Michael J. Fox: Parkinson’s is ‘banging on the door’
Michael J. Fox: The actor said that living with Parkinson's disease is becoming more of a challenge. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for SXSW)
By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Actor Michael J. Fox said in an interview that will air on Sunday that the Parkinson’s disease he was diagnosed with more than 30 years ago is becoming more of a challenge.
In an interview with Jane Pauley on “CBS Mornings,” the “Back to the Future” and “Family Ties” actor, 61, reflected on Parkinson’s. He was diagnosed with early-onset of the disease when he was 29 in 1991 and conceded that “I’m not gonna be 80.”
“You’ve not squandered any of your capacity,” Pauley said. “But at some point, Parkinson’s gonna make the call for you, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s, it’s banging on the door. Yeah, I mean, I’m not gonna lie. It’s gettin’ hard, it’s gettin’ harder,” Fox said. “It’s gettin’ tougher. Every day it’s tougher. But, but, that’s, that’s the way it is. I mean, you know, who do I see about that?”
Fox added that he has had spinal surgery for a tumorous growth, which affected his ability to walk and caused him to fall, CBS News reported.
“(I) broke this arm, and I broke this arm, I broke this elbow,” Fox told Pauley. “I broke my face. I broke my hand.”
The foundation just announced a major breakthrough for detecting the disease with a biomarker before the onset of symptoms, according to Vanity Fair.
The foundation has raised more than $1 billion toward research projects Deadline reported.
Fox told Pauley that optimism is “sustainable,” but he was also being realistic. He has fallen several times because of the disease and said that falling “is a big killer,” along with pneumonia.
“You don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die with Parkinson’s,” Fox told Pauley. So I’ve been thinking about the mortality of it. I’m not gonna be 80. I’m not gonna be 80.
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 1983: Michael J. Fox, actor in the television series "Family Ties," poses on Jan 10, 1983. (AP Photo/Wally Fong)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 1985: Michael J. Fox stars as Alex Keaton in the comedy series "Family Ties," Nov. 22, 1985. (AP Photo)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 1986: Michael J. Fox and Betty White, winners of Emmys for best actor and actress in a comedy series, stand backstage at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, Sunday, Sept. 21, 1986, after receiving their honors. Fox won for his role in "Family Ties"; White for her role in "The Golden Girls." (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 1987: Late night talk show host Joan Rivers, right blows out candles on a special cake with the assistance of guests Whoopi Goldberg and Michael J. Fox following the taping of the 100th edition of "The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers" at Fox Television Studios in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 5, 1987. (AP Photo/Sunny Bak)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 1988: Wayne Gretzky, left, of the Los Angeles Kings, actor Michael J. Fox, center, and Bruce McNall, owner of the Kings, pose during a reception to celebrate the opening of the 1988-89 National Hockey League season in Los Angeles on Oct. 4, 1988. (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 1989: Cast members of NBC's "Family Ties," from left: Scott Valentine, Meredith Baxter Birney, Michael Gross, Brian Bonsall, Michael J. Fox, Justine Bateman and Courteney Cox, celebrate their seventh and final season, May 1, 1989, during a wrap party at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/W. Alan Greth)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 1991: Actor Michael J. Fox and wife Tracy Pollan arrive at the Ziegfeld Theater for a private screening of Martin Scorsese's film "Fear Cape" in New York, Nov. 7, 1991. The screening was to benefit the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater. (AP Photo/Luiz Claudio Ribeiro)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 1992: Actors Michael Fox and Richard Attenborough attend the Bafta Event in London on March 22, 1992. (AP Photo/Gillian Allen)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2001: Michael J. Fox arrives with his family, wife Tracy, son Sam and twin daughters Schuyler (in yellow) and Aquinnah, at the New York premiere of the new Disney film "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on June 6, 2001. (Scott Gries/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2002: Actor Michael J. Fox (right) and boxer Muhammad Ali pretend to spar before giving their testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services on May 22, 2002, in Washington, D.C. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2003: Actor Michael J. Fox and wife actress Tracy Pollan arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala sponsored by Gucci on April 28, 2003, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. (Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2004: Michael J. Fox (right), wife Tracy Pollan (left) and family pose at the celebration of the grand opening of the World Disney Flagship Store on October 4, 2004, in New York City. (Trish Lease/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2005: Actor Michael J. Fox and his wife actress Tracy Pollan arrive at the School of American Ballet Workshop Performance Benefit on June 6, 2005, New York City. (Fernando Leon/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2006: Actor Michael J. Fox and wife actress Tracy Pollan pose with Muhammad Ali at "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's" benefit gala at the Waldorf-Astoria on November 11, 2006, in New York City. (Evan Agostini/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2007: Actor Michael J. Fox, actress Tracy Pollen and Sam Fox attend "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's" benefit gala for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers on December 1, 2007, in New York City. (Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2008: Actor Michael J. Fox and mother Phyllis Fox attend the 2008 Canada's Walk of Fame held at the Four Seasons Performing Arts on September 6, 2008, in Toronto. (Jag Gundu/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2009: Actor Michael J. Fox (right) and Tracy Pollan arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2010: Actors Christopher Lloyd (left) and Michael J. Fox accept the Discretionary award onstage during Spike TV's "Scream 2010" at the Greek Theatre on October 16, 2010, in Los Angeles. (Michael Caulfield/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2011: Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett perform onstage at the 2011 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's event at The Waldorf-Astoria on November 12, 2011, in New York City. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2012: Actor Michael J. Fox (right), wife Tracy Pollan (center) and son Sam Fox (left) arrive at the 64th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on September 23, 2012, in Los Angeles. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2013: Actor Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan arrive at the 65th annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on September 22, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2014: In this handout photo provided by Disney Parks, acting legend Michael J. Fox (third from left) and ABC News' chief anchor/"Good Morning America" anchor George Stephanopoulos (third from right) pose with their families and Mickey Mouse at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort on October 11, 2014, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (David Roark/Disney Parks via Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2015: Huey Lewis, Michael J. Fox, Bob Gale, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson attend the "Back to the Future" reunion with fans in celebration of the Back to the Future 30th Anniversary Trilogy on Blu-ray and DVD on October 21, 2015, at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 in New York City. (Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Universal Pictures Home Entertainment)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2016: Tracy Pollan and Michael J. Fox arrive for the State Dinner in honor of Prime Minister Trudeau and Mrs. Sophie Trudeau of Canada at the White House March 10, 2016, in Washington, D.C. (Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2017: Actor Michael J. Fox attends the 89th annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017, in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2018: Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox attend A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's benefitting the Michael J. Fox Foundation at the Hilton New York on November 10, 2018. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2019: Michael J. Fox performs on stage at A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's benefitting the Michael J. Fox Foundation on November 16, 2019, in New York City. (Noam Galai/Getty Images for The Michael J. Fox Foundation)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2020: Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg greets actor Michael J. Fox after Fox introduced the candidate at a Get Out the Vote rally February 8, 2020, in Keene, New Hampshire. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Photos: Michael J. Fox through the years 2021: Sting, Tracy Pollan, Michael J. Fox and Trudie Styler pose backstage during the 2021 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson's gala on October 23, 2021, in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for The Michael J. Fox Foundation)