Michael J Fox admits it’s ‘hard for me’ to maintain humor during Parkinson’s battle
Michael J. Fox is still showcasing his humor and hobbies as he continues to deal with Parkinson’s disease.
At the Michael J. Fox Foundation’s annual A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson’s gala on Saturday, the actor told People magazine that maintaining his admittedly darker sense of humor can be "hard for me," adding "I gotta keep it intact."
Fox continued, saying that dark humor can bypass taboos about difficult topics, saying, "Let’s embrace that and make a difference."
This year’s fundraiser was hosted by Denis Leary and featured Stevie Nicks performing.
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"I can’t believe — a lot of these people I’ve known for years and years — they’re so kind to me," Fox told the outlet. "I think because they see an opportunity for a win, for a big advancement, and that’s what we’re working toward."
During the event, which raised $116 million towards Parkinson’s research, Fox also showed off his guitar skills with a performance on stage.
Fox also demonstrated his guitar playing earlier this year when he made a surprise appearance with Coldplay at the Glastonbury Festival performance in the U.K.
He thanked his team and the band on social media at the time, saying "Oh yeah in case you were wondering… it was f---ing mind blowing. There is a time for every band and a band for every time. This is @coldplay’s time."
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According to Variety, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin introduced Fox onstage before playing their song "Humankind," saying, "With his Chuck Berry riff and the way he punched Biff: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Michael J. Fox."
Video shared by BBC Music on YouTube showed Fox stayed on afterward and played along on guitar from his wheelchair during the band’s performance of "Fix You" as Martin knelt beside the actor for portions of the performance.
After the song, Martin thanked the crowd and added, "Especially thank you to the main reason why we’re in a band is because of watching ‘Back to the Future,’ so thank you to our hero forever and one of the most amazing people on Earth, Mr. Michael J. Fox. Thank you so much Michael … hero."
Fox had previously performed with Coldplay in 2016, playing "Johnny B. Goode," the Chuck Berry song featured in "Back to the Future."
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Guitar has been a long-time passion for Fox, ever since his role in "Back to the Future."
He told Empire in 2020 he learned the guitar for the scene and told director Rob Zemeckis, "‘When I do this scene, I play guitar, so you can finger sync me. Feel free to cut to my hands any time you want.’ Having said that, it put pressure on me to get it f--king right. So I had this guy named Paul Hanson who was my guitar teacher."
Fox also learned choreography to look like a guitar player and nail the scene.
"It was moments like that when you don’t think, ‘I’m tired’ or ‘I feel pressure to do this.’ You just do it and have a blast," he told the outlet.
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Guitar playing has gotten more difficult for Fox with his Parkinson’s symptoms, with The Guardian reporting that he was no longer able to play as of 2020, the same year he said he was no longer pursuing acting.
But Fox has played publicly twice this year in keeping with his determination to remain "not going anywhere."
In 2023, he spoke with The Times, saying Parkinson’s is absolutely a struggle, but "the depression is [not] so deep that I’m going to injure myself … it always comes back to a place where I go, ‘Well, there’s more to celebrate in my life than there is to mourn.’ The pain speaks for itself. You either tolerate it or you don’t. And I’m not going anywhere."