Michael J. Fox is set to receive the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in recognition of his contributions to Parkinson’s disease research and advocacy. The honor will be presented on the 78th Emmy Awards telecast on NBC on Sept. 14.
The award was established in 2002 to honor a member of the telecommunications industry whose philanthropic efforts exemplify Hope’s own decades-long altruism. The award is given by the Television Academy and the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation.
While Fox is best known as a TV and film actor, he has a unique connection to music. He starred in both a TV show and a film that each spawned No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Billy Vera’s “At This Moment,” featured on Family Ties, spent two weeks at No. 1 in January 1982. Huey Lewis & the News’ “The Power of Love,” featured in Back to the Future, spent two weeks on top in August 1985. The latter hit received a Grammy nod for record of the year and an Oscar nod for best original song.
Fox won a Grammy in 2010 for best spoken word album for his audiobook Always Looking Up. He has also won five Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Fox received his 19th Emmy nomination this year for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series for Shrinking.
Fox received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Motion Picture Academy in 2023. He has also received major official honors both from the U.S. and his native Canada. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Biden in January 2025. Appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2010, Fox was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in June.
A documentary about his life, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, was released by Apple TV+ in 2023. The film was nominated for seven Emmy Awards, winning four.
In 1998, Fox publicly disclosed his diagnosis with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. Two years later, he founded The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which is now the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s research.
“Michael J. Fox is one of television’s most beloved and enduring performers whose work has left an indelible mark on generations of audiences,” Cris Abrego, chair of the Television Academy, said in a statement. “The Television Academy is proud to honor him for his extraordinary leadership in advancing Parkinson’s research, transforming public awareness and inspiring global support through The Michael J. Fox Foundation. … He continues to exemplify compassion, courage and service, reflecting the power of one individual to drive meaningful change.”
Previous recipients of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award are Oprah Winfrey, Danny Thomas (posthumously), George Clooney, Sean Penn, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.
The 78th Emmy Awards will telecast live from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 14, from 8 to 11 p.m. ET (5-8 p.m. PT) on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
