Michael J. Fox shares insight with students
Actor Michael J. Fox was at SMU on October 20, 2010, as part of the University's Tate Distinguished Lecture Series.
By TAYLOR ADAMS
News Editor
Before going into his life story, Michael J. Fox, known as Alex P. Keaton to some and as Marty McFly to others, re-assured a filled McFarlin Auditorium that the hover board doesn't exist.
As part of the Tate Lecture Series, this year's Tolleson Lecture featured the known actor and author as a speaker to offer his story on how he keeps "looking up" through Parkinson's Disease.
Aside from "Where can I buy a hover board?" one of the most common questions Fox receives, he said, is what the "J" in his name stands for. He claimed that he always gets a "polite laughter" when he replies that it stands for "geniune."
Fox-whose middle name is Andrew-insisted on the name change when another actor possessed the name Michael Fox when he came to Hollywood.
"I hesitate to call myself, Michael… A. Fox," he said.
Luckily, he came to the J. as a replacement after watching Michael J. Pollard in Bonnie and Clyde.
At 16, Fox, who looked about 12, auditioned for a TV show in his hometown in British Columbia, Ontario.
After making about $600 a week in the show, he decided to drop out of high school and move to Hollywood.
"Being a poor, starving actor is a lot more fun in retrospect," he said.
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