Italian Immigration

The Unforgettable Brave Man

Michael J. Fox is a well known celebrity from his performances in films and TV shows. Nowadays he is famous for increasing awareness about a disease that is killing him. The disease Michael is suffering from is known as Parkinson’s disease.

Michael Andrew Fox was born June 9, 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He grew up with his mom and dad, Phyllis and Bill. Michael adopted the “J” to his name in honor of the actor, Michael J. Pollard. Michael first gained attention from his role as a ten-year-old boy in Leo and Me. He was becoming a famous star in Canadian Television and movies (“Biography for Michael J. Fox”). He moved to Los Angeles at the age of eighteen and landed a couple acts on television. However, Michael J. Fox’s luck quickly changed. He lived off of boxes of Mac-and-Cheese and sold every last piece of furniture to pay the bills. Soon after his financial struggle, Michael received the news that he landed a role in the TV series Family Ties, and in films, Teen Wolf, High School U.S.A., Poison Ivy, and Back to the Future (“ Biography for Michael J. Fox”).

Michael J. Fox guest-starred in a few different series before landing his role which he would eventually win him three Emmy Awards. The role he played to win him these awards and fame, was Alex P. Keaton on NBC’s Family Ties (“Michael J. Fox ”). This role gave him a huge step in fame through a seven season run. At the same time, Michael was filming Family Ties, he was also filming Back to the Future. Michael’s typical day was reporting to paramount studios to film for Family Ties during the day, then head over to Universal Studios and film Back to the Future during the night (“Michael J. Fox”). Michael loved his life and career, but it was challenging. While filming for both the Family Ties and Back to the Future, there was the arrival of his first child, Sam Michael Fox (“Michael J. Fox”). Michael is not only seen on the TV screens, but is involved behind the screen as well. He has directed such HBO series as Tales from the Crypt and Brooklyn Bridge. He hosted Saturday Night Live in 1991 and directed and starred in a short film called The Iceman Hummeth (“Michael J. Fox Biography”). Michael also kept busy by starring in McDonald’s, Tilex, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi and Integra commercials (“Michael J. Fox”). After a few years away off camera, he agreed to show his face again in ABC’s Spin City. “This put Fox back where he belongs” (“Michael J. Fox Biography”). The Spin City series lasted for four years. In 1999, Michael announced he had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease since 1991 (King 20). When filming Spin City, Michael hid his right hand in his pocket to hide the tremors. In 2000, his tremors became to hard to conceal and Michael announced his departure from the show. The disease cost Michael his acting career, but he soon started a Foundation that would change the way the mass population views Parkinson’s disease.

Michael J. Fox suffers from a “degenerative neurological condition that robs its victims of the ability to control their movements” (Schindehette and Lipton 66). This disease is called Parkinson’s disease. His reasons for ending his career on the television screen are of course because of the loss of control over his own body. Despite his disease, he wanted to concentrate on raising money and awareness for Parkinson’s disease (“Michael J. Fox Biography”). Fox started his own foundation called, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. The Foundation is the largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s research, which helps to speed up drug development for the disease. His foundation also hopes to increase the movement of new treatments into the clinic (“The Michael J. Fox”). “The Michael J. Fox Foundation’s ultimate goal is finding a cure for the disease” (“The Michael J. Fox”). The Foundation has raised over eighty million dollars. Michael has become the country’s most visible advocate of embryonic stem-cell research (Schindehette, Lipton 66). Even with all his popularity with TV shows and movies, his Foundation has put him back in the lime light more then ever. He has been seen in many TV interviews, showing everyone his involuntary tremors. Michael has also been in many political ads supporting embryonic stem-cell research (Schindehette, Lipton