With two long-running sitcoms, multiple Emmy Awards and a top-grossing film series to his name, actor Michael J. Fox might have spent the rest of his life at the forefront of Hollywood’s A-list. However, the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease limited the actor’s screen career and, at the age of 39, he embarked on a new mission to help find a cure. The Canadian actor was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s, first embodying the Reagan-era culture clash with his role as an aspiring yuppie teen and son of former hippies on the sitcom “Family Ties” (NBC, 1982-89). He parlayed his flawless comic timing and clean-cut good looks into a successful film career as amiable boys-next-door, including one with access to a havoc-wreaking time machine in the mega blockbuster “Back to the Future” franchise. Fox challenged his image with grittier roles in films like “Bright Lights Big City” (1988), but more consistently scored as officious young professionals, like his starring role as deputy mayor of New York on the sitcom “Spin City” (ABC, 1996-2002). In 1998, Fox disclosed that he had been diagnosed with the neurological disorder Parkinson’s disease, and semi-retired from acting in 2000. He occasionally surfaced as a sitcom guest and in voiced-animated family films including the “Stuart Little” (1999) series, but Fox mainly dedicated himself to publicizing the need for increased research into Parkinson’s, including voicing his support for the controversial use of stem cell research. While Fox’s presence was missed on primetime, his inspirational advocacy on behalf of Parkinson’s sufferers ultimately left a more important legacy than his roster of popular comedies.
The anemic "Teen Wolf" (also 1985), which cast Fox as a student werewolf who parlays his condition into high school popularity, benefited greatly from the success of both "Back to the Future" and "Family Ties", and "The Secret of My Success" (1987), featuring his energetic and appealing performance as a naive but ambitious kid who hustles his way into the corporate world of NYC, also traded on his likablity. Dissatisfied with his "nice boy" image, Fox attempted to broaden his range, beginning with Paul Schrader's "Light of Day" (also 1987), a misguided rock'n'roll drama co-starring real-life rocker Joan Jett as his renegade sister. Though the pic gave him the chance to play guitar again, critics and fans alike reacted negatively to his atypical lack of intensity as the brooding factory worker-band member, enabling Jett to steal the mostly lackluster show with her compelling performance. As for James Bridges' adaptation of Jay McInerney's "Bright Lights, Big City" (1988), the studio was as adamant as the public about not wanting to see him as a coke-snorting magazine fact checker and put enormous (and thankfully futile) pressure on the director to make a mockery of the project by getting rid of the cocaine.
Fox was back to clean-cut decency as the conscience-stricken G.I. squaring off against an over-the-top Sean Penn in Brian De Palma's disturbing Vietnam saga "Casualties of War" (1989), but his moral impotence in the face of the Penn-led atrocity was disturbing. The ticket-buying public and critics alike welcomed his return to the light comic capers of "Back to the Future II" (also 1989) and "Back to the Future III" (1990). Shot back to back by Zemeckis, these films allowed Fox to play multiple characters, including an aged Marty, Marty's daughter and his ancient Irish relative, Seamus McFly. He followed up with the cop buddy picture "The Hard Way" with James Woods and the fish-out-of-water comedy "Doc Hollywood" (both 1991), neither coming close to the box office pyrotechnics of the "Back to the Future" franchise. Fox discovered another outlet for his talent when he lent his voice to the Disney animal adventure remake "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey", but the tepid response to his child talent agent in "Life With Mikey", his beleaguered hotel concierge in "For Love or Money" (all 1993), and his turn as Kirk Douglas' nephew in "Greedy" (1994) led him to reassess his career.
Changing management, Fox lay low until Woody Allen called, enjoying his outing in the writer-director's TV remake of "Don't Drink the Water" (1994) and taking Allen's "You play paranoid angst better than anyone else" (US, September 1996) as a huge compliment. His dead-on portrayal of a domestic advisor (modeled on George Stephanopoulos) in Rob Reiner's "The American President" (1995) begged for an encore, and when the long shoot in New Zealand for Peter Jackson's "The Frighteners" (1996, executive produced by Zemeckis) convinced him that a TV series schedule was best for his family life, he reteamed with "Family Ties" executive producer-creator Gary David Goldberg for the ABC sitcom "Spin City" (1996-2000), returning to the small screen as a New York City mayoral aide. As executive producer, he also had more input into this show, which featured the witty, fast-talking, light-on-his-feet Fox at his trademark best. In 1998, the actor publicly disclosed he had been fighting Parkinson's disease since 1991 yet his illness initially hardly slowed him, and he became a tireless activist for research to battle the affliction, frequently appearing as a lobbyist in Washington D.C. and making public appearances when he knew his tics and tremors would be visible in order to put a human face on his condition. In addition to the regular series grind, Fox squeezed in the gleefully boyish vocals for the titular mouse in "Stuart Little" (1999). While purists may have objected to the changes in E B White's story, family audiences embraced the little white mouse and turned the film into a surprise box office hit that spawned an equally charming 2002 sequel. He also voiced the lead character in Disney's "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" (2001), a not-so-successful attempt to graft a teen boy action appeal to the classic Disney animated formula.
Leaving "Spin City" in 2000 to focus on his health, Fox remained a welcome presence on TV, returning to his sit-com frequently as a guest star to visit his successor and real-life chum Charlie Sheen. He also appeared as a seemingly perfect doctor who threatens the staff on the NBC sitcom "Scrubs" in 2004 (the series was created by "Spin City's" Bill Lawrence), and on three 2005 episodes of "Boston Legal" as a rich businessman with lung cancer.