Michael J. Fox (born Michael Andrew Fox; June 9, 1961) is a Canadian actor, author and voice-over artist. His roles include Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy (1985–1990); Alex P. Keaton from Family Ties (1982–1989), for which he won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award; and Mike Flaherty from Spin City (1996–2000), for which he won an Emmy, three Golden Globes, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In a majority of his appearances, he appears as Marty McFly.
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, and disclosed his condition to the public in 1998. Fox semi-retired from acting in 2000 as the symptoms of his disease worsened. He has since become an advocate for research toward finding a cure.
In "Fifteen Minutes of Shame", Peter inadvertently sketches Fox with his Family Ties castmates, just as in the show's opening theme.
In "The Courtship of Stewie's Father", Dr. Emmett Brown tells Marty and his girlfriend Jennifer that their daughter will marry a black man in the future, in a parody of the end of Part I and the beginning of Part II. With Doc's tone, McFly realizes it would be better if he did not hang out with Doc anymore.
In "Baby Not On Board", Peter is dressed as McFly in a parody of the opening of Part I. Griffin's McFly even sings part of "The Power of Love", a song created for the film.
Marty is seen shouting at Stewie during a storm in "The Juice Is Loose". Marty wants to warn Stewie about his future, so Stewie tells Fox about his Parkinsons' disease-infected future.
Fox stars in Disney's remake of Zorro in "Long John Peter". The famous Z insignia is done very poorly due to his Parkinson's Disease. Peter criticizes the casting decision before a scene from the film is seen, saying becoming a pirate was just as bad of a mistake than the casting decision.
In Something, Something, Something, Dark Side, he is mentioned in the opening crawl, which criticizes overspending and wastefulness and asks what disease he has, because the $58,000 dollars wasted could've been used for curing Parkinson's disease. One of the best scenes in Teen Wolf, according to Yoda, played by Carl, is Fox's transformation into a werewolf for the first time in the bathroom.
In "Tiegs for Two", Peter mentions that his third white shirt stained by Fox at a party, however, before the actual cutaway, Peter makes a statement to the viewer about being resistant to show the cutaway due to fears of offending Fox and his Parkinson's disease, and he describes what happened, until he was told by the censor that the cutaway is suitable for viewing. The cutaway is then shown.
Marty McFly is seen from his Back to the Future Part III role driving the Delorean time machine railroad version in "Internal Affairs".
In "Finders Keepers", Lois accuses Peter of being played for a fool like Marty's father, George McFly. A cutaway shows that George is very much aware that Marty was the one that appeared in their past as he sets the carpet on fire as he mentions in the film. George takes off his belt as he pursues Marty to get more answers from him.
Peter uses Michael J. Fox as an example of why fresh air is bad for kids in "The Most Interesting Man in the World".
In an alternate ending to Back to the Future in "Peter's Sister", Marty decides to go ahead and have sex with his mother before he vanishes, resulting in a deformed son that takes his place in the family photograph.
Peter's response to Vladimir Putin's calling him a chicken in "Petey IV" mimics that of Marty McFly in Back to the Future, Parts II & III.