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| Admission time: Michael J Fox of Family Ties fame was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1991. And it was a hard pill to swallow for the energetic young actor who had made a fortune on his Back To The Future films he told People |
Michael J Fox of Family Ties fame was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1991.
And it was a hard pill to swallow for the energetic young actor - he was only 30-years-old at the time - who had made a fortune on his Back To The Future films.
In the new issue of People, the 57-year-old star, who has been wed to actress Tracy Pollan since 1988, revealed that he took to drinking soon after he was handed the bad news about his health.
Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder causing tremors and, when the disease has matured, the loss of motor skills.
Fox said that he was drinking heavily and hiding the wine bottles from his wife because he found it too hard to cope with his new illness.
It caused friction with Tracy, with whom he shares son Sam, 29, twin daughters Schuyler and Aquinnah, 23, and daughter Esmé, 16.
'I was isolating myself from my family,' said the Teen Wolf star.
Rough patch: He started drinking, which caused friction with Tracy, with whom he shares son Sam, 29, twin daughters Schuyler and Aquinnah, 23, and daughter Esmé, 16. Seen in 2017
Tracy added, 'It was scary because you just don't know how it is going to turn out.'
One morning when she found him passed out on the floor, she let him know she was over it. Instead of being angry, she looked 'bored' with it all, he said.
Tracy asked him, 'Is this what you want? Is this what you want to be?' She then walked out the door.
Michael cleaned up his act and decided his path was to help others so he launched his foundation to collect money for Parkinson's research. So far he has raised nearly $1 billion.
His big hit film: With co-star Christopher Lloyd in Back To The Future in 1985
He now believes that in five years doctors will be able to 'predict' Parkinson's.
As far as his long marriage to Tracy, he said they just clicked from the start because their upbringings were in line.
'Big families, middle children,' Fox said. 'Sense of humor. Both our families had that.'
'It was us against the world,' says Pollan of her own childhood. 'That's exactly what we've created.'
They met in the summer of 1985, when Pollan auditioned for Family Ties. Then in 1987 they worked on the film Bright Lights, Big City. They started dating, and a year later they wed.
She said the trick to staying married is to 'just give each other the benefit of the doubt.' She added: 'He assumes I'm doing the best I can.'
And the Spin City actor also said: 'Find the best things about you and the best things about life and celebrate them.'
Pollan said he has added 'so much' to her life.
'His optimistic worldview about everything is just so powerful. Michael doesn't worry about the future. I'm completely the opposite,' she admitted.
Fox then explained: 'It leaves a lot of work for other people sometimes because I'm like, "Oh yeah, don't worry about it. It'll be great!" I can do that because I know she's got it handled.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6063291/Michael-J-Fox-57-reveals-drank-heavily-Parkinsons-Disease-diagnosis-1991.html
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