Quick summary
- Michael J. Fox got his first major TV role in “Palmerstown, U.S.A.”, a CBS drama that premiered on March 20, 1980.
- The series came from Norman Lear and Alex Haley and was cancelled after two seasons, according to Yahoo’s TVLine report.
- Fox, now back on screen in “Shrinking”, told The Hollywood Reporter in July 2026 that acting has “prolonged my life”, as quoted by TVLine.
- The Michael J. Fox Foundation says he has raised more than $3 billion for Parkinson’s research, TVLine reports.
Long before he was Marty McFly, Michael J. Fox was an 18-year-old unknown standing in a room with one of American television’s biggest names. Two fresh reports on October 31 look at both ends of his career: the forgotten 1980 drama that gave him his start, and the return to acting he has described as a gift in his later years.
The forgotten drama that started it all
According to Yahoo, “Palmerstown, U.S.A.” was a CBS series set in the Great Depression of the 1930s. It followed the friendship of two young boys, one Black and one white. It was a collaboration between sitcom creator Norman Lear and “Roots” author Alex Haley, and it drew on Haley’s own childhood.
Fox played Willy-Joe Hall, the older brother of the white boy. The report says his biggest episode saw Willy-Joe and the teenage daughter of a poor family with a grudge against the Halls fall for each other. Fox told Parade that his first on-screen kiss came on the show. He could not recall the actress’s name, but Yahoo suggests it was Lori Lethin.
The show ran for just two seasons. That meant it never reached the painful moment in Haley’s life that inspired it, when his white childhood friend’s father told the boys they could no longer play together.
An unknown with a Norman Lear job
Fox arrived with almost nothing on his résumé. Yahoo says he had only one-off appearances on shows such as “Trapper John, M.D.”. He told the Television Academy he had initially wanted to make films, but an offer to join a Lear and Haley series was “pretty cool”. He added that Lear’s “All in the Family” was, and still is, his favourite television show.
Director Jeffrey Hayden, who worked on several episodes, remembered the young actor as a “terrific kid”. He told the Television Academy that Fox once got stuck at the border returning from a weekend visit to his family in Canada, and that Lear had to make a call to Washington to sort it out. Hayden described the cast, which included Bill Duke, as having “no stars, but major talents” assembled by Lear, Haley and casting director Reuben Cannon.
The payoff came quickly. Yahoo notes that Fox’s breakout in Family Ties arrived just a year after “Palmerstown, U.S.A.” ended.
The comeback in Shrinking
The second report, from TVLine, picks up the story decades later. It says Fox won three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for “Family Ties” and went on to star in Spin City, Teen Wolf and “Casualties of War”.
TVLine reports that he was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s disease at 29 and disclosed it publicly in 1998. He has since scaled back his screen work to focus on research funding. The Michael J. Fox Foundation says he has raised more than $3 billion toward Parkinson’s science, according to the outlet.
After about six years away from acting, TVLine says, former “Spin City” collaborator Bill Lawrence) cast him in Season 3 of “Shrinking” on Apple TV. Fox plays Gerry, a character who also has Parkinson’s and who helps Harrison Ford’s Dr. Paul Rhoades come to terms with his own diagnosis. The role earned Fox another Emmy nomination.
What he says about it
TVLine’s quote of the day comes from Fox’s July 2026 interview with The Hollywood Reporter: “It’s really prolonged my life and made my life interesting in a way that I didn’t think it would be to this point.” The outlet reads it as a comment on how acting has kept bringing him joy, even when he believed his condition would end that part of his life.
It also quotes his speech at the 2026 Emmy Awards, in which he said that accepting Parkinson’s “didn’t mean I had to surrender to it” and that he set out to advocate for patients’ needs. Fox and Ford also recorded a clip together for the foundation, explaining how people can support those living with the disease.
For more on the actor, see our Michael J. Fox coverage and Christopher Lloyd on the day Michael J. Fox became Marty. More screen stories are in TV & Dramas.
What happens next
TVLine reports that Fox and Lawrence are expected to work together on more episodes in “Shrinking” Season 4. No dates were given in the sources we reviewed. Fox’s official site, michaeljfox.org, remains the place for foundation news.
Frequently asked questions
What was Michael J. Fox’s first major TV role?
It was Willy-Joe Hall in the CBS drama “Palmerstown, U.S.A.”, which premiered on March 20, 1980, according to Yahoo.
Who created “Palmerstown, U.S.A.”?
Norman Lear and Alex Haley created it. The show was inspired by Haley’s childhood and ran for two seasons before cancellation.
Is Michael J. Fox in “Shrinking”?
Yes. TVLine reports he plays Gerry, a man with Parkinson’s who helps Harrison Ford’s character, in Season 3, and is expected to return in Season 4.
How much has the Michael J. Fox Foundation raised?
TVLine, citing the foundation, says Fox has raised more than $3 billion for Parkinson’s research.
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