Billy Corgan makes a stunning admission. The 57-year-old disclosed that he might be connected to comedian Bill Burr due to his step-mom's suspicions. After Howie Mandel noticed a photo of Burr, 56, behind Corgan instead of his own on the Tuesday episode of the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman acknowledged it was a genuine error.
"It happens," Corgan said. "Me and Bill Burr memes. If I had Bill Burr's wealth, I'd be content to be Bill Burr." Despite "guaranteeing" he doesn't possess Burr's fortune, he shared a tale about their potential kinship.
"I've never told it to anyone," he started. "In fact, most of my friends don't even know this story." "About a decade ago, one of my brothers was celebrating a birthday, and my step-mother, who was married to my father, was present. She asked me, 'Do you know who Bill Burr is?' At that time, I had never heard of him. I didn't know he was a comedian or anything. He could have been the guy next door."
Despite not knowing who he was then, Corgan soon recognized which family member the stand-up comedian strikingly resembled. "She said, 'Well, he's this comedian.' I think I even called up a picture on my phone—and I noticed right away, 'Gee, he kind of looks like my father,'" the singer recounted. "Bill Burr looks more like my father than Bill Burr looks like me or I look like Bill Burr."
"So, I asked my mother, 'Why are you asking me this?' I thought she'd say, 'Oh, I thought you'd notice the resemblance.' But that wasn't her intention." "She said, 'I think he might be one of your father's illegitimate children. Bill Burr could be one of the children your father had during his days as a traveling musician,'" Corgan continued. "This is a true story. I'm not fabricating this; there's no joke here. This is a true story. I've never shared this anywhere, honestly."
Corgan recounted his response to his step-mother's shocking revelation, telling Mandel, 68, he had said 'Okay, that sort-of works' and I looked at Bill's age and we are similar age." "And my father once told me that I had a half-brother named Bill," Corgan added. "Who was born around the same time as me. He told me on my 18th birthday. This is all totally true. I swear to God. So I said, 'Well, how many other possible illegitimate children does daddy have because he did tell me about this one Bill.'"
He added, "And again, I didn't know that Bill was a famous comedian; he could have been a guy working down the street at the Whack Factory in Chicago. I had no idea who he was. None. Zero." It turns out the mystery Bill wasn't Corgan's only possible half-sibling. "And she said, 'I think there's 12 total,'" the musician confessed, before quipping, "Well, he was a traveling musician."
As for whether he's ever discussed this possibility with Burr? "I certainly know people who know Bill, and I've never approached them, but I did look up Bill's history and saw he was raised on the east coast in Boston or something like that," Corgan shared. "It said these are his parents and his life looks pretty normal. If I had seen he was adopted, maybe something, so I've never brought it up."
When Mandel asked, "Should we call Bill Burr and tell him the story?" Corgan replied, "I don't want to be made fun of by Bill Burr." He noted, "He's very funny, and I really don't want the psychological darts in my heart. All respect to Bill Burr. He's obviously very talented and funny."
"When I first saw Bill Burr's face, I had no idea who he was," reiterated Corgan. "He could have been the guy next door or the most famous comedian on earth; I had no idea. The first time I saw his face, I thought, 'Oh my god, he looks like dad.'" "I had an immediate reaction, and anyone in my inner circle who knows this story—and obviously people knew my father—and I go, 'Doesn't Bill Burr look like daddy?' or 'What do you think?' and they all have the same reaction like, 'Oh my God, he really looks like your father.'"
But at this point, Corgan doesn't think they are related. "It's my belief at this point, because I've sat on the story for 10 years," he added, "that I don't think Bill Burr and I are related. I think it's just one of those things. There are just people in the world that look alike."
The Post has reached out to Burr's rep for comment.
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