CHAPTER SIX – Year of Wonders

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Fox phoned Joyce, the psychiatrist recommended by Tracy, on Boxing Day. How would she describe how Fox sounded on the phone when she was asked to recall the event many years later?

Joyce says that Fox sounded like ‘a little boy who’d rather die than admit how scared he was’

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These sessions proved remarkably effective and Fox and Joyce were soon meeting three times a week to discuss his issues. As a result of these sessions, Fox claims that ‘the smoke began to clear’ and together they were able to tackle many of the deep seated problems that he had. However there was one problem that Joyce was unable to attend to. What was this and how did Fox now go about addressing it?

Joyce was of course unable to deal with the medical issues associated with Fox’s PD. At Joyce’s recommendation, Fox now started to see a new neurologist called Dr. Ropper who was able to start Fox on a new and more long term series of treatments for his condition.

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1994 saw Greedy, Fox’s second film with Universal, ‘bomb at the box office’ leaving CAA, his new agents, with a very tough challenge ahead of them if they wanted to resurrect his career. Rather than chasing commercial success in the way he had been, Fox now instructed his agents that he was only willing to work on projects he genuinely wanted to do telling them to contact him if Woody Allen phoned. To his surprise this is exactly what happened. What project did Allen want Fox for?

Woody Allen was adapting his classic stage comedy, Don’t Drink the Water, for television and he wanted Fox for the role of Axcel McGee, the incompetent son of an American Ambassador.

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After filming The American President and The Frighteners, the latter being the third and final film that Fox was under contract to make, the actor made an important, though controversial decision about the future of his career. What was this and what were the reasons behind this decision?

Fox decides to return to Television comedy. He had a number of reasons for this decision. First of all, he felt that the most gifted writers were now working on television. Secondly he wouldn’t be working for anyone, but instead going into a project as a full partner. Thirdly, given Dr Ropper’s prognosis, Fox had six or seven years left. He wanted to be able to be honest with his new partners and do so without concern as this was exactly the length of time needed for a successful network comedy series.

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After much introspection during the Spring of 1994, Fox finally decides to allow his wife and child to witness the symptoms of his condition. He also makes another surprising decision. What was this?

He decided to study for and sit his General Equivalency Diploma Test which he duly passed.

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With Tracy pregnant again, Fox accompanies her to see an obstetrician. As they examine the baby, they make a surprise discovery. What was this?

Fox at first thinks that he sees a deformity when he looks at the spine of the child before Tracy and the obstetrician correct him. Tracy is expecting twins.

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Inducing a slightly early birth, Tracy had twin daughters in February, 1995. The first daughter was named Aquinnah, after their favourite town in Martha’s Vineyard where they had spent so many happy weeks together, and the second one was named Schuyler. Why was this?

Schuyler was Dutch for scholar or teacher, a name which Fox felt was especially apt as he had learned so much over the past ‘year of miracles’.

CHAPTER Five – Reality Bites

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In January, 1990, Fox found himself in a desperate hurry to get to Vancouver. Why was this?

Fox found himself in this hurry because his father had just been rushed to hospital there. Though still alive, the outlook was not good.

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Whilst planning the memorial service for their father, Fox and his four siblings found themselves in an argument following a careless throwaway line from Fox. Upon closer thought, what did Fox think had really upset his brother, Steve?

Steve had been at the house when their father was taken ill and he had made all of the arrangements as best he could. When he informed Fox of the situation, Steve was told by his brother that the family had to do the best they could for their father and if necessary that meant flying him to Seattle by private jet. Fox tells his readers that this cavalier approach to the problem, and to Steve’s attempts and capacity to deal with it, lay behind his brother’s justified anger toward him that evening.

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Less than two years later, and Fox has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease by two separate doctors and is now consulting a third. Based on Fox’s age, The doctor is extremely doubtful of the previous two diagnoses but agrees to inspect him nonetheless. Relieved that this doctor doubts the previous opinions, Fox is certain that he is going to learn the truth from this latest consultation. What is he told?

This doctor ultimately tells Fox that he is very sorry, but he does indeed have ‘Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease.’

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Fox begins by using Eldepryl to treat his condition but quickly moves on to Sinemot which proves far more effective in controlling the tremors he was experiencing in his left hand. Why did the success of Sinemot elicit ‘decidedly mixed feelings’ from Fox.

Fox has mixed feelings about the success of Sinemot because the doctors tell him that the success of the drug is proof positive that he has Parkinson’s Disease (PD), and yet its effectiveness in controlling the symptoms now made it possible for Fox to hide this fact from the outside world.

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Why does Fox jump at an offer from Universal Studios which would lock him into a five year contract for three films?

The doctors have now told him that he only has ten years of good acting left. With the weight of that news, Fox was determined to make the most of it. Despite the drawback of signing with one studio at the expense of all others, Fox felt that this maximised his opportunity to make the most of his time professionally.

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Faced with P.D, Fox decides to distract himself with a serious diet and fitness regime. Whilst the programme seems tough in many ways, what was the most difficult aspect for Fox?

The most difficult aspect of his new fitness and diet routine was that he had to limit his alcohol intake.

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Fox quickly descended into further drink abuse as a way of coping with his diagnosis; however one series of events convinced him that he had to finally quit drinking. Outline Fox’s last night of drinking and how it made Fox feel.

Fox had been on an all night drinking binge when he returned home. Accidentally waking up his wife, he crept to the fridge to get a beer. He never finished this bear as sprayed all over him and Fox ended up spending the night asleep on the sofa. The next morning he was woken up by his three year old son. He expected Tracy to be angry but she was remarkably calm, almost ‘indifferent’ to his behaviour the night before. This reaction made Fox realise that he had hit rock bottom, at least as far as drinking was concerned.

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1993 saw two films starring Fox open in cinemas, including the first of the three films that he had signed with Universal to make over the next five years. Both of these films received poor reviews and failed at the box-office. On top of these disappointments Fox was being sued. Explain why this was.

Fox was being sued by someone he had sold a house to. They claimed that there were serious pre-existing defects with the house which had caused serious emotional and physical distress. Accordingly the claimant was filing for a multimillion dollar lawsuit – many times the value of the house.

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Whilst Fox’s defence lawyer was able to effectively argue against the charges, the process as a whole laid Fox’s everyday life bare to him for the first time. As a result he became deeply introspective and ended up writing a long rambling series of memos and letters to himself. What conclusion did he come to as a result?

Reading his own ramblings, Fox came to the conclusion that he was indeed in need of professional help and he decided to get in contact with a psychologist whose number Tracy had earlier given him when she had tried, unsuccessfully, to convince him to make contact with a professional.

CHAPTER THREE Hollywood High

Fox’s dad shocked him when he said, ‘Well, if you want to be a lumberjack you’ve got to go to the forest’. What did he mean by this and did Fox have to ‘go to the forest’ alone?

If you are a lumberjack then you have to go where the trees are. In the same way, if you want to be an actor you have to go where the work is and that means Hollywood. Contrary to Fox’s expectation, not only was his father supportive of his plans but he also came with him and paid for the adventure.

Fox’s trip to Hollywood proved to be a success and he was made three firm offers for acting work however the choice of film was easy. What film did Fox decide to accept and on what basis did he make that decision?

Fox decided to accept a role in a Disney feature called Midnight Madness. He describes his decision as an easy one as this was the only film to start shooting after his eighteenth birthday which, for legal reasons and labour laws, made it the obvious option to take.

Moving to California shortly after his eighteenth birthday, Fox could only afford a very small studio apartment. The apartment was so small that it was impossible to use the sink to wash up his cutlery and utensils. What did he decide to use for this function?

Fox’s only option was to use the shower to wash his dishes.

Once in California, Fox was forced to adopt a new name. Why was this and how did he make his selection?

The Screen actors Guild prohibit two of their members from using the same name and as there was already a Michael Fox, he was forced to adopt a new name. He eventually chose Michael J. Fox as he disliked his own middle initial of E. and was a fan of Michael J. Pollard whose middle initial he promptly added to his own name.

Fox found himself surrounded by different people who were willing to provide him with services for a percentage of his earnings. At the time he thought of these people as allies, with hindsight he now thinks that he was at the centre of a ‘feeding frenzy’. What does Fox mean by this?

