Fox stars in stem cell political ads
Actor Michael J Fox is appearing in adverts supporting the campaign for stem cell research.
The Back to the Future star, who has Parkinson’s disease, appeared alongside with Democratic congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran who lost both her legs in combat.
Fox campaigned for Duckworth in Chicago and has become a powerful advocate in television ads for four other Democrats who support stem cell research.
Celebrities have a long history of supporting political candidates. But Fox, who campaigned for Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race, is uniquely suited as a spokesman for embryonic stem cell research, which some scientists believe could aid in discovering treatments or cures to Parkinson’s and other diseases.
In 30-second TV ads for Congressman Benjamin Cardin, who is running for the Senate in Maryland, Senate candidate Claire McCaskill in Missouri and Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, Fox shakes and rocks as he directly addresses the camera, making no effort to hide the effects of his disease.
In the McCaskill advert, which has been viewed by more than one million people on YouTube.com, Fox tells voters: “What you do in Missouri matters to millions of Americans. Americans like me.”
Voters in the US go to the polls on November 7 in elections for Congress and state and local offices.
In Missouri, they also will vote on a referendum that would amend the state constitution to protect all federally allowed forms of the research, including embryonic stem cell research.
Fox also was planning to appear at events for Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey.
Larry Sabato, a professor at the University of Virginia and director of its Centre for Politics, described the appearances as “very powerful”.
“If a tiny ad can change votes, this one ought to,” said Sabato. “This is real. He’s not playing a guy with Parkinson’s – he IS a guy with Parkinson’s.”
Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive disorder of the central nervous system that leaves patients increasingly unable to control their movements.
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 and revealed his condition publicly in 1998.
In 2000, the “Spin City” and “Back to the Future” star quit full-time acting because of his symptoms and founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which has raised millions of dollars.
He has since acted sporadically in smaller roles, such as in a several-episode guest appearance earlier this year on ABC television’s “Boston Legal”, playing a business tycoon with cancer.
Some have criticised Fox’s ads as exploitive. Conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh claimed Fox was “either off his medication or acting” during the ad.
Others defend Fox’s aggressive campaigning for a Parkinson’s cure.
Dr John Boockvar, a neurosurgeon and assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medical Center at New York’s Presbyterian Hospital, called Limbaugh’s claim that Fox was acting “ludicrous”. Boockvar said those with Parkinson’s have “on” and “off” spells.
He said: “If there is one single disease that has the highest potential for benefit from stem cell research it’s Parkinson’s.”
