Michael J. Fox Foundation

In 1991, at the age of 29, Canadian-born actor Michael J. Fox, who had come to prominence playing Alex P. Keaton on the situation comedy Family Ties (1982–89) and Marty McFly in the Back to the Future franchise (1985–90), was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a degenerative disease of the central nervous system that results in cognitive loss, tremors, rigidity, and slowness. PD has no known cure. Although he initially kept the diagnosis private because of potential threats to his career, Fox decided to go public in 1996 after it became impossible to hide his symptoms. Deciding to focus on PD, he left his hit show, Spin City (1996–2002) in 2000 and established the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in New York City. ...