“I am
careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can reach for;
perfection is God's business.” – Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox is fast approaching
geezerhood (he turned 54 this past week), but he’s staying exceptionally busy
despite his ongoing battles with Parkinson’s Disease, working on causes ranging
from finding a cure for the illness to eradicating hunger and housing
shortages.
Probably one of the most iconic
faces in acting, especially for the two roles for which he will always be
remembered – the young Republican Alex Keaton on Family Ties and teen adventurer extraordinaire in the Back to the Future series. He also is a gifted writer and uses his writing skills to spread the word
about the disease from which he suffers, ever optimistic that with enough
attention and support a cure can be discovered – if not in his lifetime then at
least to help future generations. Lucky Man, his book about dealing with
the disease, is a must read for those interested in how to overcome the odds.
His acting career almost got
sidelined from the start. The director
of Family Ties wanted him for the Alex role, but producer Brandon Tartikoff
felt Keaton was “too short (he’s 5-foot-4) and not the kind of face you’d like
to see on your kid’s lunchbox.” But they
tried him in the pilot and he was so well-received he went on to be the key
figure in the show, winning three Emmy Awards for his acting.
At the end of the series, he
presented Tartikoff with a lunchbox with his face emblazoned on the cover.
“I like
to encourage people to realize that any action is a good action if it's
proactive and there is positive intent behind it.”
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