Michael J. Fox who shot to fame as Alex P. Keaton on the TV show ‘Family Ties’ (1982) and became a familiar name with films like ‘Back To The Future’ (1985) had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s when he was 29. He has received five Emmys, two Golden Globes, and two SAG Awards in his career.
After publicly accepting his diagnosis, he launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to help fund research for therapies and cures raising more than $1 billion.
On 23rd October the organization celebrated its 20-year anniversary with the annual fundraising gala ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson’s’ which was originally to be held last year but was postponed due to the pandemic.
The event will be hosted by Denis Leary, at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City with a lineup that includes Mike Birbiglia, Michelle Buteau, Lisa Fischer, Brad Paisley, and Sting.
CEO and co-founder Deborah W. Brooks has helped this organization establish a well-developed communication between patients, medical and academic teams.
While the cure is still not available, Fox mentioned that biomarkers will be the next big step in treating and possibly preventing the disease. He further stated about finding a cure, “I’m committed to this. I won’t stop until it happens.”
