The cast of Pulp Fiction have honoured Bruce Willis at a reunion event celebrating the film’s 30th anniversary.
The film’s stars Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman and John Travolta gathered for a Hollywood screening of Quentin Tarantino‘s 1994 cult classic, but Willis, who is living with frontotemporal dementia, did not attend.
Willis’ daughter Tullulah and his wife of 15 years Emma Heming Willis were there to represent the actor’s involvement in the film, in which he played boxer Butch Coolidge.
Other cast members in attendance at the TCM Classic Film Festival on Thursday (18 April) included Rosanna Arquette, Phil LaMarr, Julia Sweeney, Frank Whaley, and Eric Stoltz.
In Willis’s absence, his daughter Tallulah honoured him by wearing a black baseball cap with “Bruce” embroidered in white letters.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Travolta opened up about his relationship with Willis and shared some memories of their time working together.
“Bruce and I had a history. We did Look Who’s Talking together, and we had a massive success with it,” explained Travolta. “So we were [friends]. We had been on vacation together, Kelly [Preston] and I with Bruce and Demi [Moore]. So this was not new. We were comfortable with each other.
“It was very easy to be with each other and relax, you know?” Travolta added. “And there was real genuine care. And we felt lucky we were in a very special movie [Pulp Fiction].”
In February 2023, Willis’s family announced that the actor’s aphasia condition – affecting cognitive abilities – had developed into frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
“We now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia,” Willis’ family wrote in a statement with the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. “Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”
Since his diagnosis, Heming has continued to share updates about Willis’ health on social media. In March, she hit back at reports that her husband is “living without joy” as a result of his deterioration.
