Michael J. Fox: 1980s Teen Hit, Award Winner and Fundraiser

Michael Andrew Fox was born on June 9th, 1961 in Alberta, Canada. His mother, Phyllis was an actress/payroll clerk and his father was a police officer. At age 15, he starred in the Canadian television series, Leo and Me (1976-1981), and at age 18 he moved to Los Angeles to continue his acting career. In LA he was discovered by producer Ronald Shedlo and was cast in Shedlo’s television movie Letters from Frank (1979). He was credited in the movie as Michael Fox and had intended to continue to use that name. But, when he officially became registered with the Screen Actors Guild, they told him he would need to use a different name because there already was an actor who was credited under the name of Michael Fox. Even though his middle name was Andrew, Fox adopted the middle initial of “J” and became Michael J. Fox. 

Fox made his film debut in a Comedy produced by Walt Disney Productions called Midnight Madness (1980). Two years later, he landed the role of Alex P. Keaton in the sit-com Family Ties (1982-1989). The show’s creator, Gary David Goldberg, also became Fox’s acting mentor. That is ironic, because Goldberg originally disliked him after his first audition, believing that Fox would play Alex too much like a smart-aleck. The show’s casting director, Judith Weiner believed he was right for the role and fought for Goldberg to give him another chance. Goldberg reluctantly agreed, and Fox’s second audition was a success and he was cast in the part. His role as Alex Keaton won him three Primetime Emmys and one Golden Globe. Fox’s future wife, Tracy Pollan was later cast as Alex’s artist girlfriend, Ellen Reed, and they married in 1988, the year before the show went off the air.  

As “Family Ties,” continued its successful seven-year-run on NBC, Fox received the offer to play what became his seminal movie role : Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985). Since was Fox originally was unable to commit to the film given his “Family Ties,” shooting schedule, As a result of that, Screenwriter Bob Gale and Director/Co-Screenwriter Robert Zemeckis chose to cast Eric Stoltz instead. Six weeks into shooting, however, Gale and Zemeckis both agreed that Stoltz was not the right person for the part, and Fox was then officially cast. He still remained as a series regular on “Family Ties,” and also starred in the film Teen Wolf (1985) as well. Throughout the busy filming schedules, Michael J. Fox only got an average of 1-2 hours of sleep. “Back to the Future,” became a huge hit and won the Oscar for Best Sound Editing, spawning two sequels, Back to the Future part 2 (1989) and Back to the Future part 3 (1990). He reprised his role as Marty McFly in both sequels and he also played Marty’s son and daughter, Marty McFly Jr. and Marlene McFly in “Part 2,” and Marty’s distant great-great-great grandfather, Seamus McFly in “Part 3.” (There was also a sequel to “Teen Wolf,” called Teen Wolf 2 in 1987, though that sequel starred Jason Bateman.)

After filming “Back to the Future part 3,” Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but never revealed his condition to the public until 1998. Prior to that, he starred as Mike Flaherty on Spin City (1996-2002), for which he won another Primetime Emmy and three more Golden Globes. (He also starred in Touchstone’s Life with Mikey in 1993). When he officially announced his condition, he slowed down on appearing live in television and film, but he continued to perform as a voice-over artist in animated films. His first voice-over role was as the narrator in Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories (1992-present) for the segment “There’s a Nightmare in My Closet.’) Next, he was cast by the Walt Disney Studios to provide the voice of Chance the Bulldog in Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993). He reprised the role of Chance for its sequel, Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco (1996). Disney later cast him in Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) as the voice of the film’s main protagonist, Milo Thatch. He spoofed his “Teen Wolf,” character in an episode of the Disney Channel Original Series, Phineas and Ferb (2007-2015). Besides his Disney voice-over roles, Michael J. Fox was also the voice of Stuart Little in in Columbia Pictures’ Stuart Little (1999) and it’s two sequels, Stuart Little 2 (2002) and Stuart Little 3: The Call of the Wild (2005), which was a direct-to-video sequel.

