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WOW! MJF is REALLY laying it out on the line, isn't he. It feels like he's done a very public "reality-check," considering the things he said in the original People Magazine article. In a way, as MJF said good bye to some of HIS dreams of the future, that hit home with me. I guess it's been an introspective summer for a LOT of us.... Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: janet paterson <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Tuesday, September 21, 1999 4:43 PM Subject: NEWS: Michael J. Fox in the Ottawa Citizen >Refusing to Yield Centre Stage > >Tuesday 21 September 1999 - Michael J. Fox was a television star at 20, a >movie star at 25, supposedly washed up at 30 and a comeback sensation at >35. That would be enough drama for most people's whole lives, but at 38 the >actor is battling Parkinson's disease. > >"It takes away a little of the arrogance of youth," Fox admits. "It's never >stopped me doing anything I wanted to do, but now I'm taking life one day >at a time." > >Fox doesn't volunteer to discuss Parkinson's, a crippling and incurable >nerve disorder, but he doesn't mind talking about it and its implications >for his career -- and for his hit political comedy Spin City, which returns >to ABC tonight for its fourth season. > >Although he admits that his illness makes him tire more easily, Fox insists >that he plans to continue working on the show for at least another two >years. After that, though -- which would give him six years on Spin City to >go with seven on his 1980s hit Family Ties -- he doesn't expect to tackle >another series. > >"I'd love to do this show for as many years as I did Family Ties," Fox >says. "Then I want to write the great American novel and sit on a beach >somewhere. In terms of films, maybe I'll produce -- I'd love to do a series >for my wife." > >The slender, 5-foot-4-inch, Canadian-born actor shows up for an interview >in Pasadena, California wearing a smart business suit, tie and heavy black >shoes. > >He downplays his illness, but it obviously plays a major part in everything >he does these days. Always energetic, at moments he acts a bit overwrought, >and his left leg seems to have a will of its own -- perhaps from tremors, >perhaps simply from edginess. > >But Fox isn't looking for sympathy. Never has, never will. > >The terrible irony, of course, is that Fox, who complained for years that >he looked too much like a kid and even into his late 20s was too baby-faced >to land mature roles, is now suffering from the "old man's disease." > >It's extremely unusual for men under 40 to contract Parkinson's, doctors >say, and most sufferers are at least 50. Fox was 37 in 1998, when he >publicly revealed that he had suffered from Parkinson's for seven years. > >"This has been a kind of maturation for me," he says. "I was in my early >30s, my father had just passed away. There was a lot of other stuff it >hastened in terms of wanting to really plan life on a day-to-day basis and >make the most of a lot of things." > >This new phase in his life began eight years ago, when he woke up one >morning with his little finger twitching and was unable to stop it. He >didn't think it was serious, but when it wouldn't go away he went to see a >specialist who gave him the brutal diagnosis. > >He kept it quiet for years -- which, some friends say, may have contributed >to the severe drinking problem which resulted in his early-1990s stay in a >rehab clinic. > >Now he's learning to live with the affliction, even though there has been >some deterioration since he went public in December. He underwent brain >surgery in 1998 to try to relieve some of the more severe symptoms, and >relies on various new drugs to retard the progress of the disease. > >"I respect the fear of anyone who has it," he admits. "I had no problem >with the brain surgery. It was something I wanted. I had tremendous faith >in my doctor, faith in the science. I just knew it would be OK. Once you >make the decision to do it, I felt it was OK. > >"I feel pretty good on a day-to-day basis," he says. "You monitor it daily >and treat it therapeutically. I can't treat it curatively at this point, >although I hope that happens. > >"I'm following all the medical developments pretty closely," the actor >adds. "I think there will be a time in the future -- maybe two or three >years down the road, after Spin City -- when I think it will probably be my >sole concern and my sole activity. > >"There's tremendous research being done, in surgery, in fetal-cell stuff >and genetic stuff. So you know something could pop at any moment." > >Meanwhile, he says, Parkinson's has not yet significantly interfered with >his acting. He looks forward to the new season of Spin City, reinvigorated >by the arrival of Melrose Place's Heather Locklear. "I feel confident with >my ability to do my job," Fox says. "That was clear to me last year." > >But Parkinson's has cost him what he calls his dream role. Producer Robert >Halmi Sr., a close friend of Hollywood legend James Cagney, wanted Fox for >a movie version of the actor/dancer's life. > >"It would be hard to do now," Fox says regretfully. "But I never saw myself >as a good enough dancer to do it. I don't even know if I could handle the >rest of his persona -- but even if I could, dance was such a big part of >who he was that, if you don't know how to do it, then you feel like an idiot." > >Fox has planned this season of Spin City to allow him a few days off in the >middle of the week to be with his wife of 11 years, actress Tracy Pollan, >their 10-year-old son Sam and their three-year-old twin daughters, Aquinnah >and Schuyler. > >"My greatest accomplishment in my life is my children," he says proudly. "I >love doing the show, but I use every bit of my time off to be with them >from March until August. My life has been so filled with positives and >blessings and things I'd never ever trade." > >And there's nothing like being diagnosed with a potentially fatal disease >to alter priorities, even those of an actor who was once notorious for his >drive and ambition, who leveraged his teen stardom on Family Ties into >big-screen success in three Back to the Future movies in 1985, 1989 and >1990, as well as such other films as Casualties of War (1989) and The >American President (1996). > >"Obviously this has changed me a lot," he says. "I'm different from the way >I was 10 or 15 years ago. I don't have gigantic ambitions. I don't want to >take over the world, and I don't need to be the star of a huge-budgeted movie. > >"I have a nice job I really love and it pays me well," Fox concludes. "It >allows me to be with my family and do things for my kids." > >photo caption: >'My greatest accomplishment in my life is my children. I love doing the >show, but I use every bit of my time off to be with them from March until >August. My life has been so filled with positives and blessings and things >I'd never ever trade.' ~ Michael J. Fox > > >written by Ivor Davis Citizen Special >Ivor Davis is a Hollywood-based reporter and columnist. >Copyright 1999 Ottawa Citizen ><http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/990921/2886028.html> > >janet paterson >52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset >613 256 8340 po box 171 almonte ontario canada K0A 1A0 >a new voice: <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/> ><[log in to unmask]>