Los Angeles — Actor Michael J. Fox, battling Parkinson's disease, has bowed out as the star of the hit TV comedy Spin City with cheers from millions of Americans.
The ABC sitcom earned its highest-ever ratings with the one-hour season finale Wednesday night in which Fox exited the series amid nostalgic references to his former Family Ties life and a public appeal for help in fighting Parkinson's disease.
Capping the show's fourth season, Fox's lead character, the wise-cracking New York Deputy Mayor Michael Flaherty, leaves City Hall to take a job as an environmental lobbyist in the nation's capital.
In the final scene, he's standing in front of the White House, with “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen playing in the background.
Afterward, Fox appeared in a brief public service announcement, urging viewers to support the fight against the nervous disorder that cut short his entertainment career.
“I left Spin City for a new job: finding a cure for Parkinson's disease,” he said. “Frankly, I hope I'm out of work within 10 years, because that's how fast scientists feel they may crack this thing.”
The show's credits then rolled over scenes from Fox's final curtain call on the set of Spin City, where the actor hugged fellow cast members, and the studio audience was seen giving him a standing ovation as he waved farewell.
His departure drew the ABC show's largest audience ever, 32.8 million viewers, and notched its biggest rating in the key demographic of adults 18 to 49 years old.
The Canadian-born Fox became a household name in the 1980s generation-gap sitcom Family Ties, playing Alex Keaton, the precocious, conservative teenage son of parents steeped in the liberal values of the '60s. He gained additional fame in the Back to the Future movie franchise about time travel.
In his latest role, Fox has become an ardent spokesman for the fight against Parkinson's disease, appearing on Capitol Hill earlier this week to seek greater support for politically controversial stem cell research and launching a new research foundation.
During the Spin City finale, Fox paid homage to his TV roots with a number of gags related to Family Ties.
Actor Michael Gross, his father on the earlier series, made a guest appearance Wednesday playing Fox's psychologist. At the end of their session, Gross reminds Fox's character, “Make sure you pay Mallory on the way out,” a reference to his TV sister, played by Justine Bateman on Family Ties.
Also, in a voice-over for an e-mail describing his experiences as a Washington lobbyists, Fox refers to an uptight senator, Alex P. Keaton, his Family Ties alter ego.
As for Spin City, Fox has said he wanted to leave the show on his own terms, before his illness debilitated him. He still plans to make guest appearances in the future and will keep his hand in the series as an executive producer.
He will be replaced on the show next season by Charlie Sheen.
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