Bruce Willis: Much more than “Moonlighting”

Bruce Willis, at left, starred with Cybill Shepherd in "moonlighting".

Source: https://www.vulture.com/2023/09/

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He started out as a wisecracking, never to be taken seriously private investigator and ended up taking down a group of terrorists who were really just thieves. Along the way he made a splash on the radio too.

Such was the journey of Bruce Willis through the ‘80s.

I recently heard he has dementia, and it made me think of how far he came in a relatively short period of time.

Moonlighting
“Moonlighting” debuted as a mid-season replacement in the spring of 1985, on Channel 7 of the peasant vision dial. It moved to Channel 13 for the next season and beyond, until it went off the air in 1989.

It was kind of an odd show, even for the ‘80s. The premise was solid. Actress Maddie Hayes, played by Cybill Shepherd, discovers she has been victimized by an embezzler, losing virtually everything. She discovers, however, that she owns a detective agency. With nothing really left, she pays a visit to the “Blue Moon Detective Agency”, and discovers an odd cast of characters.

Topping that list is David Addison, played by an up and coming actor named Bruce Willis. Addison is kind of hard to like, because he is just talks non-stop, constantly schmoozes, and is really difficult to take seriously.

Pretty much instantly, the sparks fly between Maddie and David. One of the hallmarks of “Moonlighting” was the rapid-fire dialogue. I bought the series on DVD and, on one of the extra features, the creator talked about how many dozen more pages of dialogue and script each episode had, compared to the average show.

Willis would be nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1986, and again in 1987 when he won. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical in 1986, 1987, and 1988, winning in 1987.

Going all Shakespeare
“Moonlighting” did some interesting things, in the two seasons I watched it before moving on to other things. The one I remember most, I ended up taping, and watched parts of it over and over with my best friend of the time Chris Vining.

The episode was set in Shakespearian times and was a re-telling of “The Taming of the Shrew”. Maddie was in he role of the shrew, while David was Petruccio, who tamed her.

There were several great moments. When Petruccio made his entrance, his horse was wearing sun glasses too, and Petruccio announced, “What’s shakin’ – ye all?”

The other was when Maddie exclaimed, “Your head is swelling beyond all proportion,” David responded with a smirk, “I should hope so.”

The end
“Moonlighting” was successful, but was also beset by some interesting issues. Shepherd and Willis didn’t get along. Then Shepherd got pregnant which affected the show. On screen, Maddie and David finally did get together, Mark Harmon was introduced as a competing love interest, and the show faded away.

That was okay, because Bruce Willis had some other irons in the fire.

We talk about Bruno
Bruce Willis’ nickname was “Bruno” so in 1987, when he released a solo recortd album, it was called “The Return of Bruno“. That was when we could still talk about Bruno. It was in line with his David Addison character who would be seen singing into a spoon or some prop.

Willis would have one hit off that album, called “Respect Yourself”. It was a cover of a hit song originally released by Staple Singers, and went all the way to number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Wikipedia reveals something I did not know. In 1986, Willis began a short-lived singing career as the fictitious Bruno Radolini. In 1987, he released “The Return of Bruno” as a companion to an HBO special of the same name that aired shorty after the album’s release. “Respect Yourself” also has the Pointer Sisters on backing vocals and a verse sung by June Pointer.

That would be the height of his singing success, but Bruce Willis soon found another opportunity beyond “Moonlighting”.

The movie poster for "Die Hard" starring Bruce Willis in 1988.

Source: https://diehard.fandom.com/wiki/Die_Hard

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The big screen
A new theatre complex opened in Lethbridge in 1988 and that summer I went to a lot of movies with friends.

I recall my friend Bill suggesting we go see this one with Bruce Willis. That was not a selling point for me, but I thought I’d give it a chance. Besides it was a chance to hang out, and movies were cheap to go to.

It was called “Die Hard” and it completely changed my opinion of Bruce Willis. John McClane is not David Addison. Gone is the blasé, smirking, hard-to-take serious, prancing private investigator. Instead, there is an intense cop who cracks a good joke, but is serious too.

McClane is estranged from his wife at Christmas time when he finds himself trapped inside a building, taken over by terrorists. It turns out they are actually thieves, looking to steal something in the building. McClane does not take the situation lying down. Instead, he goes on the attack and picks the bad guys off one at a time. It is an incredibly well-paced action movie with good one-liners for comic relief, not as the main part of the show.

Bruce Willis was absolutely awesome.

Although he had his first lead role in 1987 with “Blind Date”; played Tom Mix in “Sunset” in 1988, a movie Bill and I also saw at the new theatres; and was the voice of the baby in “Look Who’s Talking?” in 1989; it was “Die Hard” that sent Bruce Willis’ film career on its way.

The years after
Bruce Willis would appear in dozens of amazing movies over the next 30-plus years, including “Die Hard 2”, “Look Who’s Talking, Too”, and “The Bonfire of the Vanities” all in 1990; “Hudson Hawk”, “Billy Bathgate”, and “The Last Boy Scout” all in 1991; “The Player” and “Death Becomes Her” in 1992; “Pulp Fiction” and “Nobody’s Fool” in 1994; “Die Hard With a Vengeance” and “12 Monkeys” in 1995; “Last Man Standing” in 1996; “The Fifth Element” in 1997; “Armageddon” in 1998; “The Sixth Sense” in 1999; “The Whole Nine Yards” in 2000; “The Expendables” in 2010; and so much more.

He also appeared on TV in episodes of “Roseanne”; “Mad About You”; “Ally McBeal”; and “Friends” for which he won a Primetime Emmy in 2000 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

He retired from acting in 2022, after announcing he had aphasia, then in February of 2023 he was diagnosed with dementia.

Parting thoughts
Bruce Willis is another actor who I really had to warm up to. His role as David Addison was fine, but it was very much a caricature and cartoon of a real person. It was very difficult to take seriously.

A few years ago, on New Year’s Eve, I watched the pilot of “Moonlighting” again, and I have to admit my opinion softened a bit on Bruce Willis as David Addison.

But it all really changed with “Die Hard”, which showed Willis’ versatility as an actor

It also signaled a transformation into roles that were far from funny, such as in “Armageddon”, “The Sixth Sense”, and “12 Monkeys”.

As I was putting together that list of movies he’s been in, I only listed the ones I have seen, and there are a lot of great movies.

He put together a stellar career.