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Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Canadian actor Michael J. Fox leads ‘Back to the Future' cast in search for lost Gibson guitar from film
If only Michael J. Fox could go back in time to 1985 and get his hands on the iconic guitar he used in the 'Back to the Future' movie. He's not really a time traveller, but he's hoping to luck out in tracking down the classic Cherry Red Gibson ES-345 guitar from the film that launched two sequels. It's been missing for 40 years, and some of the cast and crew has reunited for a hunt to find it. The guitar was used in a memorable scene from the film. Fox's character Marty McFly, who has travelled back in time to 1955, is asked to step in for an injured band member at the 1955 school prom. McFly picks up the guitar and starts playing. First, he strums to 'Earth Angel' by The Penguins, and then goes into a solo riff from Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode,' calling it an oldie where he comes from, even though the 1958 song doesn't exist yet. Gibson Guitars has teamed up with filmmaker Doc Crotzer to launch the search for the missing guitar, which is part of a broader project marking the movie's 40th anniversary. And the search is being turned into a documentary, with comments from Fox, who is a guitar collector. 'No one's seen that guitar since 1985,' actor Harry Waters Jr., who played Starlighters band guitarist Marvin Berry, said in a new 'Lost to the Future' promo. 'It's somewhere lost in the space-time continuum, or it's in some teamster's garage,' Fox said. There is even a website, with an 800-number for tips. When it comes to guitars in movies, no guitar was more iconic or more influential than the Cherry Red Gibson ES-345 used by Marty McFly to play 'Johnny B Goode' in the movie Back to the Future. That scene has been cited by countless artists as the moment they knew they wanted to play guitar. One problem: the guitar has been missing since 1985, and no one knows its whereabouts. A countdown clock on the website is ticking down to four-and-a-half months from now, but there's no information about what happens at the end, or what the reward may be if the guitar is found. Anyone with information about the guitar can leave a message at 1-855-345-1955 or send a message via . The now iconic guitar is said to have inspired a generation of musicians — from celebrities like Chris Martin of Coldplay to garage band guitarists. But the guitar was nothing but a prop at the time, rented from Norman's Rare Guitars in California, a story in said . Strangely enough, even though the film is set in 1955, the filmmakers weren't exactly true to the time frame, and took some liberties in using that guitar. That Gibson ES-345 model was not in production until 1958, and didn't appear in that cherry red colour until 1959, said. Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode' song did was released in 1958, so that aligns with the movie's narrative — but he doesn't have a cousin named Marvin. Staff from Norm's guitar store believe the guitar was sold sometime after the movie, then returned to be resold again — but there's no firm paperwork on where it ended up. They believe it may be in Japan, as guitar aficionado tourists were visiting the area during a vintage guitar boom, Billboard said. A Canadian, Fox will appear in Toronto later this summer for FanExpo Aug. 22 and 23, to sign autographs for $300 each, or $349 for a signed comic book, licence plate, movie poster and other memorabilia. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
UPI
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Watch: Michael J. Fox joins search for 'Back to the Future' guitar
June 3 (UPI) -- Gibson announced the start of production on the documentary Lost to the Future on Tuesday. The guitar company is searching for a prop from the 1985 film Back to the Future. Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Harry Waters, Jr., screenwriter Bob Gale and more are featured in a video asking fans for any tips to locating the instrument. Singer Huey Lewis even interrupts Fox to say, "You're just too darn loud," his line from his cameo in the film. In the film, Fox played Marty McFly, a 1985 teenager who accidentally travels back to 1955 in Doc Brown's (Lloyd) time machine. While helping his parents (Thompson and Crispin Glover) fall in love at a school dance, he plays a cherry red Gibson ES-345. The guitar is featured in scenes in which Marty plays "Earth Angel" and "Johnny B. Goode" with the band. By 1989 when making Back to the Future Part II, the filmmakers could not find the original guitar from the first film. Gibson has set up a website, and the tip line 1-855-345-1955. 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the original film, which opened July 3, 1985.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Guitar Michael J. Fox Played In ‘Back to the Future' Is Missing — And They're Making A Movie About the Search For It
The hunt is on for an iconic but missing artifact from Robert Zemeckis' classic 1985 film Back to the Future. Gibson Guitars and Universal Home Entertainment, in conjunction with filmmaker Doc Crotzer, have launched Lost to the Future, a search for the Gibson ES-345 Cherry Red guitar that Michael J. Fox, as Marty McFly, played in the beloved film. As fans well know, Fox picked up the guitar during the movie's Enchantment Under the Sea high school dance, where he performed the Penguins' 'Earth Angel' and then shredded Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode.' More from Billboard The 100 Most Iconic Guitars of All Time: Complete List Revealed Kneecap Announce Massive Wembley Arena Headline Show Drake & PARTYNEXTDOOR Announce '$ome $pecial $hows 4 U.K.' Tour Dates The guitar, which was rented as a prop from Norm's Rare Guitars in Tarzana, Calif., has been missing for several decades. Now Gibson and Crotzer (Road House, Shotgun Wedding, Glee) have begun a 'true crime search' for the instrument, and the filmmaker is planning to make a documentary about the endeavor. 'Back to the Future made me want to make movies as a kid, and made me want to pick up a guitar,' Crotzer tells Billboard. 'I'm a guitar player but I'm just a hobbyist; I went on with my (filmmaking) career, but I had always wondered what happened to that guitar. Over the last however many years so many props from the movie have surfaced…but (the guitar) had never surfaced.' Gibson's director of brand experience Mark Agnesi, who previously worked at Norm's Rare Guitars before joining Gibson, also cites the 'Johnny B. Goode' scene as one of his inspirations to play. 'I've been searching for this thing for 16 years now,' he says. 