Signing Off - Michael J. Fox quits 'Spin City' to tackle the biggest battle of his life

There wasn't a dry eye in the house by the time that filming on the season finale of 'Spin City' wrapped up inside Stage D of New York City's Chelsea Piers studios. The teary-eyed people who had gathered on that Friday night in March knew they were witnessing the conclusion of a bittersweet chapter in the life story of a gifted and likeable young comic talent.

For 38-year-old Canadian-born actor Michael J. Fox, it was also the culmination of an emotion-filled journey that began in December 1998, when he revealed, in the cover story of People Weekly magazine, that he had been waging a battle with Parkinson's disease which he had managed to keep secret for seven years.

Fox is no stranger to making headlines. Last July, he sent Canadian reporters scurrying during a press tour in Los Angeles when he spoke of his plans to seek U.S. citizenship.

In September, he grabbed the spotlight again by making a plea for increased Parkinson's research funding before a U.S. senate subcommittee.

But Fox's big personal revelation had stunned many in the TV and movie industry. He rocked them again in January, when he announced he would be leaving 'Spin City' at the end of this season in order to spend more time with his family and to focus his energy on helping to find a cure for his degenerative neurological disorder.

The news sparked rumours of a much greater health crisis than Fox had originally presented to the media. "I feel good on a day-to-day basis", the upbeat actor insisted as recently as last July, when he and new co-star Heather Locklear appeared before reporters in L.A. "It's like anything when you have an ongoing condition", Fox said then. "But I feel confident with my ability to do my job."

As the season wore on, the assessment would change. Word of the departure also sparked speculation over whether 'Spin City' - which Fox created with executive producers Bill Lawrence and Gary David Goldberg - would continue without him. Charlie Sheen has since signed on to join the cast for the show's fifth season, which will shift production to L.A.

Still, Fox's impact won't be easily forgotten.

"Even with the future of the show looking optimistic, I think everybody's feelings about Mike are so strong", 'Spin City' director Andy Cadiff recently explained in the Los Angeles Times. "No one has lost sight of the fact that Michael is the reason everybody's here."

Fox's final episode - the show's 100th - hits the air this week, spinning a heart-tugging, hourlong storyline around Mike Flaherty's personal decision to leave his job as the assistant to New York's dizzy mayor (Barry Bostwick). Decked out in jeans and a red letterman jacket for a chunk of the episode, Fox obviously resurrects the boyish screen image that the real-life father of three has been famous for.

Born in Edmonton [Alberta], and raised in Burnaby [British Columbia], Michael Andrew Fox (he adopted the "J" as a tribute to actor Michael J. Pollard) began his career at 15, co-starring with Brent Carver on a CBC comedy called 'Leo and Me'. He set out for Hollywood when he was 18 and would later tell stories of selling off pieces of furniture to keep his acting dreams alive during his early days there. After a couple of small movie roles and TV guest appearances, Fox hit the jackpot in 1982 - the role of ultra-conservative teen Alex P. Keaton on NBC's 'Family Ties'.

That sitcom lasted seven years, introducing Fox to future wife Tracey Pollan (who guest-starred on the show) and helping launch a big-screen career that included three 'Back to the Future' movies and a slate of films that ranged from 'Teen Wolf' (1985) and 'Light of Day' (1987), to 'Doc Hollywood' (1991) and 'For Love or Money' (1993).

Fox's stint as the presidential aide to Michael Douglas in 1995's 'The American President' inspired him to pursue a similar character in 'Spin City'. After bouncing around the schedule, the series has become a solid hit for ABC in the U.S. and for CTV in Canada. And although the show will be back next fall, there are many who sense this as the end of an era.

"This is unique", Goldberg told the Los Angeles Times. "[Here is] a guy going out at the height of his power from a show that's not being cancelled and has no contract dispute, a guy saying goodbye not only to his cast, but to a part of his life."


by Erik Kohanik
Cover Story Ottawa Citizen TVTimes 2000/05/20
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