Besides acting, Michael J. Fox also has become an advocate for finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease by creating The Michael J. Fox Foundation, which dedicates its time to finding that cure. He continues to make live appearances on television in series like The Good Wife (2010-2016) and Night Cap (2016-present). He will, however, be forever remembered for his three leading roles in the 1980s in “Back to the Future,” “Teen Wolf,” and “Family Ties.” 

Alan Tudyk: The “Wash” Man

Sci-fi fans remember Alan Tudyk best as Hoban “Wash” Washburne on the short-lived television series Firefly (2002-2003) and it’s spin-off movie Serenity (2005). But he is actually an accomplished actor with many vary Hollywood credits. 

Since the early 2010’s he has been a frequent Disney voice-over artist. He also auditioned for the role of Michael Scott in the American version of The Office (2005-2013) before Steve Carell was cast. Plus, he even portrayed Hollywood screenwriter Ian McClellan Hunter in the movie Trumbo (2015). (Hunter was the writer who received screen credit for writing the movies that Dalton Trumbo wrote, including Roman Holiday (2013), which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay). In this blog, we will discuss his Disney voices, and some of his other work.

Alan Tudyk was born on March 16th, 1971 in El Paso, Texas. He decided to study drama at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas where he won the Academic Excellence Award for. It was there that he decided to pursue drama full-time. As a result, he headed for Hollywood, and at just 26 years of age, made his debut in the independent film 35 Miles from Normal (1997). A major role followed in the dramatic comedy 28 Days (2000) with Sandra Bullock and Viggo Mortensen. Following those two, he portrayed Wat in A Knight’s Tale (2001), opposite Heath Ledger, and Sonny the robot in I, Robot (2004) opposite Will Smith.

Alan Tudyk made his Disney debut voicing the evil King Candy in Wreck-It Ralph (2012). He modeled the character’s voice on Disney legend Ed Wynn’s. (Tudyk currently has an unknown role in the upcoming sequel to “Wreck-It Ralph,” Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (2018).) He also was the voice of the Duke of Weselton in Frozen (2013), Alistair Krei in Big Hero 6 (2014), Duke Weaselton in Zootopia (2016), Heihei the rooster/Villager #3 in Moana (2016), and K-2SO in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016). Besides Disney movies, he has also voiced various characters for Disney television shows as well, including Phineas and Ferb (2007-2015), and Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2015-present).

Beyond Disney, Alan Tudyk lent his voice to Ice Age (2002), and its first and third sequels, Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) and Ice Age Continental Drift (2012). He also worked with “Firefly,” creator Joss Whedon on another short-lived series, Dollhouse (2009-2010) and played Ben Chapman in the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 (2013). Most recently, he created his own television series, Con Man (2015-present) which can be seen on Vimeo On Demand. The show earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama series and reunited him with “Firefly,” co-star Nathan Fillion. (Fillion has also been credited as an executive producer on the show.) Like Fillion and his other co-stars, Tudyk was the voice of DC Comic character. He voiced Green Arrow in the Batman video game, Injustice 2 (2017). On Broadway, he served as a temporary replacement in each of the roles originated by Hank Azaria in 2005 in the Broadway Musical Spamalot. (The roles were Sir Lancelot, the French Taunter, and the Night who says Ni.)   

Alan Tudyk is a true Hollywood talent, having covered every medium of entertainment in the business. What he will do next has yet to be seen, though it is possible that he will voice Tigger in Disney’s upcoming film Christopher Robin (2018), a live-action film where Christopher Robin will be reunited as an adult with all of his imaginary friends from the Hundred Acre Wood. Whether he’s voicing a cartoon or playing a real person, he never ceases to entertain. 

Eddie Murphy: A Winner of a Comedian

“Loser, whaddya mean a loser? How about if I pop one of your antennas off and throw it across the yard? Then who’s a loser? Me or you?” Disney’s Oscar-nominated Mulan (1998) recognize this as one of many funny lines made famous by Eddie Murphy, the voice of “Mushu.” 

