Den end nau...Family ties

By Gotinha's special request, here's a post concerning this tv series that we followed thru 7 years (1982 - 1989) and where we met the boy who would be the Back to the future saga's hero, Alex P. Keaton or, if you prefer, Michael J. Fox. Being played again until a few weeks ago in portuguese cable tv, here is the data on how the Family ties cast are, nowadays.

A lot has been said about the best known Keaton, in this last couple of years, specially because of him being diagnosed with an early rare case of Parkinson's disease, in 1991, while he was only 30. Michael J. Fox ended up opening a research center to help studying that awful disease and, by November 2000, it had already raised 50 million dollars. The small actor (1,64m tall), is from Canada and, since 1988, married to actress Tracy Pollan (Alex's first girlfriend). About his future wife-to-be, he once said "One day she came back from lunch with bad breath and I said 'Whoa, scampi for lunch?', and she said 'You are the rudest son of asshole I have ever met in my life' and I was immediately attracted to her like 'Who is this woman?!'"
Michael wasn't the first choice to play Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties. He was only chosen after Matthew Broderick, who was originally considered for the role, refused to have a long-term TV obligation. Ah, he does play the guitar, since he was 8, being the famous Back to the future scene, one of the funniest he ever made. And, by the way, the J in the middle of his name stands for...Andrew.

About the Keaton parents, Steven e Elyse, Michael Gross e Meredith Baxter, they actually were born on the same exact date, and are now 58 years old...each. Besides that, Gross stars in 4 movies called Tremors, which, in what quality is concerned have...none, but who tv's are so friendly of showing us, from time to time.

Sweet and dumb lil' Mallory Keaton, played by Justine Bateman, suffered, as so many of them young sex-symbols, from anorexia and bulimia for 10 years. She is now on her forties and looking well.

Little Jennifer, or Tina Yothers, now a healthy 31 years old woman, besides showing up in a episode of Southpark, is also a chucky brunette, singing in a band called Jaded, that launched its first album, Confessions, in 2000.

Adorable Andy Keaton (Brian Bonsall) is now a 24 years old "dude", got a black armband tattoo and plays in a band called the Late Bloomers, since 1998.

Of Ellen Reed (Tracy Pollan) we already said she married Alex Keat...sorry, Michael J. Fox, from whom she has 4 kids. Before that, she had already dated Kevin Bacon. Actresses...

Alex's next girlfriend, psychology major Lauren Miller (Courteney Cox) ended up being, next to him, the one who become the more successful, starring in Friends and in the Scream trilogy. Before that she had been a model, done commercials (was the first person to ever say "period" on American TV, in a Tampax commercial) and starred as the girl Bruce Springsteen pulled from the crowd to dance with him in the 1984 music video "Dancing in the Dark". Now, the 41 years old blue-eyed beauty has obviously not lost qualities!

Trash sculptor and Mallory's boyfriend, Nick Moore (Scott Valentine), now 47 years old, was about to screen test for a role in the feature film, "Lords of Discipline" but was accidentally hit by a truck on September 17, 1981. After three years of convalescing, he left New York for Los Angeles where he landed the part of Nick Moore on the hit series. Of course, the accident may have influenced his character's particular use of the english language. In 1988, he featured in May 1988 edition of "Playgirl" magazine.

And my favorite character, Irwin "Skippy" Handleman, or Marc Price (the spitting image of my college buddy and big friend, Ricardo Rocha, in his teenager years), is now 37 years old and, let's face it, the same nerdy face ever!

You know, something's they never change!