I think I have seen actor Michael J. Fox on TV more in the last day or so than I did when he appeared on “Family Ties” (the NBC sitcom that made him famous). Chock it up to Election Day and the fact that the award-winning actor has been tapped to appear in a slew of 30-second TV ads (airing on television and on the Internet) for five Democrats who support stem cell research, including Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle (I live in Wisconsin and the governor’s race is a hotly contested battle).
Ironically, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease that all but ended Fox’s acting career are making him a powerfully vulnerable campaign pitchman for Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, who is running for the Senate in Maryland, Senate candidate Claire McCaskill in Missouri and the aforementioned Doyle, all who support stem cell research.
In the McCaskill ad, which has been viewed by more than 1 million people on YouTube.com, Fox tells voters, “What you do in Missouri matters to millions of Americans. Americans like me.”
The fact that Fox appears on behalf of the candidates is not what is causing the controversy. It is a known fact that celebrities have a long history of supporting political candidates. Though many agree that Fox, who campaigned for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race, is uniquely suited as a spokesman for embryonic stem cell research, which some scientists believe could aid in discovering treatments or cures to Parkinson’s and other diseases.
What is causing all the commotion is the fact that Fox shakes and rocks as he directly addresses the camera, the effects of his disease clearly apparent. Some conservatives have criticized Fox’s ads as exploitive. Recently, commentator Rush Limbaugh claimed Fox was “either off his medication or acting” during the ad.
That comment naturally set off a round of retorts from those who defend Fox and call his appearance as “aggressive campaigning for a Parkinson’s cure.” Dr. John Boockvar, a neurosurgeon and assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical Center at New York’s Presbyterian Hospital, told reporters at a recent press conference that Limbaugh’s claim that Fox was acting was simply “ludicrous.” The doctor went on to say: “If there is one single disease that has the highest potential for benefit from stem cell research it’s Parkinson’s.”
You’ll recall Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991, but waited seven years before revealing his condition to the public. In 2000, the “Spin City” and “Back to the Future” star quit full-time acting and founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which has raised millions of dollars. In the years since, Fox has taken smaller acting roles, such as in a several-episode guest appearance earlier this year on ABC’s “Boston Legal,” playing a business tycoon with cancer.