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Lucky Man With a Mission Liz Smith November 17, 2003 'Courage is grace under pressure," Ernest Hemingway said. I SAT DOWN in the Pool Room of the Four Seasons restaurant recently with Michael J. Fox and his wife, Tracy Pollan. This devoted and happy couple cause a sensation wherever they go. Michael has made himself a youthful hero in his movies, on TV and in real life because of his fight against Parkinson's disease. Tracy, the mother of his son and three daughters, is a tall, willowy blonde, an actor herself, and she has gone the distance. Since Michael stepped out of his hit TV series "Spin City," he has become the leading dynamic force to find a cure. He believes such an advance would open the door to cures in many related fields dealing with the brain, such as Alzheimer's. "Parkinson's will just be the first domino to fall," Michael says. "My idea was to go at this problem and establish a foundation for research as if it were an entrepreneurial business. Only we don't hold onto the money we bring in. We are not a bank. We want to 'improve' ourselves out of existence; that's our mission. In three years, we've raised $30million, and we hope to have $20 million more by next year. We have a lot of Wall Street backers, and we like that, because moneymakers have real goals, and we need them. But we need money from all people wanting to fight disease." ALTHOUGH MICHAEL already wrote a bestseller, "Lucky Man," describing his life and times, I asked him to tell me again about the onset of his disease. "I turtled out for about seven years, not telling anyone," he says. "But it's hard to keep a secret, and I woke up to the fact that I was part of a community, and people deserved to be aware of what I could and couldn't do. I was partly a producer, and the other TV show producers, the writers and my fellow actors deserved to know the facts. That was the beginning of my wanting to target the problem. "And then, there was such an outpouring of goodwill that I felt undeserving. I had so many blessings, Tracy, my children, my friends. I have never felt like a victim, and in my family life, we seldom mention Parkinson's or behave as if it is a factor in our lives. Tracy is always amazed at the people who ask her in a touching manner, 'Are you all right?' She barely realizes what they are talking about. I am being encouraged to now write a novel, and I intend to act again. My whole philosophy is to wake up every day. There is so much in life we don't and can't control." Tracy showed me photographs of the children. Two of the girls are adorable twins, the youngest a butterball of age 2. And Michael says he is back into rock and roll again with his 14-year- old son who plays guitar. Michael is also now able to play again. On Saturday, Michael and Tracy have a big happening at the Waldorf-Astoria called "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's," with performances by Gary Shandling, Dennis Miller and Conan O'Brien, and hosted by Denis Leary. Heidi Klum, Jane Pauley and Craig Bierko will also be on hand. There'll be a big surprise - a Grammy-winning singer, who wants to remain anonymous until the great night. (Michael wisecracked, "That's in case their airplane stalls!") Get in on this; call 212-254- 6570, ext. 20. There are a few, very few, tickets left SOURCE: NYNewsday http://tinyurl.com/vcgz * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn