Yes, Michael J Fox is alive and he is currently 61 years old, lives in Manhattan while fighting and working with Parkinson's disease every day.
Fox was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's disease in 1991 at 29. Upon disclosing his condition to the public in 1998, he fully committed himself to the campaign for increased Parkinson's research.
Who is Michael J Fox?
Michael J. Fox was born on June 9, 1961, in Edmonton, Alberta, and is a Canadian actor, author, film producer, and activist, who is famously known for his role as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy. All along his career, he has been awarded a total of five Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Grammy Award.
In 2010, he was also appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada, along with being given a seat on Canada's Walk of Fame in 2000 followed by the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2002. He also received an honorary doctorate in 2010 from the Karolinska Institute and an honorary Oscar in 2022, for his advocacy of Parkinson's' Disease.
How did his career start?
Fox started his career starring in a television series called Family Ties from 1982-89. The series producer Gary David Goldberg was asked to let Fox star in about a time-traveling teenager which was a Steven Spielberg-produced film. But Goldberg didn't let Fox know about the audition.
Later, Goldberg was asked again about Fox’s availability. The next actor Eric Stoltz, who had been chosen for the part after Goldberg rejected the offer, was not what director Robert Zemeckis wanted. Goldberg finally gave in and told Fox about the role, who quickly accepted the chance to play Marty McFly in the film Back to the Future.
Fox would rehearse for the TV series he was already in the morning and he would rush to the Back to the Future set where he would rehearse and shoot until midnight. This kind of hectic schedule went on for a total of 2 months. On July 4, 1985, the film was released and went on to be number one for 11 consecutive weeks at the box office and earned a total of $381.11 million worldwide.
Before the second and third films took off, Fox also played others roles in movies such as Bright Lights Big City and in Casualties of War, where he plays a US Army private fighting in Vietnam where he witnesses his superiors kidnapping and raping a native woman and his way of handling the wrong.
In 1989 the production of Back to the Future Part II started, meanwhile, Fox's father passed away, and his wife Tracy Pollan gave birth to a son. Fox was 28 years old then and was made to look middle-aged with the work of a makeup artist named Bron Roylance. Fox paid homage to his father by adding some of his attributes to the character.
Back to the Future Part III was released in May 1990, Michael started having symptoms of the early stages of Parkinson's disease in the same year. However, he wasn’t diagnosed until much later while he was shooting a movie called Doc Hollywood. In the year 1998, he made his condition public, and since then he has been a strong advocate of Parkinson's disease research. Later in the year 2000, Fox semi-retired from acting.
In 2013, Fox appeared as the lead in the sitcom The Michael J. Fox in which he plays a news anchor Mike Henry who has to take leave from his job due to Parkinson's disease but recently went back to a job.
Is Michael J fox also a voice actor?
Between the years 1999-2006, Fox voiced the title character in the Stuart Little trilogy, Like Marty McFly on Back to the Future: The Animated Series, David Kaufman would provide the voice for Stuart in the short-lived cartoon. In the early 2000s, Fox played a doctor with obsessive-compulsive disorder on the comedy-drama series Scrubs.
Fox voiced the protagonist Milo Thatch in the animated film named Atlantis: The Lost Empire. While promoting the film, Fox considered more voice acting as it was more tolerant than being on the screen, and didn’t require the entire cast and crew to be present at all times.
Michael J. Fox was unable to reprise his role in Back to the Future: The Game, with the role going to AJ LoCascio. He did, however, provide voice work on Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 5: OUTATIME which includes William McFly and 3 doppelgangers of Marty from the future.
When did he retire?
In early 2020, Fox announced that he is retiring from acting due to the arising complications derived from his illness. He quoted “There is a time for everything, and my time of putting in a 12-hour workday, and memorizing seven pages of dialogue, is best behind me,” he said, having briefly retired after the initial diagnosis.
FAQ
Q. How do you get Parkinson's disease?
A. Genetics is mostly thought to play a role in Parkinson's, but the disease does not seem to run in families. Researchers now believe that Parkinson's results mostly from a combination of genetic and environmental factors, mostly due to exposure to toxins.
Q. Can Michael J. Fox still walk?
A. Fox not many months ago reunited with his Back to the Future co-star Christopher Lloyd at the New York Comic Con where he stood, and walked to greet him.
Q. How much money did Michael J. Fox have?
A. He has an estimated net worth of $65 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
