# How well-known is Terry Fox outside of Canada? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 16, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917 "2012-09-16T22:24:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/21 "2012-09-17T03:03:13Z")
USAian, 40 years old. I remember Terry Fox vividly, I think because there was a “That’s Incredible!” episode about his run. I hadn’t thought about him for years until I saw the 30 for 30 documentary - very well done. Terrifically courageous guy. I’m determined to run a half- or whole marathon at some point. If Terry could run thousands of miles on a prosthetic leg, I can run 13.1 or 26.2 on two. I suppose the other reason why Terry was so memorable to me was that my biggest fear as a kid was contracting cancer and losing a leg, and her was Terry experiencing precisely that, and he wasn’t enveloped in self-pity. Pretty eye opening. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/22 "2012-09-17T03:04:40Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I’m from the U.S. shore of Lake Erie, 53 years old, and I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re all talking about. Really? You aren’t even able to figure out that he’s talking about a person?? ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/23 "2012-09-17T03:08:03Z")
I’m from the UK, 40 years old, had never heard of him. I did look him up after I answered the poll, and his story is remarkable. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/24 "2012-09-17T03:08:53Z")
American, soon to be 40, lived pretty much all my life in South Florida. I had to look him up. I wasn’t even aware of the story. And I’m considered fairly well informed amongst my friends. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/25 "2012-09-17T03:21:02Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > This is how much I know about Canada: > > Trees, mountains, bears, Quebec, Vancouver, Toronto, Newfoundland, First Nations, poutine. > > The end. Or as Elton John once said “the only things I know about Canada are hockey and Anne Murray”. 37, U.S. I know who he is and why he’s famous, but that’s mainly because I used to watch a lot of CBC as a kid (our cable system didn’t have that many choices) and would hear about him every once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/26 "2012-09-17T03:32:54Z")
I’m an Aussie and knew who you meant when I read the thread title. I am surprised at how much I know about his story. I even had a clear mental image of him running. I assume it came from a movie about him or a book or article I had read. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/27 "2012-09-17T04:13:57Z")
The name means nothing to me and I voted for the ‘Who?’ option. But looking him up, I do vaguely recall him. We had a subscription to Time Magazine in the late 70s/early 80s, and I seem to remember he got a bit of coverage in that. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/28 "2012-09-17T04:34:38Z")
American, mid 40s. There were lots of newspaper and magazine stories about him at the time. I remember him well. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/29 "2012-09-17T04:55:41Z")
I voted “Who?”, but I’m only in my 30s (and American), so he might have been slightly before my time. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/30 "2012-09-17T05:02:32Z")
> [@Win\_Place\_Show](#): > > US, early 40’s.. I actually remember that “HBO Original Movie” about him (Robert Duvall was one of the principal players in it) - that was one of my favorite movies as a kid. This was exactly my thought. If you had HBO in the 80s, you’ve probably heard of him. The movie was in heavy rotation for about 6 years. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/31 "2012-09-17T07:15:42Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > The name means nothing to me and I voted for the ‘Who?’ option. But looking him up, I do vaguely recall him. We had a subscription to Time Magazine in the late 70s/early 80s, and I seem to remember he got a bit of coverage in that. Pretty much the same for me, except I’m not that old. But I do remember seeing some stuff about the guy. Or, at least, someone who looked like him. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/32 "2012-09-17T08:29:10Z")
UK, mid30s, never heard of him. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/33 "2012-09-17T08:40:49Z")
I’ve heard of him, but only because I was living in Canada when he did his run. Of course I was about two at the time and wouldn’t recognize his name if I hadn’t looked him up recently. It’s kind of amazing that I have such a clear memory of my mother telling me about him and seeing him on the television, given that I was born in 1977. I think we moved to the US in 1981. (I was born in Edinburgh, but we moved to Canada when I was ten months old. I grew up entirely in the US.) Reading the thread, I suppose it’s possible that my memories are actually from seeing something on TV like that movie as a child after we moved, but I’m pretty sure I remember seeing him on TV when he was actually running. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/34 "2012-09-17T09:06:17Z")
\*\*Dr Drake \*\* [Required Reading as a Canadian (recovering American) and a Vancouverite](http://www.amazon.ca/Terry-Douglas-Coupland/dp/1553651138). There will be a quiz, and feel free to interupt me while I mark it. Actually, for anyone interested this is an awesome book, brings things home through words and pictures that the other novelizations and biographies didn’t, at least for me. It is written by North Vancouver author Douglas Coupland. I’m 43, I was in Grade 6 when his run ended in my home town. I didn’t vote in the poll cause I’m from Canada, eh? but most of us kids were crying on and off the day after he collapsed outside of Thunder Bay. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/35 "2012-09-17T09:55:58Z")
Late 40s, Irish. I’ve heard of him, I saw a movie about him years and years ago on TV. When I was in Vancouver I took photos of the arch that’s dedicated to him and saw the display in the hall of fame. Got very choked up looking at it. When I was showing people the photos, no one had a clue who he was. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/36 "2012-09-17T11:57:10Z")
[NBC in the US is apparently a little fuzzy on who he was.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1M23YN-rQA) They did a little thing about him, then put up a picture of Michael J Fox. Hey, they are both Canadian. I am familiar with his story. I am a long time runner and most runners of that era were familiar with the story. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/37 "2012-09-17T12:04:44Z")
On Google I had to type all the way to Terry F… before Google brought up his name. And even then he was the fifth one down the list. Peope who beat him were: Terry Fator Terry Francona Terry funk (I wanna know who Terry Funk is.) Terry Farrell ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/38 "2012-09-17T12:27:57Z")
US, mid-50s, never heard of him. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/39 "2012-09-17T12:41:28Z")
American, 56. If he’s the one-legged running guy, then I have heard of him. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917/40 "2012-09-17T12:42:55Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > US, 42 hrs old. Very famous. I think most Americans who are unaware if him, are so because of their age (too young), not because of their not being Canadian. (In other words, his fame as a household name was rather fleeting, at least in the US.) It’s hard to imagine what you consider “too young” if you yourself are 42 hrs old. 🙂 I’m 44 **yrs** old, and, while it’s possible I heard of him, I don’t remember doing so. (Thus, my “Who?” vote.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-well-known-is-terry-fox-outside-of-canada/634917.md?page=3)