Michael J. Fox

Marty McFly turns 50!

Michael J. Fox, the Canadian actor famous for portraying All-American teenager Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy, recently turned the big 5-0 last June 9.

Honestly, this came as a shock. I always thought of Michael J. Fox (who, fun fact, is a vegetarian) as somewhere in his early forties, much like most 80s teen stars today –– maybe because of his height . . . the same height that garnered him roles as teenagers during the eighties (and he was well into his twenties by then), but also cost him a lot of major roles.

Michael Andrew Fox (b. June 9, 1961, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) was an army brat. He and his family had lived in loads of different towns in cities all over Canada before settling down in Burnaby, British Columbia, Vancouver. He dropped out of Burnaby Central Secondary School just before his graduation to focus on acting –– a move he regrets and regards as a “stupid youthful mistake” (apparently, he forbids his kids to stop studying and tells them to at least finish high school, then maybe take a year or two in college).

He successfully auditioned for the role of a ten-year-old in the Canadian TV series Leo and Me when he was fifteen. Three years later, he packed his bags and traveled to the Land of the Free, particularly Los Angeles, California. He was then discovered by producer Ronald Sheldo, who cast him in his TV movie Letters from Frank, which marked Fox’s US TV debut. He later added the faux middle initial “J” –– a homage to actor Michael J. Pollard –– after failing to register with the Screen Actors Guild because of their no-same-name policy (there was an older actor who also went by Michael Fox). Fox was offered more TV roles, but just like every other actor in LA, he hit a rough patch –– the roles just stopped coming. It was that time in his life when, he said, he was living off of microwave macaroni and cheese, sold paperback books to various bookstores for cash to buy groceries, and even hit up his parents for a loan so he could keep up with rent.

And then, on one fateful day, a phone call from his agent came to say: “You got the part of square kid Alex P. Keaton on the comedy series Family Ties.” (His agent didn’t actually say that, but called to tell him he got the role in the bag.) It was on the set where he met his would-be wife Tracy Pollan, who played Alex’s longtime steady Ellen. The show –– which would last for seven seasons on NBC (1982-1989) –– was originally pitched as a show with “hip parents, square kids” and the parents were supposed to be the main characters of the show. But Michael’s boyish charm made him steal every scene he was in, and by the show’s fourth season, Alex P. Keaton was Family Ties’ main attraction, becoming the center of the show, garnering Michael three consecutive Emmy awards (1986, 1987, 1988) and a Golden Globe Award in 1989.

While starring in Family Ties, he appeared in numerous movies, including the box office hit Back to the Future (a film where his character, Marty McFly, was sent from 1985 to 1955, causing his mother to cast romantic aspirations toward him and his father to be pushed further into the background, endangering Marty’s existence) and Teen Wolf in 1985, Light of Day in 1987, The Secret of My Success in 1987, Bright Lights, Big City in 1988, and Casualties of War in 1989. His last major film role was in Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners in 1996.

In 1996, he went back to TV, starring in the political sitcom Spin City, which would air until 2001. Since then, Michael appeared as guest stars in numerous TV shows such as Scrubs in 2004, Rescue Me in 2009 (opposite good friend Denis Leary) and The Good Wife in 2010. In 1998, he made the shocking declaration that he was suffering from Parkinson’s disease (he found out in 1991; while he was filming Doc Hollywood, he noticed his finger twitching uncontrollably, sought a doctor, and was diagnosed with the disease) and has since then became a strong advocate for research toward discovering a cure. On March 5, 2010, Karolinska Instutet of Sweden awarded Michael with a honoris causa doctorate for his work as a true advocate of Parkinson’s research.

Forever imprinted in my mind as skateboarding teen Marty McFly, or as the workaholic in The American President, Michael J. Fox is an inspiring person, a talented actor, and a voice for the sufferers of Parkinson’s everywhere. Happy belated birthday, Michael.

References:

· Answers.com. (2011). Michael J. Fox: Biography from Answers.com. Available: http://www.answers.com/topic/michael-j-fox. Last accessed June 11 2011.

· IMDB. (2011). Michael J. Fox (I) – Biography. Available: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000150/bio. Last accessed June 11 2011.

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