“People think I’m an expert on time because I did these movies,” said actor Michael J. Fox, who is most well-known for his role in “Back to the Future.”

Although he joked that he doesn’t know anything about time travel, flux capacitors, space-time continuums or jigawatts, he said his experiences with Parkinson’s disease and in his life have shaped his idea of time and he has figured out some things about time that Doc Brown hadn’t.

Fox shared this idea with a captivated audience at Hoffmann Hospice’s 20th annual Voices of Inspiration fundraiser at Cal State Bakersfield on May 1.

According to Hoffmann Hospice Marketing Coordinator Spring Bunting, with 700 people in attendance, the event raised a record-breaking amount – more than $200,000.

The most generous donation of the evening – a $13,000 pledge to cover the total price of one patient bed – was made by Greg and Dana Pratt for part of the Fund-a-Need project, which aimed to fund the building of the first wing in the Hoffmanns’ new hospice home project. The Comforts of Home Hoffmann Hospice broke ground in April and it is projected that the home will allow the hospice to serve an additional 1,800 families annually.

Beth Hoffmann, a founder of Hoffman Hospice, spoke about the hospice, the idea that it takes a special kind of person to do this work, and the goals of the organization.

“Hospice is not about death, it’s about life,” she said, explaining that the goal of the hospice is to provide quality end-of-life care and really celebrate their patients’ lives.

Fox spoke about his father, who he called a no-nonsense man, saying that when you got in trouble, he would be the first person you would call, but the last person you wanted to talk to. He said that when he made his decision to drop out of high school to pursue his acting career, he was shocked that his father actually drove him to LA.

He said he gave himself three years to pursue acting, with the thought that he would treat it as if it was his version of college. Although he said the beginning was a struggle and time was not his friend at that point, he got his first big break at what he called his last-shot audition where he scored the role as Alex P. Keaton on “Family Ties.”

After some time on “Family Ties,” which is where he met his would-be wife, former co-star Tracy Pollar, he was called to his producer’s office and joked that he thought, “The jig was up.” This was when he found out that he had been offered a role in a Spielberg film, which would lead him to his role as Marty McFly in the “Back to the Future” trilogy.

He joked that he realized he had gone from eating macaroni and cheese to attending royal premiers.

At the royal premier for “Back to the Future,” Fox recalled that he was actually seated next to Princess Diana, whom he said was “smokin’ hot.” At this point, he said two thoughts occurred to him.

“I’m one fake yawn and an arm stretch away from being on a date with the princess of Wales,” he said. “And then the other thing that occurred to me was I had to go to the bathroom.”

During filming for “Doc Hollywood,” Fox said he woke up one day and his pinkie was twitching. A year later, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 29, but his doctor told him he would be able to work for ten more years.

He said at this point he was still young and dumb enough to say work was his life, questioning, “So what, I’ve only got 10 years left to live?”

He said he went through all the stages of grief, but then recalled some of his training as an actor. He said that as an actor, you’re trained not to react to the pie before it hits you.

He realized, “I may be cast in a tragic role, but it’s all about the way I play it.”

He decided that he wanted to help others with Parkinson’s disease, so he began his foundation and started funding research hopeful for a cure. Fox said that to date, his foundation has funded approximately a half a billion dollars in research.

Although the majority of his contributions are toward funding for a cure, Fox said he had heard great things about the reputation of Hoffmann Hospice, and he was excited to be a part of it.

In a Q-and-A session after he spoke, an audience member asked Fox what he believed was the secret to a happy marriage.

“The secret is she’ll have me,” he said, regarding his 25-year marriage. He said that his wife has been very influential to him and very supportive through everything.

True to the name of the event, one member of the audience expressed how Fox had been a very special voice of inspiration for her.

Carly Ranson, an audience member, has looked up to Fox since she first read his book when she was going through some of her own health issues at age 14, when she had to undergo a surgery.

Her mother stood up to express how grateful she was to Fox for the inspiration.

Ranson told her mother she wanted to be a pharmacist after reading Fox’s book.

Her mother told Fox that she was seated in the audience that night to listen to him speak, and she had accomplished her dream of being a pharmacist.

“His message has pulled me through a lot of stuff,” Ranson said. “It’s one of those books that I hand out to people if they’re going through stuff because it kind of gives you perspective on things.”

Ranson said that his book really gave her perspective before her surgery.

She said that she was so scared that she would die or that it would be this thing that defined her, but to see Fox go through what he has and still be so optimistic has really given her something to grasp onto.

“It’s been a dream of mine to hear him talk, and he’s everything I could’ve hoped for.”