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.”
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