Not only is Murphy a legendary comedian. His voice talents included the very hilarious “Donkey” in the Shrek film franchise (2001-2010). But beyond animated voice-overs, this comedian is an actor—and one of the few comedians to take on a multiple of roles within the same film. He is also a singer. And while there are many comedians who received acting Oscar nominations, he remains the only comedian to receive an acting Oscar nomination for a performance in a movie-musical. Known as the king of one-liners in movies, he also has kept film audiences in stitches just by his own distinguishable laugh. 

Edward Regan “Eddie” Murphy was born on April 3rd 1961. He was named after his father, Charles Edward Murphy, who in addition to being a transit police officer, was an amateur actor and comedian. Eddie tragically lost his father when he was eight years old and later his mother became ill. As a result, Eddie and his older brother Charlie were raised in foster care. Throughout his time in foster care, Eddie was “bitten by the comedy bug” and began writing and performing his own routines around 15 years of age. Later, he and Charlie were able to return to their then-recovered mother and were raised by her and their stepfather, Vernon Lynch. 

At the age of 19, Eddie landed a regular cast member spot on Saturday Night Live (1975-present). He stayed on SNL from 1980 to 1984. In 1982 he released his first stand-up album, Eddie Murphy, and made his feature film debut in 48 Hrs., with Nick Nolte. He also sang  background vocals to the song “(The Boys Are) Back in Town” in “48 Hrs,” and released a second stand-up album, Delirious, in 1983. It was around this time that Eddie Murphy was presented the script for Beverly Hills Cop (1984). The film had originally been written as an action/thriller for Sylvester Stallone but had been revised into a comedy by Donald Petrie Jr. who is known for being the pioneer of buddy-cop films, having been the writer of Touchstone’s Turner and Hooch (1989) with Tom Hanks. The film’s producer, Jerry Bruckheimer had also been considering Richard Pryor, James Caan, and Al Pacino to play Foley, but ultimately decided that Murphy would be the best. Eddie accepted the role. A huge hit, it spawned two sequels, Beverly Hills Cop 2 (1987) and Beverly Hills Cop 3 (1990). (In between the first two “Beverly Hills Cop,” movies Eddie continued singing and released a solo album called How Could It Be in 1985). 

Having been by inspired by Peter Sellers playing four different characters in the film Dr. Stangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), Eddie starred in the film Coming to America (1988) released the year after the first sequel to “Beverly Hills Cop.” He too played four different characters in the successful film, and playing several different characters in the same film became one of Eddie Murphy’s trademarks. He played three characters in Vampire in Brooklyn (1995), seven in The Nutty Professor (1996), two in Bowfinger (1999), eight in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000), three in Norbit (2007), and two in Meet Dave (2008). In between doing “The Nutty Professor,” and “Bowfinger,” Disney cast Eddie as the voice of Mushu in “Mulan.” Disney later cast him as Jim Evers in the film based on the Disney park attraction of the same name, The Haunted Mansion (2003), where he reunited with “Bowfinger,” co-star, Terrence Stamp. Besides his two Disney-labeled roles, Eddie Murphy starred in Touchstone Pictures’ Metro (1997) and Holy Man (1998) and Hollywood Pictures The Distinguished Gentleman (1992).

In 2006, Bill Condon cast Eddie Murphy in the role of James/Jimmy “Thunder” Early in his movie-musical adaptation based on the Broadway musical of the same name, Dreamgirls. The role was unusual, but not unconventional for Eddie, because while he had had some experience with singing, the role was not humorous and Eddie had no experience with musical theatre. Despite it all, his performance as Jimmy “Thunder” Early earned him a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and even his very first Academy Award nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actor. He won every major award, except the Oscar, losing that year to Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine (2006). He is now one of few actors to receive every major acting award for the same performance, except the Oscar.

Eddie Murphy is one of the most hysterical comedians of all time. From “Beverly Hills Cop,” to SNL to “The Nutty Professor,” he never ceases to keep people laughing their heads off. And with exceptional “singing pipes” in films like “48 Hrs.” and “Dreamgirls,” he displays that he is one heck of an all-around performer. 

