‘Back to the Future Part II’ hoverboard prop sells for over $200,000 at Dallas auction
A screen-used hoverboard prop from “Back to the Future Part II” sold for over $200,000 at a recent auction.
Dallas-based Heritage Auctions put up the prop that sold for $237,500 on Saturday, Dec. 7. The prop was used in “Back to the Future Part II” by star Michael J. Fox and his stunt double, Charlie Croughwell.
In fact, Croughwell has owned the prop since the film wrapped production in 1989. On the last day of production, Croughwell asked “Back to the Future” writer Bob Gale if he could keep the prop and was given the go-ahead.
After sitting on his shelf for over 30 years, Croughwell decided it was finally time to auction off the prop. Half of the auction proceeds will be donated to Fox’s Parkinson’s disease foundation.
“There’s millions of people in the world that have Parkinson’s disease and it is a horrible thing to watch a friend get that,” Croughwell told the Star-Telegram.
Croughwell began his stunt career in the early 1980s and met Fox on the set of “Back to the Future.”
Back then there weren’t a whole lot of stuntmen who were around Fox’s 5-foot-4 height, so Croughwell was in business. His first stunt on the 1985 sci-fi classic was running over the top of Biff Tannen’s (Thomas F. Wilson) car.
After “Back to the Future,” Croughwell continued as Fox’s stunt double for the next 16 years.
Around the early 2000s, Fox stepped back from action-heavy roles because of his battle with Parkinson’s. Croughwell continued in the business and eventually transitioned into stunt coordinating, most recently working on Ron Howard’s 2022 film “Thirteen Lives.”
After all these years, Croughwell said he and Fox remain close friends.
Fox is aware of the auction and has thanked Croughwell for what he’s doing. At the end of the day, Croughwell said he’s just happy to help his friend.
“It really hurts to to see what [Fox’s] going through,” Croughwell said. “I just thought that if there’s nothing else I can do, then this is what I need to do.”
