Michael J. Fox

Parkinson's Activist and Celebrated Actor

Canadian-born actor Michael J. Fox has one of the best-known faces (and voices) in Hollywood, having starred in dozens of blockbuster films and highly rated television series throughout his career. In 1998, Fox announced he had been battling with Parkinson's disease for the previous seven years. Now, while he maintains a strong commitment to his acting and writing careers, Fox has shifted his primary focus and energies toward The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Fox launched the foundation in 2000 to raise much-needed research funding and awareness for Parkinson's disease.

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Michael J. Fox was born Michael Andrew Fox in 1961 to parents William and Phyllis in Edmonton - he adopted the "J" as an homage to legendary character actor Michael J. Pollard. Fox, a self-described "Army brat," moved several times during his childhood along with his parents, brother, and three sisters. The Foxes finally planted roots in Burnaby, BC when William Fox retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in 1971.
Like most Canadian kids, Fox loved hockey and dreamed of a career in the National Hockey League. In his teens, his interests expanded. He began experimenting with creative writing and art and played guitar in a succession of rock-and-roll garage bands before ultimately realizing his affinity for acting.

Fox debuted as a professional actor at 15, co-starring in the sitcom Leo and Me on CBC with future Tony Award-winner Brent Carver. Over the next three years, he juggled local theatre and TV work, and landed a few roles in American TV movies shooting in Canada.

When he was 18, Fox moved to Los Angeles. He had a series of bit parts, including one in CBS' short-lived (yet critically acclaimed) Alex Haley/Norman Lear series Palmerstown, USA, before winning the role of lovable conservative Alex P. Keaton on NBC's enormously popular Family Ties (1982-89). During Fox's seven years on Ties, he earned three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe, making him one of the country's most-prominent young actors.

Fox returned to series television in 1996 with ABC's Spin City, portraying Michael Flaherty, New York's deputy mayor. He won critical praise, garnering three Golden Globe Awards, one Emmy Award, three Emmy nominations, a GQ Man-of-the-Year Award (in the TV comedy category), a People's Choice Award, and two SAG Awards. During his time on the show, shot entirely in New York City, Fox did everything from galloping bareback through Central Park to jumping into the Hudson River. He also served as executive producer, along with Gary David Goldberg, Bill Lawrence, David Rosenthal, and producer/director Andy Cadiff.

Fox also had time during his busy TV work to become an international film star, appearing in over a dozen features showcasing his keen ability to shift between comedy and drama. These include the Back to the Future trilogy, The Hard Way, Doc Hollywood, The Secret of My Success, Bright Lights, Big City, Light of Day, Teen Wolf, Casualties of War, Life With Mikey, For Love or Money, The American President, Greedy, The Frighteners, and Mars Attacks!

Though he would not share the news with the public for another seven years, Fox was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson's disease in 1991. Upon disclosing his condition in 1998, he committed himself to the campaign for increased Parkinson's research.

Fox announced his retirement from Spin City in January 2000, effective upon the completion of his fourth season and 100th episode. Expressing pride in the show, its talented cast, writers, and creative team, he explained that new priorities made this the right time to step away from the demands of a weekly series. Now, while he maintains a strong commitment to his acting and writing careers, Fox has shifted his primary focus and energies toward The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which he launched in 2000, and its efforts to raise much-needed research funding and awareness for Parkinson's disease.

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.

April 2010
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future: Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned
Michael J. Fox abandoned high school to pursue an acting career, but went on to receive honorary degrees from several universities and garner the highest accolades for his acting, as well as for his writing. In his new book, he inspires and motivates graduates to recognize opportunities, maximize their abilities, and roll with the punches - all with his trademark optimism, warmth, and humor. In A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future, Michael draws on his own life experiences to make a case that real learning happens when "life goes skidding sideways." He writes of coming to Los Angeles from Canada at age eighteen and attempting to make his way as an actor. Fox offers up a comically skewed take on how, in his own way, he fulfilled the requirements of a college syllabus. He learned Economics as a starving artist; an unexpected turn as a neophyte activist schooled him in Political Science; and his approach to Comparative Literature involved stacking books up against their movie versions.
March 2009
Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist
There are many ways to describe Michael J. Fox: Star. Husband. Father. Activist. But one word encapsulates everything he stands for, everything he's accomplished: Optimist. Struck with Parkinson's - a debilitating, degenerative disease - at the height of his fame, Fox has taken what some might consider cause for depression and turned it into a beacon of hope for millions. Now, in Always Looking Up, he writes about the personal philosophy that carried him through his darkest hours, and speaks with others who have emerged from difficult periods with optimism to spare. With the humour and wit that dazzled fans and reviewers alike in his bestselling memoir, Lucky Man, Fox shows how he became a happier, more satisfied person by recognizing the gifts of everyday life.
April 2002
Lucky Man
In September 1998, Michael J. Fox announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Now, with the same passion, humor, and energy that Fox has invested in his performances over the last 18 years, he tells the story of his life, his career, and his campaign to find a cure for Parkinson's.

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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future Michael J Fox

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