The Emmy Awards audience rose twice for Michael J. Fox, but the actor used his biggest moment of the night to turn the applause toward his family and the Parkinson’s community.
“I thank [wife] Tracy and our kids for their sacrifices, for their patience and for their love. You have no idea.” Fox said while accepting the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
Fox received standing ovations before and after his speech at the 78th Emmy Awards on Sept. 14. His former THE GOOD WIFE co-star Julianna Margulies presented the honor as Fox took the stage in a wheelchair at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
The Television Academy and the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation created the award for television professionals whose service has made a lasting impact. Fox earned it for more than two decades of Parkinson’s research advocacy and fundraising.
The five-time Emmy winner told the room that he initially hid his young-onset Parkinson’s diagnosis because he feared illness would change his bond with viewers. He publicly disclosed the diagnosis in 1998 after years of successful work on FAMILY TIES, the BACK TO THE FUTURE movies and other projects.
“I understood that accepting Parkinson’s didn’t mean I had to surrender to it. It just meant doing what I could for everyone living with this disease.” Fox said.
Related: Amidst ‘Harder’ Parkinson’s Battle, Michael J. Fox Says ‘We’re Getting Close’ to a Cure
He founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2000 and committed it to funding strong science while keeping patients at the center. The organization has supported more than $3 billion in research programs worldwide, according to the foundation’s award announcement.
Those dollars have supported researchers searching for better treatments and a cure, but Fox measured progress in human terms. He thanked the patient community for making the work possible and promised that the effort would continue.
Fox also came to the ceremony as a working nominee. His guest performance on Apple TV’s SHRINKING brought his 19th Emmy nomination and marked his return to an on-screen role after stepping away from acting in 2020 because memorizing long stretches of dialogue had become too difficult.
PEOPLE reported that Fox attended with his wife, actor Tracy Pollan, and their four adult children: Sam, twins Aquinnah and Schuyler, and Esmé. His thank-you made the cost of a public fight personal; a mission can belong to one name while an entire family carries it.
Fox connected that lesson to Bob Hope, whose holiday visits with American troops impressed Fox’s military family when he was young. Hope’s example taught him that when life gets difficult, people show up, help and try to bring some joy with them.
The room’s response made the strain and humor in Fox’s remarks impossible to miss. He paused, regrouped and kept going, the same stubborn pattern that has shaped his advocacy.
The tribute celebrated impressive numbers, but Fox kept returning to people: researchers, donors, staff members, patients and the family beside him. His speech gave the evening its clearest picture of hope — not as easy optimism, but as the decision to keep serving when the road becomes harder than anyone expected.
Read Next: Michael J. Fox Continues to Make Strides Fighting Parkinson’s
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
