Martin Scorsese honors Michael J. Fox amid Parkinson’s battle: ‘A real guiding light’
Michael J. Fox’s long battle with Parkinson’s disease continues to be an inspiration to the people around him.
The “Back to the Future” actor — who will turn 62 on Friday — was honored with the lifetime achievement award at the 2023 Spring Moving Image Awards earlier this week for his film career and advocacy work.
Martin Scorsese gave a sweet tribute to the Canadian native at the event, held at the Queens-based Museum of the Moving Image, revealing how Fox’s struggles with the illness have helped the director’s wife, Helen Morris, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1990.
“Back in the ’80s, it was really an amazing thing to witness how Michael’s career took off. I watched him in those early pictures and I was stunned,” Scorsese, 80, said at the podium, according to Variety.
“Pay attention to the amount of work he’s done since his Parkinson’s diagnosis,” the “Goodfellas” filmmaker said.
“He’s become a real guiding light for so many others with Parkinson’s — that includes my wife Helen. Michael, your support has meant the world to her and me.”
Scorsese has been married to Morris since 1999.
When accepting his award, Fox gushed over his audience and thanked them for their support.
“I have so many great things in my life. I don’t have a weepy, sad life. I have this thing that happened, which really sucks, but it put me in a position to do other things that were effective and perhaps will make things better,” the “Teen Wolf” star stated.
Morris and Scorsese have often worked with Fox’s Parkinson’s foundation and have made efforts to combat the affliction.
As for Fox, he disclosed his condition to the public in 1998, seven years after he first found out he had the disease.
He released his Apple TV+ documentary “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” last month, and he got candid about the mental health issues that he endured while suffering from the ailment.
The father of four caused some panic among his peers at a Philadelphia fan convention on Sunday when he took a big spill.
He fell during a “Back to the Future” panel he attended alongside co-stars from the 1985 flick, including Christopher Lloyd, 84, and Tom Wilson, 64.
However, the “Family Ties” alum hit a couch that thankfully softened the tumble.
Just a day after the incident, Fox’s rep addressed the mishap, telling The Post that he’s “doing great.”
“Michael has Parkinson’s. It’s no secret that people with Parkinson’s fall. If you watch the video he immediately jumps to feet and continues with the Q and A,” they added.
Fox also recently told CBS that his problems with Parkinson’s are getting more and more difficult.
“I’m not gonna be 80,” he sighed. “It’s gettin’ tougher. Every day it’s tougher.”
He then explained that the “big killer” of the affliction is “falling” and can also be “aspirating food and getting pneumonia.”
