Advertisement

Actor Micheal J. Fox to receive honorary Oscar for his work on Parkinson's disease research

Malay Mail
Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 — Canadian-American actor Micheal J. Fox will receive an honourary Oscar in November for his work on Parkinson’s disease research.

The 61-year-old, who went public with the condition in 1998, seven years after his diagnosis at the age of 30, will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Governors Awards ceremony on November 19 in Los Angeles, Daily Mail reported.

Fox, who is married to actress Tracy Pollan, first made a name for himself as Alex P. Keaton in the popular sitcom Family Ties in the 1980s.

He has never been nominated for an Academy Award, but he has received multiple nominations and won two Emmys.

The first was for Outstanding Lead Actor for his work as a deputy mayor in the comedy Spin City and the second was for Outstanding Guest Actor for his turn as Dwight in the firefighter drama Rescue Me.

His popularity grew following his character as Marty McFly in three Back to the Future movies as a teenager, who travelled back and into the future on the time space continuum in a 1981 DeLorean DMC-12.

The franchise has made nearly US$1 billion (RM4.41 billion) worldwide since the first one was introduced in 1985.

Fox launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to help fund research for therapies and cures to treat the degenerative disorder that affects the body’s nervous system and causes tremors, muscular rigidity and loss of balance.

Medication helps to control the symptoms but there is no cure.

When Fox appeared as wily attorney Louis Canning in the Good Wife, and writers incorporated the diagnosis into the script.

He retired from acting in 2020 after Parkinson’s began to affect his memory and ability to speak.