Because he played the part so well, you might think there was always a little bit of Alex P. Keaton in Michael J. Fox. Not so. Like so many Canadian kids, Fox actually grew up dreaming of a career in the National Hockey League. It wasn’t until he was 18 that he moved to Los Angeles and landed the role of America’s most loveable conservative on NBC’s enormously popular Family Ties.
Fox also had time during his busy TV work to become a film star, showcasing his ability to shift between comedy and drama. But in 1991, while on the set of the movie Doc Hollywood, he experienced an uncontrollable tremor in his left pinkie finger. Fox was only 30 years old when he was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson's disease a year later. Parkinson’s disease has several classic signs and symptoms including tremors, stiffness of the limbs and face, and difficulty walking.
Afraid that his career would suffer if word of his disease got out, Fox kept it quiet when he returned to series television in 1996 on ABC’s Spin City, portraying Michael Flaherty, New York’s deputy mayor. He won critical praise for his role and during his time shooting the show in New York City, Fox did everything from gallop bareback through Central Park to jump into the Hudson River. He also served as executive producer.
But his disease was preventing him from living up to some of his commitments and Fox couldn’t tell people why. So he finally made the decision to share his experience with Parkinson’s.
“. . . I had one goal in mind: to give an honest account of how, over the last seven years, I had integrated the disease into a rich and productive life,” Fox wrote in his memoir, Lucky Man (published by Hyperion in April 2002).
“It was important for me to convey my optimism, gratitude, perspective, and even an ability to laugh about certain aspects of life with P.D., being a firm believer in the joke writer’s axiom that comedy = tragedy + time. I viewed my disclosure as a way for me to move forward in my life and career, not as a summation compelled by catastrophe.”
Part of leading that life meant committing himself to the campaign for increased Parkinson’s research. With his new priorities at the forefront of his mind, Fox retired from Spin City in January 2000. That same year, he launched The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which is dedicated to finding a cure for the disease within the decade and to helping ensure the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s today. The Foundation plans to do it through an aggressively funded research agenda.
Fox wholeheartedly believes that if there is a concentrated effort from the Parkinson's community, elected representatives in Washington, DC, and (most importantly) the general public, researchers can pinpoint the cause of Parkinson’s and uncover a cure within our lifetime. And when poised in front of a Senate subcommittee, specifically to talk about the critical importance of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, Fox didn’t appear to be interested in telling the story of his life for the heck of it. Instead he was eager to convey the massive impact Parkinson’s has on people. This is part of what he said:
“By now, many of you have heard my story. But you haven't heard this story, about a 38-year-old book editor named Anne, whose P.D. caused her to lose her job at a publishing house, plunging her from New York's middle class into poverty. She's now forced to live on Medicare and SSDI benefits, which are nearly consumed by her monthly medication costs alone. Nor have you heard about Greg, a former lawyer, now living on disability, who corresponds with me regularly. Two weeks ago, his friends and family watched in horror as he disappeared into stony immobility while waiting for a prescription delivery that had been delayed . . .”
“None of these people mind that I get more attention than they do. What they tell me over and over is that if I get a shot in front of a microphone, I should start talking.”
“So here I am.”
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