Michael J Fox Gives A Heart-Breaking Update To His Fans
Michael J Fox says his struggle with Parkinson's Disease is worsening.
Michael J. Fox shared in an interview recently that his struggle with Parkinson’s Disease is getting more difficult and that he is increasingly aware of his own mortality. The beloved star of the Back to the Future films recently sat down with Jane Pauley for an interview on CBS Sunday Morning, wherein he described the continued progression of the disease and his fight to live with it. “Every day gets tougher,” Fox said of the disease, with which actor and comedian Richard Lewis was also recently diagnosed.
The Michael J Fox interview comes ahead of the release of a new documentary about the actor’s life directed by Davis Guggenheim. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was met with praise from critics, including Daniel Fienberg, who said the film “delivers an essence of Fox’s energy and generation-spanning appeal.” That energy has kept him going during the decades since his diagnosis at age 29.
But the disease has never beaten the actor down, instead inspiring him to create the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which seeks to improve therapies for those suffering from Parkinson’s Disease and to search for a cure. According to Fox, the disease itself is not fatal. “You don’t die from Parkinson’s,” he told Pauley, “You die with Parkinson’s.”
The potentially fatal side effects of the disease are already present in Michael J Fox’s life. Accidents, including aspirating food and falls, are the cause of most Parkinson’s deaths, and Fox has already experienced falls after surgery on a benign tumor on his spine hampered his mobility. The falls he has suffered have resulted in two broken arms and fractures of his hand and face.
It can be difficult for Michael J Fox’s fans, many of whom have followed his career and life for decades, to see the actor at this stage in his battle against Parkinson’s Disease, but he has always remained a hopeful, positive figure, even as he has been honest about the realities of his health struggles. For the film, Guggenheim was allowed to use any images he wished to tell Fox’s story, with no restrictions on things that might be painful or difficult. Fox’s frankness and forthright attitude are apparent as he tells Pauley, “I’m not going to be 80.”
At 61, Michael J Fox continues to live each day with the knowledge that it could be his last. Having nearly died filming a scene for Back to the Future Part III in 1989, the former teen idol knows a thing or two about facing death. He also knows about the importance of celebrating the love and connection he has in his life, taking time as often as possible to connect with fans and even reunite with his Back to the Future costars.
Michael J Fox’s career has spanned a number of successes on the big and small screens, including his successful runs on the hit TV shows Family Ties and Spin City, the former of which he famously shot during the day while shooting Back to the Future at night. Well-known for his comedic talents in films like Life with Mikey, The Frighteners, and Teen Wolf, he took dramatic turns as well, such as Bright Lights, Big City, a film that dealt with drug addiction. Addiction would affect the star’s own life as well, as he began a habit of drug and alcohol abuse to hide his Parkinson’s symptoms.
All of this and more is explored in Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which already has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score ahead of its May 12 Apple TV+ premiere. As Fox continues sharing his struggles, he also continues sharing hope for those who are going through the same and similar dark places. As he overcomes obstacles and continues leading the charge for a cure, his story and his spirit keep us hopeful that, as a friend of his once said, “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”
