FROM: Hollywood Reporter
On Point: It's Limbaugh who 'is really shameless'
October 26, 2006
By Howard Burns
Michael J. Fox would tell you that he is a lucky man. He has a
beautiful family. He's made millions from an acting career that
includes two hit television series and the successful "Back to the
Future" movie trilogy. He even named his 2002 autobiography "Lucky
Man: A Memoir."
Parkinson's disease didn't end his career -- he was nominated this
year for an Emmy Award for his guest-starring role in ABC's "Boston
Legal" -- but it surely impeded it. It's not easy watching Fox in
public appearances. His torso twitches, his head bobs. He's a man not
in control of his own body. His condition has noticeably worsened
over the years, making the contrast even more stark between the 45-
year-old of today and the hot young actor who became known to
millions as Alex P. Keaton and Marty McFly.
One would strongly suspect that Fox had the financial wherewithal to
gracefully bow out of the public spotlight years ago and spend his
days with his wife and four children. Instead, he became an outspoken
proponent of embryonic stem-cell research, which some scientists
believe can help lead to a cure for Parkinson's and other diseases.
Opponents condemn such research because it requires the destruction
of a human embryo. A bill that would have loosened restrictions on
stem-cell research was vetoed in July by President Bush -- his first
veto since taking office in 2001. He said the bill "crossed a moral
boundary."
Whatever one's politics are on the issue, a moral boundary was
crossed this week when Rush Limbaugh alleged on his radio show that
Fox was a phony by "exaggerating the effects of the disease" in a TV
spot supporting Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill in her Senate
campaign.
"He's moving all around and shaking," Limbaugh said, "and it's purely
an act. ... This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he
didn't take his medication or he's acting."
Added Limbaugh, "This is the only time I've ever seen Michael J. Fox
portray any of the symptoms of the disease he has."
The commentator later offered a half-hearted apology, saying, "Now
people are telling me they have seen Michael J. Fox in interviews and
he does appear the same way in the interviews as he does in the
commercial."
Limbaugh is naive and shockingly cruel. Fox certainly hasn't been in
hiding since publicly disclosing his ailment in 1998. He created the
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, which, according
to its Web site, has generated more than $80 million in research
funding since November 2000. The actor has been highly visible, using
his celebrity to campaign for the cause and those who support it. He
testified before Congress in 2002. Two years later he was a supporter
of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, and in the weeks
leading up to next month's national elections, he has been stumping
for congressional candidates by appearing at fundraisers and in TV
ads.
Limbaugh and others of his ilk are using Fox's own admission that he
chose to appear before Congress four years ago without medication as
a means to attack his credibility today. "For people who had never
observed me in this kind of shape, the transformation must have been
startling," Fox wrote.
That Fox chose to eschew the meds before the congressional appearance
is less significant when you listen to the doctors who slammed
Limbaugh this week for being uninformed. Several noted that Fox's
medication actually causes some of his more erratic movements.
It's even harder to take Limbaugh seriously when he can publicly
ridicule someone whose life has been forever altered by a ravaging
disease -- one who has made it his purpose to find a cure.
Fox knows he is indeed a lucky man. He also knows that millions of
others aren't as fortunate.
Find this article at:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3
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