The people who surrounded him were all keen to work for him but took a very sizable cut of his earnings. By feeding frenzy, he likens these people to predators hunting a victim and he was their pray off of whom they were feeding.

Fox describes auditions as being like hell. He lists a number of considerations which any aspiring actor needs to have in mind including not looking too fat, but not too skinny. Not too young, but not too old. Above all, however, Fox offers one piece of advice. What is this?

Above all else, Fox tells any aspiring actor to never look desperate – something which he himself was finding increasingly difficult after the series he was working on, Palmerstown, was cancelled. This left him with no job and a long list of creditors demanding money.

When, in 1982, Fox was given a call-back for a show called Family ties, he was both surprised, given the length of time which had elapsed since he read for the part, and desperate. After three years working in Hollywood, Fox had little financially to show for his efforts and in fact, since Palmerstown was cancelled, His parents and family had been helping to support him for a number of months whilst he looked for another job. Such had been his luck, that even they were now recommending that he returned home and gave up on his dream of acting. In a last ditch attempt to land a job he went to the call back. What last minute piece of advice did Fox receive and why was he sceptical that this was possible?

He was told to make his character more ‘lovable’. He thought that this was going to be next to impossible as his character was a ‘know it all, tie wearing, Nixon worshipping teenager who valued money above all else’.

After Michael J. Fox’s character in Family Ties becomes an international success, Fox recalls presenting Brandon Tartikoff, one of the NBC executives responsible for hiring him in the first place, with a custom made lunch box emblazoned with his own image. Why did he do this?

Ehilst other NBC executives thought Fox was perfect for the role, Brandon had argued against hiring the actor for two main reasons. First of all he thought that Fox was too short to conceivably be the son of the two lead characters who would play his parents and secondly because Fox ‘didn’t have a face which could appear on the front of a lunch box’. Fox’s gesture amounted to telling Brandon that he was wrong. America had loved his character and Fox had helped make them both successes.

With Family Ties proving to be a massive commercial success and the low budget film Teen Wolf, in which Fox played the lead role of an adolescent werewolf, proving to be an unexpected triumph, Fox got a piece of exciting news. Steven Spielberg had started to shoot a new film but was unsure of the actor who had been cast in the lead role. Originally the director had wanted Fox to take the part and now he was insisting upon it. What was the name of this film?

The name of the film was Back to the Future.

This period of Fox’s life represented a period of unadulterated success on both television and the big screen. He had become one of the most famous actors in America and his name was a household word. How did Fox feel about his success?

Fox thought that it was all a matter of luck, and despite things continuing to go from strength to strength, he admits to harbouring secret doubts about the future.

CHAPTER FOUR – Lost in the fun House

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Fox’s meteoric rise to fortune was an amazing one. He was now in a position where he was on the cover of America’s most popular magazines, interviewed on the most listened to radio stations and was all over the television and the cinema screen. However Fox found the process of becoming famous and being famous very disconcerting. He writes that “odd as it may sound, becoming famous is something that happened to me in the same way that Parkinson’s disease happened to me.” What does he mean by this?

He wants to convey the fact that he had very little to do with how he was perceived by the public. The real Fox lived in the real world but the famous Fox lived in the collective mind of America. Whilst fame isn’t a disease, he writes, the effects can be as damaging and Fox found himself lost in that world.

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As a teenager in school, Fox was shy around women and generally found that they were more interested in ‘jocks’ than ‘theatre geeks’. This all changed the moment he became famous when women became much more interested in him. Was Fox concerned when people warned him that some women were only interested in him now because he was famous?

Fox didn’t mind in the slightest. He enjoyed all the advantages that fame brought to him.

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Fox’s new found fame led to him meeting many famous and important people, none more so than the evening he sat next to Princess Diana at the London based premier of Back to the Future. How did Fox get over his nervous of meeting the Princess and what were the unfortunate consequences of this decision?

To get over his nerves of meeting the Princess he decided to drink a couple of beers. Unfortunately this made him desperate to use the toilet however he found himself unable to do so as etiquette demanded that he only stand to leave the room after the Princess. He thus describes his meeting with Diana as “two of the most excruciating hours of my life”.

