Glen Campbell’s Alzheimer’s film strikes chord with former Tampa legislator
TAMPA — Glen Campbell, the “Rhinestone Cowboy,” won nine Grammy Awards, sold over 45 million records, hosted his own television variety show and starred alongside John Wayne in “True Grit.”
Yet Kim Campbell, wife of the 78-year-old country star, said he considers his final career achievement to be his greatest — showing the public his struggles with Alzheimer’s disease in a new documentary film.
“Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” shows in Tampa beginning Dec. 5 at AMC Veterans 24.
“He called it the most important thing he has ever done,” Kim Campbell said. “He wanted to use film to introduce everyone to someone with Alzheimer’s so they could understand what the disease is like and inspire more funding for the cure.”
Campbell and his family should be commended for allowing a camera crew access, said a man whose family name is associated with Alzheimer’s in Tampa and cross the country — former state House speaker Johnnie Byrd.
“It takes courage to do what they did — to open their lives for the world to see,” said Byrd, a Plant City attorney and state representative from 1996-2004 who helped found the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute at the University of South Florida.
Byrd saw an advanced screening of the film and proclaimed that it “perfectly captures the range of emotions Alzheimer’s patients and their loved ones must deal with.”
Byrd should know. His father, Johnnie Byrd Sr., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1996 and died in 1998. The USF center, named in memory of Byrd’s father, provides patient care, public and professional education and performs research on the disease.
Byrd wanted the institute named in his father’s honor because of the way he lived as much as the way he died.
When his father owned a grocery store in Brewton, Alabama, he caught a woman stealing a ham. She apologized, telling him she wanted to feed her family a proper Thanksgiving meal but could not afford to. Rather than calling the police, he gave her the ham.
“My father would say if you have the opportunity to help others you have a responsibility to do it,” Byrd said. “That’s what I have tried to do. And that’s what Glen Campbell did with the movie.”
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Campbell has never seen the documentary; he cannot concentrate long enough, Kim Campbell said.
Today, he lives in a memory care center near Nashville. He has lost most of his language skills, stringing together just a few words at a time.
“He can make short sentences like, ‘I love you,’” his wife said. “Some days that is enough. And sometimes he’ll think I’m his sister. But most of the time he knows who I am.”
In an opening scene of the documentary, Campbell is watching home movies but does not recognize some of the eight children he had with four wives — or even images of himself.
When he realized he would lose his connection with those he loves, he penned his final song — “I’m Not Gonna Miss You,” which was made the soundtrack for the film.
A sampling of the lyrics that read like an apology:
“I’m never gonna know what you go through. All the things I say or do. All the hurt and all the pain. One thing selfishly remains — I’m not gonna miss you.”
“There is a long goodbye associated with Alzheimer’s,” Byrd said. “With each passing day your loved one recognizes you less and less. My mother used to have to remind my father who I was. It’s hard to handle.”
“I’ll Be Me” has its share of uplifting moments, Byrd said, especially those times when Campbell steps on stage to find fans who appreciate him for his courage as well as his talent.
After learning he had Alzheimer’s in 2011, Campbell went public with his diagnosis and embarked on a 151-show tour over 2 1/2 years to showcase the disease and say goodbye to his fans. He and his family allowed a camera crew along.
The film captures moments of forgetfulness and agitation, Campbell’s denial of what the disease was doing to his mind, his family coping with his growing isolation, and the sadness he feels when he finally accepts his fate.
The film depicts Alzheimer’s-related mishaps along the way. When a teleprompter displaying lyrics malfunctions, Campbell has to stop the concert until repairs are made. Some songs he sings more than once.
Still, Kim Campbell said, the audience sees only the good.
“We were worried when it all began,” she said. “We didn’t know if people would come to see him perform or an Alzheimer’s patient perform. But people came out in droves to shower him with love. It was so uplifting.”
At times when she struggles watching his decline, she thinks back on the goodbye tour.
The couple’s three children performed in the band.
“I’ll actually watch the film,” she said. “It’s like a home movie on that special time when the whole family was together.”
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One lesson she hopes friends and relatives of Alzheimer’s patients will learn is patience.
From time to time, there are moments of lucidity that allows for real contact again, even if just for a few minutes.
“I cherish those moments,” Kim Campbell said. “I know I’ll miss them.”
There is a physical toll for care givers, she said, in part because patients may remain strong and healthy.
“So many dangerous things can happen,” she said. “Glen would put a straw hat on a lamp and it would get so hot it would have burst into flames if I had not found it. Then there is the concern he would wander off and get lost. You are on constant watch.”
Byrd emphasized the need for loved ones and care givers to take care of themselves.
“You need to rest,” he said. “You cannot be on a 24 hour vigil.”
Even getting away for a trip to the grocery store can help, Kim Campbell said.
“You need a break. Luckily, I have three great children who would look after Glen so I could take a ballet class or something like that.”
Byrd said the nation needs to band together to ensure that this generation is the last that has to cope with Alzheimer’s.
“My father was part of the Greatest Generation — he served in World War II,” Byrd said. “So we sat back and watched as this disease took the Greatest Generation and now we are watching it take that next generation — the generation that includes Glen Campbell.
“How many more people are we going to let it take before we accept the seriousness of this?”
More than 5 million people in the United States have Alzheimer’s and researchers expect that number to triple or quadruple by 2050, said Charles J. Fuschillo Jr., president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.
Federal money for research into the disease falls short of allocations for other research, Fuschillo said — half a billion last year compared to billions for cancer and heart disease.
“I’m not saying they don’t deserve that type of money,” he said. “But Alzheimer’s should be seen as an equal priority.”
Toward the end of the film, the Campbells are shown urging federal legislators to increase funding.
They hope the film, showcasing Glen Campbell’s music and career, will help people around the world feel a kinship with him.
Perhaps he can do for Alzheimer’s research what former NBA star Earvin “Magic” Johnson did for HIV, Kim Campbell said.
“Everyone who has this disease and cares for someone with this disease is a champion. But hopefully a champion that people know can have a big impact.”
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