Back To The Future star and Parkinson’s activist Michael J. Fox gets honorary Oscar

Canadian actor Michael J. Fox was awarded an honorary Oscar last Saturday for his campaign to fund Parkinson’s research since being diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease at the peak of his acting career.

Fox, 61, received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ annual statuette for humanitarian work by a film industry figure at a Los Angeles black-tie gala crammed with Hollywood’s biggest stars.

“You’re making me shake, stop it,” joked Fox as he received a standing ovation, before describing his award as “a wholly unexpected honor”.

Fox shot to stardom in the Back To The Future films (1985 to 1990) while portraying time-traveling high-school student Marty McFly.

The trilogy thrust DeLorean time machines and gravity-defying hoverboards into the popular imagination.

In 1991, at the age of 29, Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and told he had 10 years left to work.

About 10 million people worldwide have Parkinson’s, which erodes motor functions.

American actor Woody Harrelson, who starred alongside Fox in the film Doc Hollywood (1991) at the time of his diagnosis, told the audience last Saturday: “I just couldn’t believe it because there’s such an invincible, superhuman quality about Mike.”

“He never missed a step, never wallowed in self-pity. Instead, he turned a chilling diagnosis into a courageous mission.”

Fox, who first achieved fame on NBC’s sitcom Family Ties (1982 to 1989), publicly disclosed his illness in 1998, during the run of his second hit TV series Spin City (1996 to 2002).

He semi-retired a few years later, dedicating himself to his Parkinson’s foundation and raising more than US$1 billion for research.

“It was clear that an aging, underserved patient base could use some help,” he said. “There was nothing heroic about what I did.”

Fox, who retired from acting in 2020, has suffered multiple broken bones and injuries from falls in recent months, requiring surgery on his shoulder.

But he walked to and from the stage last Saturday, asking his wife and former Family Ties co-star Tracy Pollan to help carry his statuette off.

 

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