'I started searching everywhere. Norm's has this big warehouse of guitars and occasionally I'd go in and look for certain things, and every time I'm in there I was always looking around for (the Back to the Future guitar), but to no avail.' They aren't the only ones who were inspired by the scene, of course. When Fox joined Coldplay at last year's Glastonbury Festival in England, frontman Chris Martin told the crowd that, 'The main reason why we're in a band is because of watching Back to the Future,' adding that Fox is 'our hero forever and one of the most amazing people on Earth.' In a new video announcing the Lost to the Future project, John Mayer notes that the scene 'was a big Rocky moment for a lot of kids,' while Jason Isbell explains 'that's the most iconic guitar from a movie. I don't think anything else comes close…That was a huge deal for me. The world needs to see that guitar.' Those with leads about the guitar's whereabouts are asked to call 1-888-345-1955 or send a message via The trail for the guitar is indeed cold. It was apparently sold, then sold back to Norm's and then presumably resold again. 'Back then there was no digital record of that stuff; it was all hand-written receipts and stuff,' Gibson's Agnesi says. 'We know it was returned to Norm's. At that time in the mid '80s there was a Japanese vintage guitar boom; charter buses of Japanese tourists were pulling up and buying everything in sight. So it could be someone has it in Japan. We don't know. The possibilities of where it could be are endless.' The guitar's serial number is not known, but there is a unique tell that will allow it to be authenticated, according to Agnesi; the inlay on its 12th fret is solid, not split like the others on the neck, which was standard for the ES-345 at the time. 'That anomaly is the smoking gun we're looking for, thank God,' Agnesi says. 'That will not be on any other guitar. Either someone custom-ordered it that way or it would be marked a factory second on the back of the head stock. That's how we'll know we've found the guitar we're looking for.' Filmmaker Crotzer adds that the tell is 'the most amazing coincidence. I personally believe it's like some higher power giving us the opportunity to find the thing.' An irony is that while Back to the Future is set in 1955, the ES-345 was not yet in production in 1958, and not made in cherry red until the following year. 'Norm has publicly said he knew that guitar was wrong for the era,' Agnesi notes, adding that in '55 Berry was playing a Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster. But the filmmakers, he says, wanted something slimmer and more streamlined. 'They wanted that Chuck Berry 345 look even though it wasn't the right guitar for the time period,' Agnesi says. 'They were willing to take some small liberties and have fun in the movie with it. If not for that guitar, the scene might not have been as impactful.' It also dovetails with the fact that 'Johnny B. Goode' wasn't released until 1958 — adding to Marty McFly's future prognostication that, 'I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet, but your kids are gonna love it.' Charles Berry says that his father was not bothered by those historical inaccuracies, however. 'Dad was fairly laid back when it came to stuff like that,' he says, adding that the family didn't know about the 'Johnny B. Goode' scene 'until maybe a month or two before. It's just like (the 1987 documentary) Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll; he said, 'Oh yeah, by the way, they want to make this movie about me.' (Back to the Future) was the same type of thing; he comes to the house and says, 'Yeah, there's this movie coming out, in one of the scenes this kid's playing 'Johnny B. Goode.' 'Really?!' Seeing the film, the younger Berry — who owns some of his father's old guitars and administrates the loan or donation of others to museums — says, 'We got a kick out of it. It's a very good movie, a nice wholesome movie. Michael J. Fox did a really cool job. It may not be exactly the right guitar, but we'll take it.' The scene famously ends with one of the band members, ostensibly Berry's cousin Marvin, calling the rock n' roll pioneer and holding the phone up to hear what's being played on stage. 'Besides, 'What's it like to be Chuck Berry's son?,' after '85 the most-asked question I get is, 'Does your dad really have a cousin Marvin?'' says Charles Berry with a laugh. 'No, it was just in the movie.' The video announcing the search also features Back to the Future co-screenwriter Bob Gale, co-stars Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd, and Huey Lewis, who had an uncredited bit part and, with his band the News, scored a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit with 'The Power of Love' from the soundtrack. 'Back to the Future, it keeps growing; it's like a Wizard of Oz for a new generation,' says Lewis, adding that, 'it's fascinating (the guitar) has not turned up. It's a very distinctive one. Whoever has this guitar must not have heard that they're searching for it yet. Once the word is out, if you've got a 345, you're going to look and see if that's the one.' The search is part of a number of Gibson initiatives related to the film and the guitar's legacy in it. An episode of Gibson TV: The Collection that premieres in October features Fox talking about his own history of guitar playing and his collection of 40-some instruments. The same month, Gibson and Epiphone will release new custom models of the ES-345 as well as Back to the Future-themed apparel, and Gibson Gives will announce a partnership with the Michael J. Fox Foundation. 'I just wanted to be a rock n' roll guitarist,' Fox says in The Collection. 'That's all I wanted to do. I became an actor instead of a guitarist…It's always been a passion of mine, rock n' roll — especially the guitar.' He adds that the ES-345 in the film 'was such a good guitar. It's like Excalibur…. Being 23 years old and that scene, I was having the f–king best time. But I didn't realize the influence it had on people. It's just expressing my love for the guitar and all the great players.' Crotzer says all of that will be part of the Lost to the Future documentary. A happy ending is hoped for, but Crotzer is also out to tell the greater story surrounding it. 'We've realized (the story) is bigger than we thought,' he says. 'The through-line is the true crime search for this guitar, but the emotional core of it is tracking how it inspired a generation of kids, whether they went on to become Chris Martin or went off to do completely other things. There's a collective experience here that we really want to capture.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
