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Billy Joel’s daughter Alexa Ray Joel is giving fans a hopeful glimpse into the music legend’s health battle.
Alexa Ray, 40, shared that her father, 76, remains healthy months after the “Piano Man” hitmaker revealed he had been diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), a rare brain disorder that forced him to cancel all of his concerts last May.
Before taking the stage at Carnegie Hall Thursday for “The Music of Billy Joel” tribute event, Alexa Ray said Billy has been focused on getting stronger.
“He’s doing physical therapy regularly and he’s doing great. He’s lost weight as he’s on his diet,” she shared with The Hollywood Reporter.
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“I’m so proud of him. He’s such a trooper, so resilient and committed to being healthy and proactive. He’s a fighter. He’s always been a fighter and talks in his documentary about how life’s like a fight.”
Thursday night’s tribute at Carnegie Hall marked an emotional moment for the family.
“He was so excited when he first played Carnegie Hall in the ‘70s, so it’s exciting for him to come back decades later and see amazing artists and his daughter pay tribute to him,” Alexa Ray said ahead of the show. “It’s a full-circle moment.”
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She continued to explain that she insisted her father attend the momentous event.
“I said, ‘Dad, you better be there! This is Carnegie Hall. Everyone’s paying tribute to you, and it’s an amazing group of artists.'”
“He was like, ‘Let me mark that down.’ He’s very organized with his little calendar.”
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Alexa Ray honored her father on stage during the star-studded celebration of his music.
Billy attended the event in a dapper black suit and tie. Alexa Ray stunned in a strapless black fringe dress paired with white gloves.
A sold-out Carnegie Hall celebrated Billy’s legendary catalog during “Michael Dorf Presents: The 21st Annual Music Of” tribute concert. Across two sold-out shows, the event drew more than 3,500 attendees and raised over $225,000 for music education programs — the largest fundraising total in the concert’s history.
Last July, the “Uptown Girl” crooner addressed growing concern about his health and assured fans he was managing the diagnosis.
“I know a lot of people are worried about me and my health, but I’m OK,” he told People at the time. “What I have is something very few people know about, including me, no matter how much you try to research it.”
Billy added that he remained focused on his recovery.
“I’m doing my best to work with it and to recover from it,” he said.
Although he said the diagnosis was “disturbing,” he reassured fans not to be concerned about his health.
“It was scary, but I’m OK,” he said. “I just wanted to let people know, don’t worry about me being deathly ill or anything.”
The father of three welcomed his eldest daughter, Alexa Ray, during his marriage to ex-wife Christie Brinkley. He later expanded his family with current wife Alexis Roderick, and the couple share two daughters, Della Rose and Remy Anne.
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