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upposedly Michael J Fox died this week. It was a cruel hoax, and it put my heart in my mouth, but I can tell you I didn’t believe it for a second, because - I know this sounds stupid, and that’s fine - I felt I would know if he were gone. Because I will tell you the moment that Michael J Fox truly - I suppose the words are became alive, for me (apart from this interview). It was when I was reading the first volume of his memoirs, Lucky Man.
FOXFIRE: AN INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL J FOX Kate Matheson
Of course I had thought he was funny, and charming, and a goofy cute guy with a wit most people didn’t realise was sharper than a paper cut. I had watched him on the small and big screen since Family Ties, and admired his ability to stay himself whilst being a ‘character’. This was no small screen characterisation though. This was real life, and there would be no happy ending - at least not as yet. But there would be a hero. Michael J Fox was talking about being diagnosed with Young, or Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease, and his struggle to accept it. He was 29 years old, going on 30 when he was diagnosed, even though he didn’t share his diagnosis with the public for another seven years.