♪ I HAD A VERY CLEAR UNDERSTANDING WITH THE PENTAGON -- NO GUNS. HMM! I'LL CARRY YOUR BOOKS, I'LL CARRY YOUR TORCH I'LL CARRY A TUNE, I'LL CARRY ON, CARRY OVER, CARRY FORWARD, CARY GRANT, ACTION CARRY, CARRY ME BACK TO VIRGINIA, I WILL EVEN HAIRY CARY IF YOU SHOW ME HOW, BUT I WILL NOT CARRY A GUN! ALL RIGHT. ALAN ALDA'S RELATABLE PORTRAYAL OF ARMY CAPTAIN HAWKEYE PIERCE IN THE ICONIC SERIES "M.A.S.H." CONNECTED VIEWERS TO THE FRONT LINES OF WAR. THE AWARD-WINNING ACTOR HAS PLAYED ALL ROLES, STARRING IN "THE AVIATOR," PLAYED A SENATOR IN "THE WEST WING" AND TAKEN COMEDIC TURNS IN "TOWER HEIST." ALDA ALSO POSTED PBS' "SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS" FOR 13 YEARS. HE NOW TEACHES ACTING TECHNIQUES TO SCIENTISTS AND ENTREPRENEURS TO HELP THEM CONNECT BETTER WITH THEIR AUDIENCES. AND AL ALDA HOSTS THE PODCAST "CLEAR AND VIVID." HE SAYS THE ABILITY TO ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE CLEARLY IS THE KEY TO GREATER UNDERSTANDING FOR EVERYONE. I AGREE WITH THAT. ALAN ALDA IS WITH US THIS MORNING FOR AN ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HE WANTS TO MAKE. SO GOOD TO HAVE YOU HERE. THANK YOU. IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE. HOW ARE YOU DOING? I'M DOING GREAT. YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT. I HAVEN'T SAID IN PUBLIC UNTIL NOW THAT I'VE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE. AND THE REASON THAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT IN PUBLIC IS THAT I WAS DIAGNOSED 3 1/2 YEARS AGO, AND I'VE HAD A FULL LIFE SINCE THEN. I'VE ACTED, I'VE GIVEN TALKS, I HELP AT THE ALDA CENTER FOR COMMUNICATING SCIENCE AT STONY BROOK. I STARTED IN THIS NEW PODCAST. AND I NOTICED THAT I HAD BEEN ON TELEVISION A LOT IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS TALKING ABOUT THE NEW PODCAST, AND I COULD SEE MY THUMB TWITCH IN SOME SHOTS, AND I THOUGHT, IT'S PROBABLY ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE SOMEBODY DOES A STORY ABOUT THIS FROM A SAD POINT OF VIEW, BUT THAT'S NOT WHERE I AM. SO, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU'RE REVEALING PUBLICLY -- YEAH. -- THAT YOU'VE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH PARKINSON'S DISEASE. WHAT WAS THAT DIAGNOSIS LIKE WHEN YOU GOT IT? WELL, I ASKED FOR A SCAN BECAUSE I THOUGHT I MIGHT HAVE IT. I READ AN ARTICLE BY JANE BRODY IN "THE NEW YORK TIMES" THAT INDICATED THAT IF YOU HAVE -- IF YOU ACT OUT YOUR DREAMS, THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THAT MIGHT BE A VERY EARLY SYMPTOM THAT WHERE NOTHING ELSE SHOWS. AND BY ACTING OUT YOUR DREAMS, I MEAN, I WAS HAVING A DREAM THAT SOMEONE WAS ATTACKING ME, AND I THREW A SACK OF POTATOES AT THEM. BUT WHAT I WAS REALLY DOING WAS THROWING A PILLOW AT MY WIFE. WOW! WOW. SO, WHAT OTHER SYMPTOMS DID YOU START TO NOTICE? I DIDN'T HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS! THE DOCTOR SAID WHY DO YOU WANT A SCAM, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS? WOW. AND I SAID, I WANT TO KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING I CAN DO. I WANT TO DO IT BEFORE THINGS START TO SHOW UP. AND SO, MONTHS LATER, A LITTLE SWITCH IN MY THUMB, YOU KNOW, AND THE THING I WANT FOLKS TO KNOW -- AND THIS IS NOT TO SHORT CHANGE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUFFERING WITH REALLY SEVERE SYMPTOMS. YOU KNOW, SYMPTOMS CAN GET VERY BAD AND THEIR FAMILIES CAN SUFFER. BUT IN THE VERY BEGINNING, TO BE IMMOBILIZED BY FEAR AND THINK THE WORST THING HAS HAPPENED TO YOU -- IT HASN'T HAPPENED TO YOU. YOU STILL HAVE THINGS YOU CAN DO. YEAH. I'M TAKING BOXING LESSONS. THREE DAYS A WEEK, I READ. THREE TIMES A WEEK. I DO SINGLES TENNIS A COUPLE OF TIMES A WEEK. I MARCH TO SOUSA MUSIC, BECAUSE