Michael J. Fox on Katie Couric

Interviewee: Michael J. Fox

Interviewer: Katie Couric
Date: 26 October 2006

About Michael J. Fox:

Canadian born, Michael J. Fox is an accomplished film star and advocate for Parkinson’s disease. He is married to Tracy Pollack and they have four children together. Michael J. Fox is best known for his role as Alex Keaton on Family Ties and as Marty McFly in the Spielberg films, Back to the Future I, II & III. Michael J. Fox is also a writer, as he wrote his autobiography Lucky Man. The initial “J’ in his screen name is adopted as homage to character actor Michael J. Pollard.

He became more prominent in the role of Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties, an American television sitcom, which won him an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He also played the role of Mike Flaherty in the television series, Spin City from 1996 to 2000. His other films include Bright Lights, Big City; The Hard Way; Light of Day; and Doc Hollywood.

Born on June 9, 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Fox moved with his family several times during his childhood until they finally settled in Burnaby, British Columbia. In 1979, he moved to Los Angeles, California and pursued an acting career, debuting on American television in the show Letters From Frank.

In 1991, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease but he revealed his condition to the public only in 1998. In the same year, he was honored with a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. He finally retired from full-time acting in 2000 since the symptoms of his condition were getting worse. Ever since going public, Fox has been a strong advocate of research on Parkinson’s disease and its cure. He has also been politically active, particularly for politicians for stem cell research. In 2004, he appeared in a television commercial for the campaign of Republican Arlen Specter who supports stem cell research.

Additional Resources About Michael J. Fox:

Official Internet Movie Database Entry on Michael J. Fox

Wikipedia biography of Michael J. Fox

This comprehensive fan site has a detailed biography of Michael J. Fox.