Michael J. Fox Reveals Matthew Perry Made Huge Donation to His Parkinson's Research Charity After Signing Record-Breaking Friends Deal
Key Highlights :
Michael J. Fox has revealed that Matthew Perry made a sizeable donation to his charity after signing a record-breaking contract on Friends. Fox founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 in a bid to fund research to cure Parkinson's disease - a disease he was diagnosed with in 1991. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the Back to the Future actor reminisced about the late Friends star's generosity when the foundation was first finding its feet.
Fox, 62 - who revealed his Parkinson's diagnosis in 1998 - said: 'I have to say, my preference is to be discreet, but I hope he doesn't mind. 'When they first had their big sale, whatever they did, and [the Friends cast were] all made millionaires for the rest of their lives - he wrote a big fat check to the foundation.'
Old friends: Michael J Fox has revealed that Matthew Perry made a sizeable donation to his charity after signing a record-breaking contract on Friends (pictured together in 2000)
Gone Too Soon: Fox spoke highly of the late actor who helped his foundation during it's earlier days, describing Perry's act as a 'tremendous vote of his confidence' (Perry pictured in 2012)
Fox shared that Perry's gesture was a 'tremendous vote of his confidence', as it was still early doors for the charity. He explained that the late actor's kindness didn't come with a side of boastfulness or arrogance, adding that he loved that it was a 'Take it and do your best,' gesture.
The extreme act of kindness came after Perry - alongside, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston - negotiated a ground-breaking $1 million per episode cheque on the Nineties sitcom. The Friends cast all agreed that they would walk away from the NBC if they were not all compensated equally.
Perry's donation to the Parkinson's foundation did not come out of the blue, as the two Canadian-American actors spent a considerable amount of time in each others company over the years, bonding over their shared love for ice hockey. The Back to the Future actor labelled Perry - who often publicly boasted about Fox's talents - a 'funny guy', joking that he was 'happy' he 'had an impact on him'.
Fox's heartwarming confession comes after Perry passed away on October 28, 2023. He was discovered in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home, and was buried on November 3, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. His death certificate, obtained by The Blast, shows his official cause of death is being deferred pending toxicology reports, which could take weeks to determine.
Fighter: Fox was secretly diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991 and in 2000 he founded his own charity - Michael J. Fox Foundation - to help find a cure
Team work: Perry, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston negotiated a ground-breaking $1 million per episode cheque on Friends
The actor leaves behind the Matthew Perry foundation, an organisation created to help those 'struggling with the disease of addiction'. Those recovering will be guided by Perry's own experiences and his passion to positively impact as many lives as possible. The Friends star detailed his own struggles with addiction in his 2022 autobiography - Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.
While he was endorsing his novel in an interview with Tom Power, the late actor raved about fellow thespian Michael J Fox. 'I was young, I had done a couple of plays in school, and Michael J. Fox was it, man,' said an enamoured Perry according to UsWeekly. 'When I was in ninth grade, Michael J. Fox had just done Back to the Future, and there was smoke coming out of my ears, I was so jealous of this guy.'
Commending Fox on having the number one show - Family Ties - as well as the number one movie the time, Perry quipped: 'He was huge and I don't know anybody else who's done that — except me.'
Life-changer: Following his death the actor has left The Matthew Perry Foundation, an organisation created to help those 'struggling with the disease of addiction'
Michael J. Fox and Matthew Perry have been friends since their days on the iconic sitcom Friends. But, what many people don't know is that when Perry signed his record-breaking contract on the show, he made a huge donation to Fox's Parkinson's research charity, the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
Fox revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that when the Friends cast made their millions, Perry wrote a “big fat check” to the foundation. Fox spoke highly of the late actor who helped his foundation during it's earlier days, describing Perry's act as a 'tremendous vote of his confidence'.
The extreme act of kindness came after Perry - alongside, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston - negotiated a ground-breaking $1 million per episode cheque on the Nineties sitcom. The Friends cast all agreed that they would walk away from the NBC if they were not all compensated equally.
Perry's donation to the Parkinson's foundation did not come out of the blue, as the two Canadian-American actors spent a considerable amount of time in each others company over the years, bonding over their shared love for ice hockey. The Back to the Future actor labelled Perry - who often publicly boasted about Fox's talents - a 'funny guy',
