Michael J. Fox leaves Spin City (May 24, 2000)

For four seasons, Michael J. Fox had played lovable New York City Deputy Mayor Mike Flaherty on ABC's popular sitcom. But when the actor's bout with Parkinson's disease proved too taxing to balance with the demands of carrying 22 episodes per season, Fox's character was written out of the series, and his emotional swan song — during which Mike took responsibility for a Mob scandal to save his coworkers' jobs — proved heartbreaking for an audience of viewers who'd grown to love the character and the man who played him.