Billy Corgan has always been known for his deep, introspective lyrics and ability to weave compelling narratives. But recently, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman shared a real-life story that could rival any of his most intriguing songs. During an appearance on Howie Mandel Does Stuff, Corgan dropped a jaw-dropping possibility: he and comedian Bill Burr might actually be half-brothers.
Yes, you read that right.
“Most of my friends don’t even know this story,. About 10 years ago, one of my brothers was having a birthday party, and my stepmother was there, who was obviously married to my father. And my stepmother said to me, ‘Do you know who Bill Burr is?’ At that point, I had never heard of Bill Burr; I didn’t know who he was. He could have been the guy down the street.
“She said, ‘Well, he’s this comedian.’ I think I even somehow called up a picture on the phone, and I kind of noticed right away, ‘Gee, he kind of looks like my father.’ Bill Burr looks more like my father than Bill Burr looks like me or I look like Bill Burr. So I said to my mother, ‘Why are you asking me this?’
“She goes, ‘I think it might be one of your father’s illegitimate children. Bill Burr might be one of the children that your father sired in his days being a traveling musician.’ This is a true story. I’m not making this up; there is no joke in this.”
And if that wasn’t enough to leave jaws on the floor, Corgan revealed his father had once hinted at the same possibility. “He did once tell me that I had a half-brother named Bill who was basically born around the same time as me,” Corgan recalled.
While we may never get a definitive answer, one thing’s for sure: this story is as wild and unexpected as a Smashing Pumpkins guitar riff.