Maureen O’Hara: One of the Boys

Maureen FitzSimons was born in Ranelagh, Ireland (a suburb of Dublin) on August 17th, 1920. As a child, she developed a love for both sports and performing and excelled a great deal in each. Surprisingly, she was able to win every award for performing her country offered to young people, and as a result of that, decided to pursue performing full-time. At the age of 14, she was accepted into the Abbey Theatre where she was able to pursue classical theatre as well as operatic singing. Five years later, when she was 19, she screen-tested for a role in the film Jamaica Inn (1939) and was cast opposite Charles Laughton, who in addition to playing the leading male role in the movie, was also an uncredited producer. (The film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock.) Before she was officially cast, however, Laughton told FitzSimons that she would need a shorter last name for the marquee and offered her the choices of O’Hara or O’Mara. And thus, Maureen FitzSimons became Maureen O’Hara.

Now officially under contract to Charles Laughton, her second film was also her American film debut: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) which also starred Laughton, as well as Thomas Mitchell and Edmond O’Brien. This film was a hit, and her Laughton contract was purchased by the film’s production company, RKO Radio Pictures. She was also fortunate enough to find herself an agent, Lew Wasserman. During “Hunchback”, World War II broke out, and the United States Government ruled that any foreigners who had recently relocated to America had to stay in America and could not go to their home countries. 

Devastated, Maureen O’Hara continued to make films produced in America, including: A Bill of Divorcement (1940), Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) in which she starred opposite good friend, Lucille Ball, and How Green Was My Valley (1941), which won the Best Picture Oscar. When WW2 finally ended, the U. S. finally allowed all foreigners to return home, and quick as a flash, Maureen got on the first airplane back to Ireland. As soon she was home, she was overjoyed to be reunited with her parents and her three sisters and two brothers. Then, out of nowhere, she received a long distance phone call from Wasserman that Fox wanted her to come back to America to make a film called Miracle on 34th Street (1947). Infuriated, she did not want to come back, but she was persuaded to honor her contract and return. Once she had returned, she read the script for the film, instantly changed her attitude, and was delighted to make the film.

In 1950, Maureen O’Hara made her first film with frequent co-star/close friend John Wayne: Rio Grande, directed by John Ford. It would be the first of five pairings for Wayne and O’Hara. At this point, Ford had completed another script for a movie to be titled The Quiet Man (1952), also starring Wayne and O’Hara. Ford had desperately been wanting to make “The Quiet Man,” but originally no studio wished to finance the film. However, the head of Republic Pictures, Herbert J. Yates, agreed to finance “The Quiet Man” if Ford would produce “Rio Grande” first. “Rio Grande,” was a hit, so Ford got the money to produce “The Quiet Man,” also a big hit. Wayne and O’Hara were again directed by Ford in The Wings of Eagles (1957). They were directed by Andrew V. McLaglen in McLintock! (1963) who was the son of Victor McLaglen, who portrayed O’Hara’s on-screen brother in “The Quiet Man.” On their fifth and final pairing, they were directed by George Sherman in Big Jake (1971).

 

Maureen O’Hara generally had a good working relationship with all of her leading men. Besides being close with John “the Duke” Wayne, she was also very close with Anthony Quinn. With Quinn, she made the films The Black Swan (1942), Buffalo Bill (1944), Sinbad, the Sailor (1947), Against All Flags (1952), and The Magnificent Matador (1955). 1961 was also a busy year for Maureen O’Hara. She made two films opposite good friend Brian Keith, The Deadly Companions and Walt Disney’s The Parent Trap. “Parent Trap.” (The only film O’Hara made for the Walt Disney Studios.) She made Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation in 1962 with Jimmy Stewart, and after starring in the made-for-television movie The Red Pony (1973), O’Hara retired from movies However,  she was  coaxed out of retirement four more times: Only the Lonely (1991), and three more television movies: The Christmas Box (1995), Cab to Canada (1998) and The Last Dance (2000). 

In Only the lonely, playing the fiery, outspokenness, overbearing mother of John Candy’s Director Chris Columbus knew only O’Hara was right for the party and considered the character an extension of Mary Kate Danaher, the fiery young woman that O’Hara had portrayed in “The Quiet Man.” While “Only the Lonely,” was in production John Candy discovered that he happened to have a trailer on-location much bigger than O’Hara’s and knowing that she was a much bigger star then he, insisted she take his big trailer and he would move into the smaller one. They became close on the film as a result. “Only the Lonely,” would also be her sixth pairing with Anthony Quinn as well as her final theatrical film appearance.

