Actor and activist Michael J Fox was honoured with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the ongoing Emmy Awards 2026. The five-time Emmy winner was recognised for his transformative contributions to Parkinson’s disease research and advocacy.
The award was presented by his The Good Wife co-star Julianna Margulies. The actor expressed his gratitude for the honour.
Michael J Fox said, “Thank you to everyone involved with the Television Academy for this amazing, humbling honour. I learned from his (Bob Hope) example. I couldn’t have known how these lessons would resonate in my own life until my late 20s, when my life handed me a role I wasn’t looking for.”
He continued, “Initially, I kept my Parkinson’s diagnosis a secret. I worried it would affect my work and relationships with audiences. Would they laugh if they knew I was sick? I was stunned by the support from all of you, so uplifted and I hadn’t lost what I do. They couldn’t take it away from me. And it’s because you stood up for me. I understood that accepting Parkinson’s didn’t mean I had to surrender to it. It just meant I had to do everything I could for everyone living with this disease.”
Fox went on to thank his wife, the rest of his family and Bob Hope, for “showing me how it’s done.”
Fox was also nominated for guest actor in a comedy series for an appearance on Shrinking, though Rob Reiner ended up winning the trophy posthumously, reported Variety.
According to the outlet, the Family Ties star launched the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2000 after disclosing his diagnosis of Parkinson’s in 1991 at the age of 29.
Oprah Winfrey was the first to win the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, which was first given in 2002. The award was created “to honor a member of the telecommunications industry whose philanthropic efforts exemplify Bob Hope’s own decades-long altruism and positive impact on society.”
Last year’s Bob Hope honour went to Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.
The honouree is selected by the Television Academy and the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation to find a person whose “humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry and whose deeds and actions have had a lasting impact on society.”
The Emmy Awards have finally concluded, with horror-comedy Widow’s Bay leading the race for the most awards in the comedy series.
Source: Khaleej Times