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This page has character biographies on some of the minor recurring characters from the Back to the Future trilogy who are not members of the McFly family.
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Mr. Strickland
Mr. Strickland is a strict authoritarian with a strong disdain for slackers (particularly those of the McFly family). In this respect, he takes after his ancestor, Chief Marshal James Strickland of Hill Valley 1885 (as featured in Back to the Future Part III) who was constantly at odds with local outlaw Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen. He is played by actor James Tolkan.
Strickland works at Hill Valley High School in both 1955 and 1985. His first name is unclear - the novel for the first film refers to him as "Gerald," but his office door in Part II says "S S Strickland" (the initials might refer to his title "school superintendent," or even to series executive producer Steven Spielberg). He thinks that Doc Brown is a "nutcase" and does not want his students hanging around with Doc — this suggests that Strickland and Doc may have met in the past. His bald head emphasizes his strict persona (when Marty first sees him in 1955, he comments "That's Strickland. Didn't he ever have any hair?"). The novelization of the first film suggests that Doc is well-known in Hill Valley, having come from a formerly-rich family and his predictions being printed in the local newspaper, to the disapproval of the populace.
Back to the Future
Strickland is first seen in 1985 when he catches Marty and Jennifer sneaking into school late. After finding out this is because Marty was at Doc's house, he warns Marty not to hang around with Doc before noting that Marty's band, the Pinheads, are auditioning for the dance that evening. Strickland informs Marty not to waste his time, telling him that "no McFly has ever amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley." Marty then truthfully replies, "Yeah? Well, history's going to change," though he himself does not yet fully know of this yet, as well as knowing neither how it will be changed nor the role he will play in the changing of the history.
| Mr. Strickland | |
|---|---|
| Back to the Future character | |
| Portrayed by | James Tolkan |
In 1955, Strickland is just the same as he will be in 1985 - except with a blond tonsure of hair. Strickland was chaperone at the "Enchantment Under The Sea" dance, where he was not impressed with Marty's music. A scene deleted from the movie shows Strickland finding George McFly trapped in a telephone booth by bullies, but he does not let George out, instead telling him, "you see what happens to slackers?" He keeps George in there as a lesson.
Back to the Future: Part II
In 1985A, Marty was mistakenly identified as the person responsible for stealing Strickland’s newspapers (although correctly identified as a slacker, a judgement reinforced by Marty’s own admission) and threatened with castration by shotgun. Strickland wore a bulletproof vest and has a scar on his face. Fortunately, at least for Marty, Strickland was promptly engaged in a firefight with a gang of 'gun-toting slackers,' during which Marty made his escape.
When Doc and Marty go back to 1955 to restore history by taking the sports almanac away from Biff Tannen, Strickland confiscates what Marty believes to be the almanac from Biff and labeled Biff a slacker. Shortly after, Strickland unknowingly trapped the hand of his future pupil between his chair and desk as Marty attempted to re-acquire Gray's Sports Almanac. Strickland throws the magazine in the trash, and soon afterwards Marty discovers that it was not the almanac, but a risque girlie magazine instead.
Back to the Future: The Animated Series
Mr. Strickland does make a cameo in one episode, "Marty McFly, PFC," where it is revealed he was in the Army in the 1940s (which explains why he was so combative in 1985A in Part II). He is not identified by name, but it is his use of the word "slacker" that gives him away. In the "present" (1991 - 1992), it is revealed that he is now Dean of Hill Valley College.
James Strickland
| James Strickland | |
|---|---|
| Back to the Future character | |
| Portrayed by | James Tolkan |
| Information | |
| Occupation | Chief Marshal |
James Strickland was the chief marshal of Hill Valley in 1885 and the grandfather of Mr. Strickland, Hill Valley High School principal in the 20th century. Along with his unnamed son (presumably the father of Mr. Strickland), the Marshal was first seen attending the festival that celebrated the clock tower being constructed.
His first name was not mentioned in the film, but was mentioned in the novel. It may be a reference to actor James Tolkan, who plays both the Marshal and Mr. Strickland. The Marshall was given a full head of hair to make up for Mr. Strickland (and Tolkan himself) being bald, according to Bob Gale in the DVD commentary and has a very similar appearance to Wild Bill Hickok.
Back to the Future: Part III
The Marshal and his deputy made sure that no one went to the September 5, 1885 town festival armed, although Strickland misses a small Derringer pistol hidden underneath the hat of Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen. Tannen snidely tells the Marshal that he ought to smile since it was a party, but the stoic lawman simply replies he would only smile when he saw Tannen hanged. After Tannen and his men leave, Strickland turns to his son and tells him to always remember to value discipline above all else. Later, at the party, Strickland shows up armed with a rifle during a tense moment between Tannen and "Clint Eastwood," breaking up the confrontation and getting the party back on track.
