Michael J. Fox remembered the first time he came to New York City, to meet with Jane Pauley on “The Today Show.” “Me and my friend who came with me to New York wandered down Fifth, and we were at breakfast. And it was $20. I lost my s***. I went, ‘Twenty dollars?!?'”
Michael J. Fox, appearing on “Today” to promote “Family Ties.” He found breakfast in Manhattan expensive.
Fans are moved to tears by Michael J. Fox’s final message.
At the time Fox was promoting a new show, “Family Ties,” and I introduced a new name in Hollywood: Michael J. Fox, on the cusp of a very bright future. “Family Ties” debuted 40 years ago, and after taping the first show with a live audience, he knew it landed.
He knew he found something – and the moment he’d found it: “I just did this ad-lib thing where I was supposed to say, ‘Hello, this is Alex Keaton,’ and I just went, ‘Hello, this is Alex P. Keaton.’ And it became a big part of the character.”
“Is P funny?” asked Pauley.
“P is funny,” said Fox. “P is percussive. Percussive P!”
Parkinson’s? Not funny: an incurable degenerative disease. But for years, Fox has been getting a laugh describing Parkinson’s as a gift: “It’s the gift that keeps on taking.”