Throughout her entire career, Maureen O’Hara was never once nominated for any major awards as an actress: no Oscars, no Golden Globes, no Tonys, no Emmys, no nothing! She was, however, awarded an Honorary Oscar for “Lifetime Achievement,” on November 4th, 2014. She passed away of natural causes on October 24th, 2015 at 95 years of age. She leaves behind a legacy of films where she portrayed strong female characters, sometimes rebellious and tomboyish, but always plain-spoken, and kind. 

Ron Miller: LA Ram to Disney Leader

Having a family as big as possible was always important to Walt Disney. He and his wife, Lillian Bounds Disney, had two children together: one biological, Diane Disney Miller, and one adopted, Sharon Mae Disney. But both Walt and Lillian were overjoyed when their first son-in-law, Ron Miller, came into their lives. 

Ronald William Miller played college football at the University of Southern California, and was drafted as a quarterback by the L.A. Rams. After just one season, however, he was persuaded by his father-in-law to work for him. Miller became a producer on many classic films in the ‘60s and ‘70s and ultimately was named president of the Walt Disney Company in 1980.

Ron met Diane Disney on a blind date. They were married on May 9th, 1954 in a church ceremony in Santa Barbara. Throughout the first five months of their marriage, he worked as a liaison between WED (Walter Elias Disney) Enterprises and Disneyland, but then suddenly, he was drafted into the army. As a result of being drafted, Miller never finished college. Two months after his drafting, Diane gave birth to their first son, Christopher. (They had three more children during the first six years of their marriage. They had seven children total.) When Ron’s army service was complete, he returned home and played one season of football with the Los Angeles Rams. In the middle of one his games, he caught a pass and was knocked unconscious by an opposing player after he caught it. Walt Disney happened to be in the stands during this game, and the end of the football season Walt said “You know, I don’t want to be the father to your children. You’re going to die out there. How about coming to work with me?” Ron agreed, and Walt got him inducted into the Screen Director’s Guild (now Director’s Guild of America). His first job working for the studio was as a second assistant on Old Yeller (1957).

Ron Miller was one of the Associate Producers on the television series Zorro (1957-1959), and also the films Moon Pilot (1962), Bon Voyage! (1962), Son of Flubber (1963), the sequel to The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), and That Darn Cat! (1965). His first movie as the only credited producer was Never a Dull Moment (1968) which starred Dick Van Dyke. After the unfortunate passing of his father-in-law in 1966, Ron Miller continued to be a producer on films such as Guns in the Heather (1969), The Boatniks (1972), Now You See Him, Now You Don’t (1972) (the first sequel to The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)), Snowball Express (1972), and No Deposit, No Return (1976). In 1971, he won a Primetime Emmy for his work on the show Disneyland (1954-1991). He also was an executive producer on a few animated films for the studio as well, including The Rescuers (1977), The Fox and the Hound (1981), and The Black Cauldron (1985).

He was elected President of Walt Disney Productions in 1980 and CEO in 1983. Sadly, though, many people who worked at the studio did not agree or even disapproved of Miller’s leadership. In 1984, Michael Eisner and Frank Well’s were elected the co-CEO’s of Disney. Miller, however, was successfully able to create Touchstone Pictures, which allowed Disney to produce adult-oriented films. Their first film was Splash (1984) with Tom Hanks. That hit paved the way for Disney to produce The Little Mermaid (1989)). Miller also created “The Disney Channel,” network and funded the first two short films for a young Tim Burton, Vincent (1982) and Frankenweenie (1984). Ron also helped with getting the film rights and the development of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), and he even funded Disney’s first Broadway show, Total Abandon, with Richard Dreyfuss in 1983.

Ron Miller made wonderful contributions to the Walt Disney Studios throughout his life. No matter how unlikely his success, considering he really wanted to be a pro football player, his contributions helped Disney Studios to many future successes.