A deleted scene, which remained in the novel of the film, had Tannen and his men encountering Marshal Strickland and his son while en route to the duel with "Eastwood," and Strickland attempted to bar the outlaw's way. In the confrontation, Tannen disarms Strickland with a quickdraw of his pistol. Tannen warns him to stand aside unless he wanted his son to see him die. Weaponless, Strickland complied, but was then shot anyway by Tannen who rode off with his gang. As he lay dying, Strickland told his distraught son once more, "Remember that word, son. Discipline." The scene was deleted because it was deemed as too depressing and it mandated that Marty kill Buford at the gun fight, which was something the writers did not want to pursue for fear that it would destroy the entire future Tannen family. This explains why it is Strickland's deputy who arrests Tannen later and not Strickland himself (as originally filmed, the deputy arrested Tannen for the murder of Marshal Strickland, but in the finished film, the deputy arrested him for robbing the Pine City Stagecoach). As the scene was deleted from the film, the canonicity of Strickland's death is unclear.
Match, Skinhead, and 3-D
| Match, Skinhead, 3-D | |
|---|---|
| Back to the Future character | |
 Left to right: 3-D, Match and Skinhead waiting for their chance to knock out Marty |
|
| Portrayed by | Match: Billy Zane Skinhead: J. J. Cohen 3-D: Casey Siemaszko |
Match, Skinhead and 3-D are the three high school boys who make up Biff Tannen's gang in 1955. Their nicknames are only given in the films' novels, screenplays, and credits. Only one of their real names is mentioned in the movies - Biff refers to Skinhead as Joey in one of the 1955 scenes in Back to the Future Part II, while outside of the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance.
Each gets his nickname from a distinctive character trait. "Match" often has a match sticking out of his mouth; "Skinhead" has very short, close-cropped hair; "3-D" is always wearing a pair of 3-D glasses (a reference to the 3-D movies that were popular in the 1950s).
They seem just as mean-spirited as Biff but seem content to let Biff boss them around (perhaps because he is the only one of them with a car). They are played by Billy Zane (Match) (this was Zane's first film role), Jeffrey Jay Cohen (Skinhead), & Casey Siemaszko (3-D).
Back to the Future
When Biff shows up to bully George McFly about doing his homework at Lou's Cafe, the three are with Biff. They are also present when Biff nearly starts a fight with George's son, Marty McFly from 1985 (who passes himself off as a new student named Calvin Klein), and then later when Marty does manage to start a fight with Biff at Lou's Cafe. After punching Biff, Marty runs outside, knocking Match, Skinhead, and 3-D down on the way. When Marty tries to escape on a make-shift skateboard, the gang chases after him in Biff's car. A brief chase ensues, ending with Biff's car crashing into a manure truck, causing the car and the bullies to end up covered in manure.
The three are with Biff at the "Enchantment Under the Sea dance" to get back at Marty, who had brought Lorraine Baines as a "date." While Biff tried to have his way with Lorraine, he tells them to take Marty around back so he could deal with him later. The three carry Marty over to a car and lock him in the trunk. Unfortunately for them, the car happens to belong to the band playing at the dance: Marvin Berry and the Starlighters, who promptly chase the bullies off and free Marty.
Back to the Future: Part II
The gang still work for Biff in 1985A, apparently serving as his security (this is the only timeline in which they are seen after 1955). The three knock out Marty when they find him out in front of Biff's hotel, and take him upstairs. They later chase Marty through the hotel after he confronts Biff about the almanac, though Marty manages to lose them. In this timeline, Match still has a match in his mouth in addition to wearing a cowboy hat, while 3-D trades his 3-D glasses for a pair of tacky novelty sunglasses albeit with red and blue lenses, similar to 3-D glasses.
The younger Match, Skinhead, and 3-D also manage to cause trouble for Marty when he returns to 1955 to get the almanac back and restore the timeline. After Marty manages to take the almanac off of Biff at the dance, the bullies chase him through the school. Although Marty loses them, the bullies spot Marty's "other" self performing onstage at the dance. They correctly assume it's the same person (though they wonder how he managed to change clothes so fast), and they get ready to jump him when he gets offstage. To protect his other self, Marty climbs up into the rafters and drops a set of sandbags on them, knocking them out.
They do not appear in Part III (Buford Tannen has his own set of cronies in 1885, as does Griff in 2015) or the ride, although J. J. Cohen would play one of Needles' gang at the end of Part III.
