Friday, March 30, 2012

Candice Bergen Says She Suffered A Stroke


Almost six years ago, while working on the show Boston Legal, Candice Bergen suffered a stroke. She told New York Magazine that she did not want people to know about the stroke and only took two weeks off from filming the show before going back to work. She thinks that if people know she had a stroke they would be less likely to hire her. She did say she has lingering effects from the stroke and that her memory is not what it used to be. She almost did not take her current role on Broadway because she was afraid she would not be able to remember her lines.


I understand the need and desire to want to keep things private, but Candice is working all the time and I think the more she shares and shows others who have had a stroke that it does not need to slow you down and you can live a perfectly normal life that it can only make those people feel better.

26 comments:

Ms Cool said...

Aw, that is too bad. I'm sure there are a million things that are scary with a stroke, including not being able to work.

parissucksliterally said...

I love her. Glad she is okay.

L said...

Wasn't this a blind item at one point? I could swear I remember this from somewhere...

MISCH said...

Love her, if she wanted to keep her private life private that's O.K with me...

Cathy said...

I think she handled this perfectly. By not telling people initially, she was able to show how much she accomplished, without ever receiving any special treatment. It's brave that she shared this and just because she's a celebrity, she shouldn't be expected to be the poster child of strokes.

CantHaveMyPurse said...

i love her. she always seemed so 'real' in Hollywood, which I'm sure is an illusion, but I choose to be delusional about it...

Beth said...

L, the blind involved a male actor, and everyone suspected it was Jack Nicholson.

I think Candice Bergen is fabulous, and I'm glad she was able to go back to work.

Jasmine said...

The Murphy Brown show did a lot for the women's lib movement.

I really liked that they had Bergen become a single pregnant woman who confidently believed she could raise a baby on her own, without a man's support.
She famously said in the episode that "several people do not want me to have the baby. Pat Robertson; Phyllis Schlafly; half of Utah!"

I think later when she developed breast cancer and began to battle it other topics like medical marijuana (for her chemo) were brought out into the open. Those story arcs alone saw women getting mammograms by an increase of 30%.

Long story short, LOL, I think Candice Bergen is the shit and I hope she is able to recover fully~

yeahwhatever said...

I will always love Candace Bergen- what a strong lady.

Anonymous said...

Her silence was likely two-fold. Not only would her health be held against her, but that would give some directors/producers a chance to use "she's too old" excuse. I can understand and appreciate why she decided to remain silent. I hope she continues to get better.

auntliddy said...

Her life, her body, her decision. Glad she recovered so well!

msgirl said...

Oh Candice. I'm so glad you recovered as you did. Not many from strokes do.

Yeah, I love her too.

Now! said...

She is aging gracefully.

ForSure said...

Met her a few years ago, she invited me to MB tapings. I think I went about 4 times. She was always a very decent lady to me, pure class. Glad she is doing well. It would be nice for her to speak more about it because she does have such a positive influence on people, but I respect her decision not to.

Anonymous said...

I understand her keeping it quiet. So many people think strokes are for the elderly, which is absolutely not true...in my last job, our receptionist had two strokes, at the age of 32, and I used to have a bus driver who suffered one at the age of 41. Those people recovered with minimal damage, and so did Candice.

I'm glad she's coming clean about it. More people need to learn that a stroke can happen to anyone at any age and is not necessarily a death sentence. Since she's educated us about single motherhood and medical marijuana, she can teach us about strokes too.

AbderianLaughter said...

Aw, Murphy Brown is getting older. Makes me feel older too. Very glad to hear she had a good recovery and is speaking out about it. She's looking pretty fabulous.

BlahFrickinBlah said...

Strokes are like snowflakes: each are unique. Obviously, her stroke was not very severe (thankfully) because she was able to return to work quickly. She doesn't owe anyone anything by announcing it to the public before she wants to announce it. As someone said earlier, it's not mandatory for her to be the stroke poster child. I can also see why she wanted to stay silent on it because once you have one, your risk rises to have another one in the future so it messes with her ability to get work. Maybe she is not concerned about working as much and that's why she's not as concerned about people knowing now. Either way, I'm glad she's doing well. She's a great talent.

Priscilla said...

Stroke education is important, but her life is her life and I understand her decision.
There is a very small window to minimize the effects of a stroke, although yes they are all different. There is a big difference between a massive stroke and a small one.
The acronym is FAST:
FACE:
Ask the person to smile.
Does one side of the face droop?
ARMS:
Ask the person to raise both arms.
Does one arm drift downward?
SPEECH:
Ask the person to repeat a simple phrase.
Is their speech slurred or strange?
TIME:
If you observe any of these signs,
call 9-1-1 immediately.

crichmond1000 said...

My 14 year old had a stroke late last year as a result of undiagnosed leukemia. While everyone knows she had the stroke, I don't broadcast her weaknesses while we are still recovering in the hospital. I don't want people to write her off or pity her before she has a chance to show what she can do. I understand why CB waited. BTW..I knew she was having a stroke because of those commercials. The ER didn't believe me at first because of her age, but I knew. And she is recovering well. Chemo and lots of PT and OT. We are going to come out of this better people.

feraltart said...

@stillhere, wishing you and your family all the best. Please let us know how it goes.

JJ said...

Prayers, chocolate and a bacon sandwich to you. But mostly prayers.

dia papaya said...

@stillhere - Good for you for honoring your intuition in the ER! Sending love and prayers to you and your lovely daughter!

bunnymother said...

This site needs to stop giving it's STUPID opinioms in regards to celebrities health issues. You clearly have no idea what you're talking about.

bunnymother said...

All strokes are different, they come in various stengths, so if she could do aBroadway show, don't you think she would? She's not weak and lazy because she chose not to!! She couldn't!! STOP giving your worthless, ignorant opinions on patients health!!

crichmond1000 said...

Thanks, you guys. We are going to great. And, JJ: Bacon is my cruel lover. So good, but I feel guilty and spineless afterwards.

elspeth said...

Uhhhh, bunnymother, back off. The CB quote [emph. added] is "She ALMOST DID NOT take her current role on Broadway...." In other words, dumbbunny, she TOOK the role and is speaking out now.

Most commenters here gave her unqualified praise for her actions. You might need to retire to your hutch and chew on some bunny Chow until your literacy approaches the normal Cali blondbunny level.

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