Last week, we reported that the former M*A*S*H star Alan Alda had revealed that his battle with Parkinson’s disease has become a “full-time job.” Now, Alda is opening up about another difficult health struggle of his.
Alda’s Face Blindness Struggle
In a new interview, Alda recalled how his face blindness, or prosopagnosia, once caused him to mistake his own daughter Beatrice for a stranger. This happened on the set of Alda’s 1981 film The Four Seasons, which Beatrice had a small role in.
During filming, Alda sent Beatrice out to get her hair dyed blonde in an attempt to make her more resemble the two actors playing her parents. When she returned to set, he didn’t recognize her.
“I saw this person with horn-rimmed glasses and blonde hair staring at me, and it was starting to get distracting,” Alda, 89, told People Magazine. “I said to the assistant director, ‘Don’t let these strangers come on the set.’ He said, ‘That’s your daughter!’ I don’t think she was too happy about that, because neither of us knew that there was such a thing as face blindness [at the time].”
To this day, it’s “very hard” for Alda to recognize people.
“When somebody comes up to me, as if they know me, I often don’t know if they know me from seeing me on the screen or if I actually know them,” he lamented. “I could have dinner with somebody, spend two hours with somebody next to me, and the next day not know who they are.”
Related: Alan Alda, 89, Gives Sad Update About His Health As Former M*A*S*H* Star Battles Parkinson’s Disease
Alda’s Parkinson’s Battle
This has sadly not been Alda’s only health struggle. Indeed, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2015. Last week, Alda told People that since then, life has been “a never-ending series of puzzles” for him.
“Almost every day I’m finding a new way to do something,” Alda explained. “It’s a little like a game. I’ve found whatever the little problem is, if I keep at it, I can eventually solve it, and then I feel like a million bucks. It’s a way to have a good time under poor circumstances.”
Alda went on to say that over the past decade, managing his Parkinson’s has “gone from a part-time job to almost a full-time job keeping track of all these little solutions. But it keeps me always looking for the funny side.”
Related: Alan Alda Announces Devastating Disease But He’s Optimistic
Alda’s Loving Marriage
Thankfully, through all of this, Alda has had the support of his wife Arlene, who he’s been married to for 68 years.
“She always says, ‘The secret to marriage is a short memory,’” he said of Arlene, 92. “We both try to practice being there when we’re there: listening, answering, taking an interest. You can get used to somebody no matter who it is. I’ve always thought if the Pope and Mother Teresa were a couple, after a few years, they’d have to work it out.”
These days, Alda is leaning on Arlene more than ever. Luckily, she’s more than happy to help the love of her life in any way that she can.
“I don’t have dexterity with my fingers the way I used to, so sometimes she has to tear a package open for me,” Alda admitted. “She’s so good-natured about it. I’m always saying, ‘Thank you.’”
God bless Alda for having the courage to be so open about his health struggles. Please join us in saying a prayer for him!
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