Recently, Alan Alda revealed to the world that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. The diagnosis was a few years ago but he "came out" to encourage others not to surrender to it and to spread the word that a person with this condition can still function and accomplish much. Good for Alan Alda.
The other day, a reporter called my pal Leonard Maltin to get a comment from him on Alda's announcement. Leonard decided that was a good time to reveal a secret which some of us have known about for some time: Leonard has also been diagnosed with Parkinson's. Good for Leonard…and I can attest that it hasn't slowed him down one bit. (The panel he and his daughter Jessie did at Comic-Con was packed and very informative and funny.) He's one of the nicest, smartest people I know and telling the world about his condition was a nice, smart thing to do. More on it here.