when Fox became a major star. Alex P. Keaton was an
archetypal 1980’s character, a high school-aged Re-
publican who embraced greed, consumerism, and
the values of corporate America in opposition to
his parents, left-wing 1960’s idealists who were horri-
fied by their son’s values. Fox’s portrayal of Keaton
walked a fine line, as he sought to make him both ri-
diculous and sympathetic, revealing the human be-
ing beneath the caricature.
Fox’s success on television opened the door for
him to take the lead role of Marty McFly in the hit
science-fiction movieBack to the Future (1985).
Again, Fox’s wry humor was essential to the success
of the film, which appealed to a broader audience
than the average time-travel movie by refusing to
take its own science-fiction premise too seriously.
The film’s success made sequels inevitable, but after
repeating the role of McFly inBack to the Future IIand
Back to the Future III, Fox made a point of branching
out into other types of performances—both come-
dic and dramatic—so as to avoid being typecast. The
late 1980’s also marked a major change in Fox’s per-
sonal life, as he married Tracy Pollan—who had
played his girlfriend onFamily Ties—on July 16,
- They would subsequently have four children
together.
Impact Michael J. Fox’s portrayals of Alex P. Kea-
ton and Marty McFly created two of the most memo-
rable and culturally resonant characters of the 1980’s.
He continued a successful career as an actor. Al-
though he refused to become typecast and sought a
variety of roles, he remained best known for his co-
medic performances.
Subsequent Events In 1998, Fox announced pub-
licly that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s
disease in 1991. Thereafter, his career began to be
eclipsed by his struggles with the disease, a neuro-
logical disorder that slowly and progressively robs
its victims of the ability to control their voluntary
movements. Fox’s high profile as a successful actor
allowed him to become a leading advocate of em-
bryonic stem-cell therapy, a controversial technol-
ogy that promised the ability to rebuild ravaged
nervous systems, but at the price of destroying
early-stage human embryos, which many people
considered to be full-fledged human beings with
the same moral rights and status as humans at any
other stage of life.
Further Reading
Fox, Michael J.Lucky Man: A Memoir. New York: Ran-
dom House, 2002. In his own words, Fox discusses
both his successes and disappointments. A very
readable primary source.
Wukovitz, John F.Michael J. Fox. San Diego, Calif.:
Lucent Books, 2002. A basic and readable biogra-
phy, hitting the high points of Fox’s career and
life.
Leigh Husband KimmelSee also Back to the Future;Family Ties; Film in the
United States; Science-fiction films; Television.FOX network
Identification American broadcast television
network
Date Debuted in 1986FOX network was the first successful new broadcast televi-
sion network in decades. Its success demonstrated that
ABC, CBS, and NBC, the Big Three networks, no longer
monopolized American television audiences.Australian billionaire Rupert Murdoch owned inter-
national media conglomerate News Corporation. In
1985, with expansion in mind, Murdoch completed
the purchase of Twentieth Century-Fox Studios, ac-
quiring its large film library and television studio.
Later that year, he purchased six independent major-
market television stations in New York, Los Angeles,
Chicago, Washington, D.C., Dallas-Fort Worth, and
Houston, pending the approval of the Federal Com-
munications Commission (FCC).Regulation and the State of the Industry Federal
regulations under the FCC placed a cap on the num-
ber of major-market television stations a single com-
pany could own, and a separate set of regulations re-
stricted a broadcaster’s ownership of programming.
However, the administration of President Ronald
Reagan was opposed to government regulation of
business in general, and under Reagan, the FCC was
instructed to restrict commerce as little as possible.
In 1986, the FCC approved Murdoch’s television ac-
quisitions and loosened the regulations regarding
programming ownership for News Corporation. Mur-
doch overcame a third restriction against foreignThe Eighties in America FOX network 393