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Fox finds one of the great ironies of growing up with very little money and subsequently becoming famous is that just as you earn enough money to be able to buy whatever you want, you no longer have to pay for it because every company wants to give you their products in return for your endorsement. What happened when Fox admitted to Jay Leno, live on television, that he found American beer to be too watery and so drank Canadian manufactured Moosehead Ale instead?

No sooner than he had said this on television than he received a visit from a representative of the Canadian Moosehead Ale Company who gave him a large quantity of their product along with a promise for more whenever he wanted it.

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With a drive full of every car his heart desired, Fox’s greatest problem when planning for a journey was which car he should take. Once on the road, he found it frustrating when he was stuck behind cars which were not willing to break the speed limit to the same extent that he was. Despite his willingness to flaunt the laws of the road, he nevertheless was careful not to get a speeding ticket. What experience taught him that it may not even matter if he was caught speeding by the police?

The experience which taught him that the law was not such a problem for him was when he was caught driving his Ferrari in excess of 80mph down a stretch of Ventura Boulevard. Rather than revoke his license, or at least issue him with a ticket, the traffic cop just told him to drive more carefully as he wouldn’t want one of his favourite actors to die in a car crash.

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Fox outlines three strategies he employed to survive being famous. The first was always saying ‘yes’ to fans. Accordingly he would never refuse to pose for a photograph, or sign an autograph – this was especially true for charities who wanted his time and help. Secondly he kept as busy as possible, sometimes working on several project at the same time and back to back. What was his third strategy and what did it involve?

His third strategy was ‘partying his arse off’ and it involved him drinking to excess and attending every party that he had the time to.

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One of the things which Fox found hardest to get used to was being greeted as an old friend by celebrities he had never met. Nonetheless, one meeting with a celebrity, who was a personal childhood hero of his, stands out above all others. Who was this celebrity and how did they meet?

This celebrity was ice hockey player, Bobby Orr. They met at a charity hockey game which Fox had asked to take part in just for the opportunity to meet his hero.

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“I feel four foot tall” – this line, spoken by Fox as he accepted an Emmy, a top award for his work in comedy, drew great laughs from the audience. However Fox tells his readers that it was more than just a joke – what was Fox really trying to say with that line?

Fox tells his readers that what he was trying to express was a sense of surprise and disbelief at his success mixed with a deep seated feeling that he was not worthy of the attention, literally he ‘didn’t measure up’.

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Entrusted to his parents for safe delivery, the Emmy would meet an unfortunate end. What happened to it and how did Fox react to this news?

Fox’s father would accidentally break the award during transport. Fox was not in the least bit concerned, telling his father that the physical award meant nothing and, at any rate, he would likely be given another if he reported the accident.

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Fox met Tracy, his future wife, when she was cast in Family Ties. He calls the moment that he ‘fell for her’ the ‘scampi moment’. What happened?

About four weeks into filming Fox joked with Tracy by accusing her of having bad breath, saying ”whoa, a little scampi for lunch, babe?”. At first Tracy didn’t react but then Fox could see that she was hurt and she leaned over to him and quietly said “that was mean and rude and you are a complete and total fucking arsehole”. At this moment, Fox tells his readers, he was suddenly aware of the fact that he was ‘smitten’ by her. He apologised and she came back to work – they both left the incident behind them.

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Before leaving the show, Tracy was very keen for Fox to hear a particular song by James Taylor which contained a number of lines about John Belushi. What did Fox think Tracy was trying to tell him with this song?

John Belushi was a famous comedian and Fox interpreted Tracy to be warning him of the dangers of getting so lost in the showbiz lifestyle that he would never find himself again.

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When, in 1987, Tracy was reunited with Fox during the filming of Bright Lights Big City, they would end up becoming much closer and a little over one year later they were married. The ceremony was a small private affair for close friends and family only. Nonetheless, every newspaper in America tried to get photos of the event. How, according to Fox, did they react in their coverage of the wedding when they failed?

When the press were unable to get any photos of the event, they reacted by covering the event in a negative way, claiming that the event had been a disaster for one reason or another.