Michael J. Fox has shared that his mother passed away at the age of 92 on September 24.
The 61-year-old actor revealed the heartbreaking news during his appearance at the 2022 New York Comic Con on October 8, where he also reunited with his Back to The Future co-star Christopher Lloyd.
Noting how his mother, Phyllis Fox, "passed away two weeks ago," the star shared a sweet story about how she was originally against him filming Family Ties in the daytime and Back to the Future at night in the 1980s.
"I was 23 years old, and I called her, she was in Canada, and I said, 'They want me to do this Steven Spielberg movie, but I have to do it at night and I have to do Family Ties in the daytime'. And she said, 'You'll be too tired,'" Fox shared.
Watch Fox at the Comic-Con Panel below (at the 7:40 mark):Detailing that he told his mom, "I live for this kind of tired. It'll be okay," in response, Fox continued and said: "To this day - well, till two weeks ago - my mother thought it was a really bad idea for me to do Back to the Future. She loved the movie, [but she was right], I got tired."
According to an online obituary, Phyllis was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1929 to her Father Henry "Skip" Piper, and Mother Jane "Jenny" Piper
She is survived by sons Steve and Michael, as well as daughters Jackie and Kelli, her nine grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and a great-great-granddaughter.
The obituary states that Phyllis "took special pride in raising awareness for Diabetes and Parkinson’s Disease, and in serving on the board of the Michael J Fox Theatre in Burnaby."
The family also requested that instead of flowers, donations be made in the mother's name to causes including Parkinson's, diabetes, the BC Children's Hospital, Canuck Place, and the Burnaby General Hospital.
During Comic-Con, the Family Ties actor - who revealed his Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 1998 - also shared how he remains optimistic about his health struggles.
"Well, in the last year I've broken my cheek, my eye socket, my hand, my elbow… my shoulder. I had a rough year of getting beat up. But that was really cool because it made me realize… with gratitude, it's sustainable," he shared.
"If you can find something to be grateful for if you can find something and say, 'Well, that's good,' … It'll always get better… I'm very optimistic," he continued.
"I'd say optimism is thinking that things are more likely to get better than they are to get worse. If you believe in that, and you are grateful for it, that'll sustain you the rest of your life," Fox added.
Fox also enjoyed a reunion with his iconic Back To The Future co-star Christopher Lloyd at Comic-Con. They are best known for their legendary roles as Marty McFly and Doctor Emmett Brown in the beloved film.
Our thoughts are with Fox's family at this time.