Michael J. Fox Accepts Humanitarian Award to Emmys Standing Ovation

Michael J. Fox was pushed in a wheelchair onto the stage at the Peacock Theater as the audience rose in a standing ovation. The video montage of his television career and advocacy work had just finished playing. It was the night of the 78th Emmy Awards, September 14, 2026, in Los Angeles, and he was there to accept the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.

Julianna Margulies, his former co-star on The Good Wife, stepped to the microphone to present it. She called him a man whose deeds and actions have had a lasting impact on society. “This year marks only the sixth time [the award] has been bestowed, and I can think of no one more deserving of it than Michael,” Margulies said.

The Bob Hope Humanitarian Award was established in 2002. It is given by the Television Academy and the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation to a member of the telecommunications industry whose philanthropic efforts exemplify Bob Hope’s own decades-long altruism and positive impact on society. Oprah Winfrey was its first recipient. Previous recipients include Danny Thomas, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Sean Penn, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. Last year’s honor went to Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. Fox is only the sixth recipient since 2002.

Fox thanked Margulies and the Television Academy. He turned to the award’s namesake.

“My parents were born during the Great Depression and came of age during World War II,” he said. “To them, Bob was more than an entertainer, he was a selfless champion of soldiers and military families like mine for decades. Christmases, Thanksgivings, and other holidays where he could have been celebrating with his family, he was showing up for the troops in Berlin, Saigon, and the Middle East with a turkey leg and a golf club.”

“He embodied everything I came to believe in, years later,” Fox said. “I learned from his example. When it starts to get tough, he’d show up, he’d help and if he had a little joy doing it, even better.”

“Thank you to everyone involved with the Television Academy for this amazing, humbling honour,” he said. “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.”

In 1991, Fox was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. He was 29. He kept the diagnosis secret and did not disclose it publicly until 1998. His wife, Tracy Pollan, was with him at the ceremony.

“Initially I kept my Parkinson’s diagnosis a secret,” Fox said. “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 the disease.”

The career he feared losing brought five Emmy Awards. The first came in 1986 for Family Ties as Alex P. Keaton. The most recent arrived in 2009 for Rescue Me.

Fox founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2000. From the stage he described the course he set and the results that followed.

“I set out to advocate for Parkinson’s disease and raise money,” Fox said. “I found people to lead the effort for me and vowed to fund the best science in the world. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made to benefit Parkinson’s patients and families. We move closer to eradicating this disease forever. I’m deeply grateful to our staff, donors, researchers, and most of all the patient community who make our work at the Michael J. Fox foundation possible.”

The foundation has raised more than $2.5 billion.

Cris Abrego, chair of the Television Academy, said, “Michael J. Fox is one of television’s most beloved and enduring performers whose work has left an indelible mark on generations of audiences.” He continued, “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, whose investments have accelerated scientific breakthroughs and the search for a cure. He continues to exemplify compassion, courage and service, reflecting the power of one individual to drive meaningful change.”

Fox was also nominated that night for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on Shrinking. The award went instead to the late Rob Reiner for The Bear. Reiner had died in December 2025 and received the trophy posthumously.

When Fox finished speaking, the audience rose once more. They remained on their feet as he left the stage in his wheelchair.