Michael J. Fox received a standing ovation at the 78th Emmy Awards as he accepted the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his work supporting Parkinson’s disease research and advocacy.
The 65-year-old actor, who played Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy, was presented with the honour by his The Good Wife co-star Julianna Margulies.
Margulies told the audience: “I can think of no one more deserving than Michael.” The award recognises outstanding philanthropic efforts and has been presented only six times in Emmy history.
Previous recipients include Oprah Winfrey, Danny Thomas, George Clooney, Sean Penn, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.
Fox accepted the award from a wheelchair before thanking those involved for what he called “this amazing and humbling honour”.
“When it starts to get tough, you show up, you help and if you could add a little joy while you’re doing it, that’s even better,” he said.
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991, aged 29, and made his condition public in 1998. Two years later, he founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Speaking about the illness, he said: “Initially I kept my Parkinson’s diagnosis a secret. I worried it would affect my work and relationships with audiences. Would they laugh if they knew I was sick?”
He said the support he received had shown him that acknowledging Parkinson’s did not mean surrendering to it.
“It just meant I had to do everything I could for everyone living with this disease,” Fox said.
He also recalled the example set by Bob Hope, saying he had learnt from the entertainer’s commitment to helping others before his own life presented him with “a role I wasn’t looking for”.
Fox thanked his wife, actress and author Tracy Pollan, and their children for “showing me how it’s done”. The couple married in 1988 after playing love interests on the sitcom Family Ties.
The actor attended the ceremony for the first time in 13 years and was photographed on the red carpet with Pollan and their four children.
“I set out to advocate for Parkinson’s disease and raise money,” Fox said. “I’m proud of the progress we’ve made to benefit Parkinson’s patients and families.”
