Fox says his family is always the number one priority

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Michael J. Fox vying for more than Emmy

From Jodi Ross
CNN Correspondent

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Michael J. Fox's best actor Emmy nomination this year certainly isn't his first, but it might just be his last.

Fox, nominated for his portrayal of deputy mayor Michael Flaherty on the ABC comedy "Spin City," left the series after four seasons due to a much-publicized struggle with Parkinson's Disease.

Now he's making the switch from actor to activist, raising money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease.

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"We started four months ago, you know, very quickly, way ahead of schedule," he said. "So we've got a lot of things in the works."

Fox also sees progress on the medical front.

"What is so exciting is the technology, the science, the stem-cell stuff, everything. I mean, it's all there," he said.

Emmy night is a milestone for the 39-year-old actor, who won three statuettes in the 1980s as teen Reaganite Alex Keaton on "Family Ties." But he seems unfazed about the changes in his life; he and his wife, Tracy Pollan, have a new focus, Fox said.

"What we do for a living is not the major thing in our household," said Fox, who has been replaced on "Spin City" by Charlie Sheen.

"And certainly, even the challenges that I'm facing are not the major thing in our household. I mean, truthfully, you know, the five of us and the three kids are what we focus on first. And everything else kind of comes after that, so it all balances out."

Fox bids farewell to 'Spin City,'
May 23, 2000
Report: Sheen may join 'Spin City'
February 9, 2000
Late night without Letterman, prime time without Fox
January 27, 2000
Michael J. Fox leaving 'Spin City' to be with family, fight Parkinson's
January 18, 2000
Michael J. Fox pitches for Parkinson's research
September 28, 1999

Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
ABC: `Spin City'
Michael J. Fox Fan Club

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