Both Celebitchy and I grew up watching “Family Ties” and were excited to see the cast have their first reunion in 18 years this morning with Matt Lauer on the “Today Show.” The actors were clearly happy to see each other and very much at ease, and it was interesting to hear the stories of how each was cast. I think I must have missed a lot of the premise of the show, which I guess is fair since I was 8 when it went off the air. I had no idea the parents were supposed to be really liberal with fairly conservative kids. To me they were just boring, regular adults. Though I did have a crazy crush on Alex P. Keaton. I think I had a thing for blazers with elbow patches for years as a result.

The cast reunited to help producer/creator Gary David Goldberg promote his new autobiography “Sit, Ubu, Sit: How I Went From Brooklyn To Hollywood With The Same Woman, The Same Dog, And A Lot Less Hair.” Goldberg was also the creator and producer of Michael J. Fox’s “Spin City,” and before that, one of my favorite shows that no one’s ever heard of “Brooklyn Bridge.” Fox and Goldberg discussed their strained relationship on “Spin City,” with Fox explaining that it was uncomfortable for him to go from the father-son type relationship they had on “Family Ties” to a relationship where they were equals, like on “Spin City.” He said he and Goldberg made the conscious decision to work through it because they were important part of each other’s lives, and hearing them describe it sounds like they really are talking about family.

Goldberg also noted that he didn’t want to cast Fox for “Family Ties” because he played the character a little too snaky in his first audition. His casting director insisted Goldberg let Fox audition one more time, and luckily the second time he was great. Goldberg also noted that the show was originally supposed to focus on the parents and the kids were supposed to be more ancillary figures. However after the fourth episode, it became clear to Goldberg that the audience really loved Fox, and the show’s focus shifted to the kids.

Matt Lauer didn’t touch on the rueful mistake of adding youngest son Andy Keaton to the cast. The kid went from a baby to a five year old in two years. I’d say that’s about when “Family Ties” jumped the shark. Brian Bonsall, the actor who played Andy, was arrested last year after he poured a drink on his girlfriend while she was sleeping, then put her in a chokehold. You can see why NBC chose not to mention him. They kept the interview light and heartwarming, and it was fun to watch the cast, who clearly enjoy each other.

Michael J. Fox has a new interview with Esquire in which just his quotes and not the interviewer’s questions are published. He comes off as confident and insightful about the price of fame and the trials of life. He says that we focus on the wrong things in society by picking on Paris and Lindsay but that he understands why we need gossip to escape from the seriousness of life:

I see Us magazine and People magazine and all these tabloids — they have the same story over and over again. It’s the same every week, and I get all kind of smug about it, and I think, Come on, really? You care about this shit? But then cut to me going, “Get outta the corner! Get the fuckin’ puck up! What the fuck are ya doing?” It’s tough to stay off the subject of the fact that we’re all gonna die. We all need our subject changers. That’s what it all comes down to….

When I see pictures of Lindsay Lohan in the car or Paris Hilton — the level of glee and the level of viciousness — wow. We’ve got a war goin’ on. We’ve got people dying. And we’re all up in arms about this girl.

I have such empathy for all these young women. I was there, and I did all that crap. We’d rip it up, y’know? And we never got busted on any of that stuff.

“She deserves it” and “Who does she think she is?” Who does she think she is? She doesn’t think — she doesn’t know what she had for breakfast this morning. Who gives a shit? Relax, everybody. Calm down.

[From Esquire.com via Fark]

Fox also spoke candidly about his young wild years and about how he had to give up drinking and partying as it was too self destructive. As for his battle with Parkinsons, he says he’s accepted it and that he can’t complain. He also doesn’t care at all what he looks like and says it doesn’t matter. He spoke briefly about how Rush Limbaugh criticized him last year for campaigning for stem cell research by saying he didn’t take his medication. Fox said that was just how show business goes and that he didn’t fight back with Limbaugh because “Limbaugh is ripping himself apart well enough for all of us.”

I can’t always control my body the way I want to, and I can’t control when I feel good or when I don’t. I can control how clear my mind is. And I can control how willing I am to step up if somebody needs me.

That’s one of the things the illness has given me: It’s a degree of death. There’s a certain amount of loss, and whenever you have a loss, it’s a step toward death. So if you can accept loss, you can accept the fact that there’s gonna be the big loss. Once you can accept that, you can accept anything. So then I think, Well, given that that’s the case, let’s tip myself a break. Let’s tip everybody a break.

My happiness grows in direct proportion to my acceptance, and in inverse proportion to my expectations.

Acceptance is the key to everything.

Which isn’t to say that I’m resigned to it, or that I’ve given up on it, or that I don’t think I have any effect on the outcome of it. It’s just that, as a reality, I get it.

Who gives a shit how it looks? It doesn’t matter. I look like what I look like.

[From Esquire.com]

There was an article in this week’s National Enquirer titled “Michael J. Fox losing ground in battle with Parkinsons,” which annoyed me to no end. They focused on a statement he made about how he can’t raise his glass to his mouth without effort and consulted Parkinson’s experts who said that he will probably need a walker soon, based on eyewitnesses who say he has trouble walking. It takes courage to admit that you need a walker or a wheelchair and to accept your condition. I have an autoimmune disorder that is now in remission and I have used both a walker and a wheelchair in my life. If that’s what it takes to get out of the house, you should use an assistive device, there’s no shame in it. Kudos to Fox for talking candidly about his disease and saying that he’s accepted what he can’t change and works on what he can. He seems to have a great attitude and I love how outspoken he is about everything.

Michael J. Fox is shown out with his wife Tracy Pollan at the Time Magazine most influential people of the year party on 5/8/07, thanks to PRPhotos.