Alan Alda My Life Now

LIVING WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE, THE BELOVED ACTOR HAS NO INTENTION OF SLOWING DOWN

- Julie Jordan

Standing before the graduates of the University of Dundee in Scotland in June 2017, Alan Alda was receiving an honorary doctor of law degree for his work promoting the communication of science. The actor had been told he had three minutes to give a speech. “I thought, ‘I’ve got to say something worth listening to,’” he recalls. “I said, ‘I only have three minutes, so I’m going to give you the secret to life. The secret of life is: adapt, adjust, revise. Because the only thing you can be sure of is that everything is going to change.’”

That’s advice to take to heart from the 83-year old star, who spent 11 years in the iconic role of womanizing Korean War surgeon Hawkeye Pierce on CBS’s hit series M*A*S*H. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease almost four years ago, the devoted husband and father of three is now set to add the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award to his collection of accolades, which already includes six Emmys and six Golden Globes. He’s in no hurry to slow down. “I’m busy,” the actor, screenwriter, director and author says of his daily life at home in New York City.“I do occasionally do nothing and sit around. But I believe in doing everything in moderation, including moderation. So far it’s working.”