Wilko Johnson Dying of Cancer; Rocker 'Happy' With Only Months to Live

'Game of Thrones' Actor Received Diagnosis Last Month

0
  • Wilko Johnson of Dr. Feelgood
    Reuters/Paul Hackett
    Wilko Johnson, English rocker and "Game of Thrones" actor, is dying of cancer. He was diagnosed recently.
By Daniel Harding , Christian Post Contributor
February 4, 2013|4:15 pm

Wilko Johnson, the guitarist for cult classic band Dr. Feelgood in the 1970s, is dying of pancreatic cancer. Unlike many who would discouraged by the debilitating disease, however, he claims to be "intensely alive"- so much so that he is considering touring with his music.

Wilko Johnson, 65, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and told he had only months to live. Ever since then, though, his outlook on life has made him more creative.

"You walk down the street and you feel intensely alive. You're 'Oh, look at that leaf!' You're looking around and you think, 'I'm alive. Ain't it amazing?'" he told the Associated Press.

That intensity has translated into creativity and activity for the "Game of Thrones" star, who plays mute executioner Ilyn Payne on the show. Since learning he had cancer, Johnson has played in Japan and is planning a tour in Britain in March.

"After getting this diagnosis, I suddenly find myself writing bloody songs again," the rocker revealed. "I think there will be an album. It's going to be rough and ready, because we've got about three of four days and we're just going to go in and to bash it down. We're not going to twiddle with anything."

Only one thing could stop Johnson and his band from performing: the sickness, were it to slow him down before March, would be too much to handle, he said.

Follow us

"I'm not going on stage sick. I'm not going to have someone pushing me around in a wheelchair," Johnson, who is known for his high-energy shows, told Reuters. "They'd have to push fast."

He has refused chemotherapy, and, after seemingly making peace with his future, revealed that he has been feeling happy since he learned about it.

"It fact it amounted at time to euphoria," Johnson, born John Wilkinson, explained. "I haven't any botherations about death. So far, so good. Happy."

Advertisement
Top Stories

Gay Partners Amendment Left Out of Immigration Bill

The Senate's immigration reform bill was passed out of the Judiciary Committee Tuesday without the "Leahy amendment" that would have given family status to gay and lesbian partners of U.S. citizens.

Boy Scouts Does Not, Will Not, Ask Scouts About Their Sexuality

The Boy Scouts of America does not currently ask ...

Judge to Decide If Yoga Belongs in Public Schools

A California judge began hearing arguments this week in a civil rights case concerning whether one yoga form's religious roots should prevent it from being taught in a public school system.