MARCHING TO MARCH MUSIC IS GOOD FOR PARKINSON'S. BUT DID YOU -- I MEAN, YOU TALK ABOUT THE INITIAL REACTION TO THIS. DID YOU HAVE AN INITIAL FEAR? YOU KNOW, I WAS MAINLY HELPING MY FAMILY NOT BE WORRIED. YEAH. BECAUSE IT'S COMMON FOR US ALL TO GO TO THE WORST THOUGHT. OF COURSE, SURE. BUT WHAT'S INTERESTING IS THIS IS A DISEASE THAT'S DIFFERENT FOR ALMOST EVERYBODY WHO HAS IT. THERE ARE SOME COMMON SYMPTOMS, BUT MOSTLY EVERYBODY'S DIFFERENT. AND EACH DAY IS DIFFERENT FROM THE NEXT. ONE DAY YOU WAKE UP, YOU THINK, OH, IT'S OVER, IT'S GONE. NEXT DAY IT'S BACK A LITTLE WORSE. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE, BUT THE MAIN THING IS, THERE'S STUFF YOU CAN DO, AND I'VE BEEN -- YOU KNOW HOW I LOOK AT IT? IT'S LIKE A PUZZLE TO BE SOLVED. WHAT DO I HAVE TO ADAPT TO TO CARRY ON A NORMAL LIFE? AND I'M -- THAT'S A GOOD WAY TO LOOK AT IT. I ENJOY SOLVING PUZZLES. IT'S REALLY FUN. YEAH. WELL, YOU HAVE A REMARKABLY OPTIMISTIC CAN-DO ATTITUDE ABOUT A DISEASE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SCARED ABOUT, BUT ALSO ANGRY WHEN THEY HAVE THESE DIAGNOSES. THAT'S TRUE. BUT YOUR STAFF SAYS YOU HAVE DISPLAYED NO SIGNS OF ANGER -- I'M GLAD TO HEAR FROM MY STAFF, THAT THEY SAY THAT. NO, THAT'S ENCOURAGING BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW HOW YOU LOOK FROM THE OUTSIDE. BUT REALLY -- BUT I'M NOT ANGRY. HOW ARE YOU NOT ANGRY? BECAUSE IT'S A CHALLENGE, YOU KNOW? YOU'VE GOT TO CROSS THE STREET. THERE ARE CARS COMING. HOW DO YOU GET ACROSS THE STRE STREET? YOU DON'T JUST SIT ON THE PAVEMENT AND SAY, WELL, I GUESS I'LL NEVER CROSS THE STREET AGAIN. YOU FIND A WAY TO DO IT. PEOPLE HAVE ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT THINGS. PEOPLE DON'T LIKE THAT THEY'RE SHORTER THAN OTHER PEOPLE. YOU CAN'T CHANGE THAT. SO, IF THEY DON'T ADAPT TO THAT, THEY'RE GOING TO BE UNHAPPY. SO, I MEAN, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE REALLY SEVERE SYMPTOMS THAT THEY HAVE TO FACE, AND THAT'S DIFFICULT. IT'S NOT SO DIFFICULT TO SAY, OH, LOOK, I GOT A LITTLE BIT OF A SHAKE. SO, YOU'VE GOT A SHAKE. WHAT'S INTERESTING, TOO, IS YOUR ALAN ALDA CENTER ESSENTIALLY HELPS SCIENTISTS COMMUNICATE COMPLEX TOPICS IN SIMPLE TERMS. AND INCLUDING DOCTORS AND NURSES. YES. HELPING THEM COMMUNICATE WITH PATIENTS. SO, IT WOULD BE KIND OF IRONIC IF I KEPT QUIET ABOUT THIS. RIGHT. WHEN A CENTER FOR COMMUNICATING SCIENCE IS NAMED AFTER ME. BUT I THINK -- BECAUSE I'M SORT OF WELL KNOWN, IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO PEOPLE TO HEAR THE MESSAGE THAT THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN DO. YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT THINGS AND NOT FOLLOW QUACKERY, BUT FIND OUT WHAT REAL SCIENCE IS COMING UP WITH. THAT HELPS. IT HELPS TO KEEP MOVING. YEAH. IT HELPS TO MOVE RHYTHMICALLY. EXERCISE, YEAH. IF THERE'S BEEN ANYTHING PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING ABOUT THIS SO FAR FOR YOU, WHAT HAS IT BEEN? YOU KNOW, I THINK MY SAYING SOMETHING ABOUT IT PUBLICLY TODAY IS GOING TO MAKE ONE THING A LITTLE EASIER. I'M NOT GOING TO WORRY. WHILE I'M TRYING TO SAY SOMETHING ELSE, I'M NOT GOING TO BE THINKING, IS MY THUMB ON A LIFE OF ITS OWN. RIGHT. YOU KNOW? THAT'S JUST ONE OF THE REALITIES OF MY LIFE. BUT I ACTED IN MOVIES SINCE -- IT'S 3 1/2 YEARS SINCE I HAD THE DIAGNOSIS, AND IT HASN'T STOPPED MY LIFE AT ALL. I'VE HAD A RICHER LIFE THAN I'VE HAD UP UNTIL NOW. WELL, YOU ARE NOT JUST SURVIVING THIS, YOU ARE THRIVING. THERE ARE 1 MILLION AMERICANS THAT HAVE PARKINSON'S DISEASE. IS IT UP TO A MILLION NOW? NO KIDDING. SO, I'LL JOIN THE FRATERNITY. I HOPE EVERYBODY STILL CAN DO SOMETHING, GETS BUSY DOING THINGS. I'M GOING TO COVER IT ON THE PODCAST, IN MY NEW PODCAST. TUNE IN.
