Canadian of the Week » Michael J. Fox

First Look: Michael J. Fox v. ‘The Good Wife’

Victor — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 18:43:05 +0000

Photo: CBS

OK, it’s only the first look if you haven’t seen this photo before. But we’re getting excited for Michael J. Fox’s guest-starring role on “The Good Wife” Tuesday night.

Fox gets a bit personal this time, taking on the role of an attorney who “uses his condition to sway a jury during a test case for a huge class action suit against a pharmaceutical company,” according to CBS’s press release.

“The Good Wife” has been one of those surprises from CBS. It uses all the same tactics as just about any CBS drama: love, deception, drama, intrigue, lessons to parents about the scary things their kids are doing. But Julianna Margulies and crew make it work and we here at Canadian of the Week haven’t missed an episode yet.

You can your bottom looney we’ll be watching this one.

Check out the clip below for a sneak peek and to see Fox and Margulies talking about the unique role:

Cohen, Young, Buble, Fox Win Grammys

Victor — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:26:03 +0000

From the Better Late Than Never Department, here’s a quick run-through of the Canadian acts that scored at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night.

Crooner Michael Bublé took home the trophy for Traditional Pop Vocal Album for “Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden,” and Neil Young won his first-ever Grammy for Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, for “Neil Young Archives Vol. I (1963-1972).”

Also, actor Michael J. Fox won the Best Spoken Word Album Grammy for “Always Looking Up,” which is based on his book “Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist.”

Other Canadian acts were nominated, but did not come home with any hardware. They included: rapper and Canadian of the Week honoree Drake, Montreal duo Beast, Nickelback, producer David Foster, R&B singer Melanie Fiona and aboriginal singers Northern Cree.

Canada’s Top Export: Michael J. Fox

Victor — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:05 +0000

As if there was any doubt.

Michael J. Fox was named Canada’s most influential expatriate in a contest and poll by the Canadian Expat Association, according to the National Post.

Fox earned Canadian of the Week honors earlier this year, but this honor likely ranks a touch higher. Voters determined Fox deserved the award in recognition of ”the bravery of his personal fight against Parkinson’s disease and the scope and effectiveness of his global campaign to someday find a cure for the debilitating and deadly disease while supporting those around the world who share the affliction.”

Also in the running were Wayne Gretzky, Neil Young and eBay’s first president Jeff Skoll.

Fox went public with his condition in 1998, putting off his acting career to raise awareness of Parkinson’s and to start a foundation in his name that has since raised more than $150 million to fund research for a cure and support Parkinson’s patients.

Canadian of the Week: Michael J. Fox

Victor — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 04:17:22 +0000

Forget Canadian of the Week, Michael J. Fox is a veritable Canadian of the Millennium — both of them!

But this was a particularly big week for one of our favorite natives of Edmonton, Alberta, whose long-fought, personal battle in support of stem-cell research took a huge turn for the better as U.S. President Barack Obama signed an executive order lifting the ban on such research.

“Today is a new day,” Fox said in a statement posted on the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s Web site after the order was signed. “I could not be more thrilled to see President Obama live up to his commitment to get politics out of science. We have seen, for the past eight years, how much damage the opposite approach has done to science and patients. Now that the President has taken this critical action, I am excited by the prospect of American scientists carrying human embryonic stem cell research forward toward better treatments and cures that will affect countless millions of lives.

“I commend the President for recognizing the inherent value of scientific freedom, and for helping to create an environment in which it can flourish.”

We, of course, fell in love with Fox after meeting him as Alex P. Keaton in NBC’s classic family comedy, “Family Ties.” Later roles in the “Back to the Future” movies and on ABC’s “Spin City” further solidified his place in our hearts. Although he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, he didn’t disclose his condition until 1998 and not long after, he put his acting career on the back burner.

He has since made rare but eagerly anticipated guest appearances on shows like “Boston Legal,” “Scrubs” and “Rescue Me.” But Fox’s cause — finding a cure for Parkinson’s in our lifetime — is always at the forefront.

On Thursday, Fox’s foundation also announced that it was getting involved with personal genetics company 23andMe, and The Parkinson’s Institute and Clinical Center in an effort to recruit 10,000 people with Parkinson’s disease to join a new online research community. The idea is that people with PD can help support the research for a cure “in real time, potentially helping to speed early-stage scientific discoveries toward practical therapeutic relevance in treating Parkinson’s disease.”

One more bit of good news came with the announcement this week that Fox will host a one-hour ABC special, “Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist,” exploring the nature of optimism. It will air on May 7.