The 'Back to the Future' actor wipes away tears as he recalls in an interview on 'Sunday Today' how strong his wife Tracy Pollan was when he broke the news about his diagnosis.
- Nov 23, 2020
AceShowbiz - Michael J. Fox could not help but get emotional when remembering his wife's reaction to his Parkinson's diagnosis. Decades after he was diagnosed with the degenerative disease at age 29, the "Back to the Future" actor broke down in tears during a new interview as he recalled how his wife Tracy Pollan took the bad news.
The 59-year-old actor shared an excerpt from his new book "No Time Like the Future" during his appearance in the Sunday, November 22 episode of "Sunday Today". He told host Willie Geist, "We didn't know what to expect. One of the things I'll always love Tracy for is that at that moment, she didn't blink."
Michael's remark prompted Willie to ask, "And she hasn't since, has she?" In return, Michael wiped away his tears and replied, "No." When the host went on to point out, "It's not the kinda thing you can do without a partner," the Hollywood star responded by stating, "It's really great to have a partner."
Gushing that his wife is "amazing," the Louis Canning of "The Good Wife" stated, "She's there in the front lines with me every single day. She never pretends to know as much as I know." He then elaborated, "And the other thing Tracy does is, if there's something funny, let's get to the funny. We'll deal with the tragic later."
"I just picture her talking to me, like, 'So anyway, I'm going to the store, and oh, you've fallen down. OK, I'm going to the market, I'm getting - are you okay?' " he continued sharing. " 'OK, so I'm getting cheese, and I'm getting bread, I'm getting baguettes. Don't get up. Just stay there for a second. I'm taking the station wagon. Not that you care.' "
Michael and Tracy first met on the set of the 1980s NBC hit sitcom "Family Ties". They have been married for 32 years. Together, they share four children, Sam Michael, twins Aquinnah Kathleen and Schuyler Frances, and Esme Annabelle.
During the chat, Michael also weighed in on his Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. "We started the foundation literally with nothing. We got the best people on it doing the best work they can, as quickly as they can," he explained.
"We've been responsible for 17 active therapies that are now being used that were never thought of before," he further mentioned. "We funded $1 billion in research. This is our 20th year. If we knew it was gonna be 2020, we would've started a year earlier or a year later because this year really blows."
