Barry Manilow - Health

Health

On October 25, 1978, one hour before his scheduled debut at the Olympia Theatre he fractured his ankle. Manilow was rushed to a doctor who taped the injury minutes before he stepped onstage. Manilow insisted on going on and doing his complete show, which included an intricate disco dance in the popular "Copacabana" production number.

On February 4, 1982, Manilow, who was bedridden in a Paris hotel with bronchial pneumonia, had been ordered by doctors to cancel a nine-concert European tour; he had fallen ill earlier that week following completion of the month-long United Kingdom leg of the tour. He was ordered to remain in bed for at least a week and would probably return to his Los Angeles home when he was able to travel, said publicist Heidi Ellen Robinson.

Manilow sprained his ankle October 6, 1983, on the stage at London's Royal Festival Hall while performing at a sold-out benefit concert before the Prince and Princess of Wales, who hosted the show. He underwent emergency oral surgery on December 7, 1986, at the Hospital of the Good Samaritan in Los Angeles to remove a non-cancerous cyst in his upper jaw that exploded. Three days later, he was released in good condition from the hospital. During the emergency, he used his friend Elizabeth Taylor's dental surgeon.

On May 13, 1989, Manilow was rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital during intermission at Broadway's Gershwin Theater cancelling the second half of his show. His agent Susan Dubow said he was "feeling fine" after being forced from the Broadway stage because of an adverse reaction to medication prescribed for a stomach ailment. Dubow also added that Manilow was ready to return to the stage to complete the run of his concert show, which was then extended one week to June 3.

In March 1996, Manilow had photorefractive keratectomy eye surgery on one of his eyes. People Weekly, in their June 26, 2000, issue, reported that Manilow had eye surgery done by Los Angeles doctor Robert K. Maloney, but incorrectly stated it was LASIK. Manilow is quoted saying he now connects with the audience instead of "seeing a blur".

On June 26, 1997, Manilow was diagnosed with bronchitis before a scheduled performance in Austin, Texas, his spokeswoman Susan Dubow said the following day. Four other shows also had to be postponed. Manilow was back on the road that July 8 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dubow said this is only the second time in Manilow's career that illness forced him to postpone a performance.

On May 22, 1999, Manilow was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital after suffering an adverse reaction to dental surgery. According to Manilow's spokesperson Susan Dubow, he spent two days in the hospital with an infected mouth and then was "resting comfortably at home". Since the initial operation in 1986 when Manilow had a benign tumor removed from the roof of his mouth, he has had to have minor dental surgery several times over the years. It was following such a procedure that Manilow's mouth became infected, Dubow explained.

On May 28, 2003, Manilow injured his nose in the middle of the night when he awoke disoriented and walked into a wall when he returned to his Palm Springs home after spending two weeks in Malibu working on longtime friend Bette Midler's upcoming Rosemary Clooney tribute album. He passed out for four hours after the accident but was OK, his manager said.

On July 29, 2003, Manilow had a complete upper and lower facelift, which includes the removal of drooping skin from the eyelids and the general tightening of facial skin. Manilow was photographed after the surgery with what looked like a surgical wrap under his chin while leaving a plastic surgeon's office wearing a disguise of dark glasses and a blonde wig in the streets of Beverly Hills, California in an effort to escape without recognition.

On January 31, 2004, Manilow was treated for stress-related chest pains during a 24-hour stay at the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California. Manilow was rushed to the hospital after two days of arbitration in a lawsuit where he was fighting to win back the rights to the original stage musical Harmony from producer Mark Schwartz. Manilow was diagnosed with an atrial fibrillation. After his heart rate returned to normal, doctors permitted him to return home.

On August 29, 2006, Manilow had hip surgery at a Southern California hospital. According to his press release, he tore the labrum (cartilage) in both hips. When the symptoms of extreme pain and discomfort did not go away following preliminary treatment, an MRI arthogram was performed and the labrum tears were discovered. Manilow's first appearance back from the surgery took place at a concert in Atlantic City, with Barry springing forth from a golden wheelchair and holding his 2006 Emmy for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.

On December 12, 2011, Manilow had hip surgery. As a result of the subsequent physical therapy, he postponed several concerts in the United States.