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Michael J. Fox Searches For Hope; CBS Plays Pranks

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 10, 2009

Updated: 03/10/2009 08:00 am

TAMPA - ABC has teamed up with Michael J. Fox for an uplifting, feel-good TV special while CBS has recruited singer Jessica Simpson for a celebrity prank show.

"Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist," on May 7, will follow the actor as he travels the globe exploring what it means to be an optimist and what makes people happy.

Fox, who has Parkinson's disease, has been optimistic that a cure might be found for his illness.

Fox supports President Barack Obama's executive order Monday overturning the ban on federal funding for research involving human embryonic stem cells.

"I could not be more thrilled to see President Obama live up to his commitment to get politics out of science. We have seen, for the past eight years, how much damage the opposite approach has done to science and patients," Fox said in a statement released to "Access Hollywood."

"Now that the president has taken this critical action, I am excited by the prospect of American scientists carrying human embryonic stem cell research forward toward better treatments and cures that will affect countless millions of lives."

Fox, who was diagnosed 16 years ago, said he sees more hope in the fight against Parkinson's with Obama in the White House.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research has raised nearly $140 million for research in combating the disease.

Fox's TV special was in the works before Obama's order. On the special, Fox will visit Bhutan, a Himalayan nation that monitors its "gross national happiness." He also will visit the homes of people that have not let difficulties get in the way of happiness. The special will also look at what cutting-edge science has to say about the nature of optimism.

"The same joyous spark that Michael J. Fox shared with us during his acting career shines through in this compelling look at the transformational power of optimism," Victoria Dummer, co-head and senior vice president for ABC Entertainment's alternative series, specials and late night, said in a prepared statement.

Meantime, CBS has a celebrity prank show, "I Get That a Lot," lined up for April Fool's Day. The show will feature celebrities doing mundane jobs like working in a pizzeria and selling hot dogs and athletic shoes. Hidden cameras will capture the reactions from customers who aren't convinced they are just doppelgangers.

Simpson, "Survivor" host Jeff Probst, supermodel Heidi Klum, rapper-actor Ice-T, "Extra" host Mario Lopez and singer LeAnn Rimes are on board for the show, which will air at 8 p.m. April 1.

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654.

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