Michael J. Fox, actor, author and advocate for increased funding for Parkinson's disease research, will receive the NAB Distinguished Service Award during the 2010 NAB Show.

Fox will be honored for the impact his career has had on the television industry, as well as his commitment to raising awareness for Parkinson's disease through The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. The award will be presented during the All Industry Opening Keynote address on April 12, 2010, in Las Vegas.

Each year the NAB Distinguished Service Award recognizes members of the broadcast community who have made significant and lasting contributions to the broadcasting industry. Previous award recipients include Mary Tyler Moore, President Ronald Reagan, Edward R. Murrow, Bob Hope, Walter Cronkite, Oprah Winfrey and Charles Osgood, among others.

"Michael J. Fox is a true role model in every sense of the word, using his fame and influence as a successful actor to help fund nearly $160 million dollars in Parkinson's research," said NAB President-CEO Gordon Smith. "We are proud to honor him for his tremendous contributions to both the entertainment and medical research communities."

Fox's role as the conservative child Alex P. Keaton on the hit NBC show Family Ties made him one of the country's most prominent young actors of the 1980s. The show, which ran from 1982 to1989, was a critical and commercial success, earning Fox three Emmys and a Golden Globe Award.

Fox returned to series television again in 1996 as Michael Flaherty, New York's deputy mayor on ABC's Spin City. His portrayal of Flaherty earned numerous awards, including three Golden Globes, an Emmy, a People's Choice Award and two Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.

Since Fox's departure from Spin City in 2000, he has appeared in guest spots on several television programs, most recently FX's Rescue Me, for which he received a fifth Emmy Award in 2009.

Fox established The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research in 2000 to raise research funding and awareness for Parkinson's disease.