Michael J. Fox reveals Matthew Perry made a HUGE donation to his Parkinson’s research charity after signing record-breaking Friends deal

Michael J Fox has revealed that Matthew Perry has made a significant donation to his charity after signing a record deal on Friends.

Fox founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 in an effort to fund research to cure Parkinson’s disease — a disease he was diagnosed with in 1991.

In an interview with Entertainment tonightthe Back to the Future actor reminisced about the late Friends star’s generosity when the foundation first found 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, which they did, and [the Friends cast were] they all became millionaires for the rest of their lives – he wrote a big check to the foundation.’

Gone Too Soon: Fox spoke highly of the late actor who helped his foundation in its early days, describing Perry’s act as a ‘huge vote of confidence’ (Perry pictured in 2012)

Fox said Perry’s gesture was a “huge vote of confidence” as it was still early doors for the charity.

He explained that the late actor’s kindness did not come with boasting 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 groundbreaking $1 million per episode check for the 1990s sitcom.

The cast of Friends all agreed that they would walk away from NBC if they weren’t 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 significant amount of time in each other’s company over the years, bonding over their shared love of ice hockey.

The Back to the Future actor labeled Perry — who often publicly bragged about Fox’s talents — as a “funny guy” and joked that he was “glad” 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 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park on November 3.

His death certificate, obtained by The explosionshows that his official cause of death is being postponed 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

Teamwork: Perry, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston negotiated a groundbreaking check for $1 million per episode on Friends

The actor leaves behind the Matthew Perry Foundation, an organization created to help people “struggling with the disease of addiction.”

Those in recovery 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 endorsing his novel in an interview with Tom Power, the late actor raved about fellow stage actor Michael J Fox.

“I was young, I’d done a couple of school plays, and Michael J. Fox was it, man,” a smitten Perry said, according to UsWeekly.

“When I was in ninth grade, Michael J. Fox had just done Back to the Future, and smoke was coming out of my ears, I was so jealous of this man.”

Perry praised Fox for having the number one show – Family Ties – and the number one movie of the time:

“It was huge and I don’t know anyone else who has done that but me.”

Life changer: After his death, the actor left the Matthew Perry Foundation, an organization created to help people ‘struggling with the disease of addiction’