped her navigate fame. The comments came during an appearance by Willis’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, on The View to discuss her new memoir about caring for the actor, who has frontotemporal dementia.
Goldberg showed Heming Willis a photo of the couple and said: “Your husband was one of the really great guys, one of the first people I ever met when I got famous, and he guided me along quite well. I'm glad he's got you.” She also praised the book, urging viewers to read it even if they are not facing similar challenges.
The two actors have worked together several times, beginning in 1986 when Goldberg appeared on Willis’s series Moonlighting. They later starred together in Ghost (1990) – for which Goldberg won an Oscar – and Robert Altman’s The Player (1992). In her own memoir last year, Goldberg revealed that Willis had turned down the lead in Burglar (1987), allowing her to take the role.
Heming Willis, who has been married to Willis since 2009, recently explained her decision to move him into a separate home to provide a calm environment suited to his needs. “Dementia plays out differently in everyone’s home,” she told People. “It’s heartbreaking to me. But this is how we were able to support our whole family.”
