MICHAEL J. FOX-- is an Emmy award-winning Canadian American actor, author and voice over artist. with a film and television career spanning from 1970s to the present. fox was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease in 1991, and disclosed his condition to the public in1998. fox semi-retired from acting in 200 as the symptoms of his disease worsened. he has since become an advocate for research towards finding a cure. this led him to create the michael j. foundation. in recent years he had guest starred on various television shows and appeared as himself in Emmy nominated prime time special Michael J Fox: Adventures Of An Incurable Optimism( a personal journey of hope) in may 2009. parkinsons disease os a chronic neurological disorder which can be characterized by four cardinal symptom: rigidity, resting tremor, postural instability, and bradykinesia( slow movement). at present there is no cure but medications provide some relief from the symptoms. in his lucky memoir, lucky man fox wrote that he did not take his medication prior to his testimony " i had made a deliberate choice to appear before the sub committee without medication. it seemed to me that this occasion demanded that my testimony about the effects of the disease, and the urgency we as a community were feeling, be seen as well as heard