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Michael J. Fox’s ‘Back to the Future’ Guitar Has Been Missing For Decades – and a New Documentary is Hunting It Down

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The Guitar Michael J. Fox Played In ‘Back to the Future’ Is Missing — And They’re Making A Movie About the Search For It

By Gary Graff
06/3/2025

The hunt is on for an iconic but missing artifact from Robert Zemeckis’ classic 1985 film Back to the Future.

Gibson Guitars, 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.”

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.

…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.” John Mayer and Jason Isbell have also acknowledged the film’s inspiration and will be featured in the documentary.

Those with leads about the guitar’s whereabouts are asked to call 1-855-345-1955 or send a message via www.LostToTheFuture.com.

The trail for the guitar is indeed cold. It was apparently sold, then sold back to Norm’s and then presumably resold again.  …

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.” …

Michael J. Fox’s ‘Back to the Future’ guitar has been missing for decades — and a new doc is hunting it down

By Chuck Arnold
Published June 3, 2025

…Michael J. Fox famously rocked out on guitar to Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” in an iconic scene from “Back to the Future.”

But now it’s more like “Johnny B. Gone”: The instrument Fox’s Marty McFly played at the Enchantment Under the Sea high school dance has been missing for nearly 40 years.

Now, as the 1985 blockbuster turns 40 on July 3, the search for the cherry red Gibson ES-345 guitar is being tracked in an upcoming documentary, “Lost to the Future.”

Gibson Guitars, Universal Home Entertainment and filmmaker Doc Crotzer have teamed up for the search for the long-lost axe.

The hunt was launched on Tuesday with a video featuring Fox and his “fellow “Back to the Future” cast members including Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Harry Waters Jr. and Huey Lewis.

Continue reading “Michael J. Fox’s ‘Back to the Future’ Guitar Has Been Missing For Decades – and a New Documentary is Hunting It Down”