Goldie Wilson
| Goldie Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Back to the Future character | |
| Portrayed by | Donald Fullilove |
Goldie Wilson is a young black man working at Lou's Cafe in 1955 who goes on to become Mayor of Hill Valley in the 1980s. He is played by Donald Fullilove. A campaign poster shows the name "Goldie" in quotation marks, suggesting "Goldie" is a nickname, presumably in reference to his gold tooth, but in fact, the nickname was initially applied by Steven Spielberg to his boss, whose haircut was considered feminine (his hair curled out) at the time.
Back to the Future
Goldie works at Lou's Cafe in 1955. Despite his humble background, he is an ambitious and confident young man who hopes to go to night school and makes something of himself. When he sees young George McFly being bullied by Biff Tannen and his gang, he tells George to have some respect for himself and not let people push him around. He tells George of his own plans to be somebody someday. George's son, Marty McFly who has traveled back from 1985, recognized Goldie and adds that Goldie will be mayor, unwittingly inspiring Goldie to run for mayor. Though Goldie's employer, Mr. Lou Caruthers, scoffed at the idea of "a colored mayor," Goldie vows to become mayor and to clean up the town (to which Caruthers jokingly replied with "Good, you can start by sweeping the floor.")
Goldie's ambition would pay off as he would be mayor in the 1980s, and would seek re-election in 1985. A campaign van was seen advertising the following recorded message:
- "Re-elect Mayor Goldie Wilson. Progress is his middle name. Mayor Goldie Wilson's progress platform means more jobs, better education, bigger civic improvements, and lower taxes. On election day, cast your vote for a proven leader. Re-elect Mayor Goldie Wilson..."
Coincidentally, this is the exact same campaign message conveyed by his predecessor, Mayor "Red" Thomas, who was running for re-election in 1955.
Fans have theorized that Goldie's vows to clean up the town would translate into attempting to reverse the urban decay prevalent in downtown Hill Valley by 1985, and full-blown in 1985-A. His efforts are apparently successful as the city center has been restored to prosperity by 2015.
Not all his efforts are appreciated, however. The Hill Valley Preservation Society opposed his sponsoring an initiative to replace the clock tower, which had not run since being struck by lightning in 1955. They were successful in preserving it until at least 2015.
Back to the Future: Part II
Goldie does not appear in Part II, Part III, or the ride; though in Part II, we learn Goldie's son, Goldie Wilson II, followed in his father's footsteps and became mayor of Hill Valley by 2015. His grandson, Goldie Wilson III (also played by Donald Fullilove), followed a different path, opening a chain of businesses providing hover-conversions for old road cars. Goldie III appeared in his own commercials and was not above name-dropping, specifically mentioning his grandfather's history as mayor.
Douglas J. Needles
| Needles | |
|---|---|
| Back to the Future character | |
| Portrayed by | Flea |
Douglas J. Needles (typically referred to as 'Needles') is an acquaintance of Marty McFly and his girlfriend, Jennifer Parker, though likely not a friend. Unlike Biff Tannen, who typically bullied Marty's father into getting what he wanted, Needles appears more of a rival to Marty who can goad Marty into doing foolish things by calling him "chicken." He is played by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Back to the Future: Part II
Needles is indirectly responsible for ruining Marty's life by talking him into racing their trucks. Marty ends up crashing into a Rolls-Royce which speeds onto the main road by ignoring a stop sign. The Rolls-Royce driver ends up pressing charges against Marty, who breaks his hand in the accident and would later give up on his music. It was not revealed until near the end of Part III, however, that the race had been Needles' idea.
In the 2015 depicted in Part II, Needles and Marty are working together at a plant, with Needles being in a higher position than Marty (similar to George and Biff at the opening of the first film). Needles attempts to convince Marty to join in on an illegal scam to make more money. Marty is hesitant at first, but goes along with it when Needles calls him "chicken." Unfortunately, their boss, Ito Fujitsu, was monitoring the entire transaction and fired Marty on the spot. Whether Needles himself faced any consequences is unknown, and what happens to Needles in future timelines is also unknown, as are the identities of all others who may have collaborated with Needles.
Back to the Future: Part III
Just after Marty's return from 1885 to 1985, Needles (now 17 again) meets up with Marty and Jennifer at the point where he proposed the race. This time, however, Marty learns not to lose his judgment because of name-calling and avoids the race, thereby preventing the accident with the Rolls-Royce and changing the future. What this means for Needles is unclear.
Lou Caruthers
Louis "Lou" Caruthers is the owner of Lou's Cafe in 1955. He is most likely a war veteran as his brass approach to the odd looking Marty McFly seems to indicate. He is played by Norman Alden and only appeared in Back to the Future: Part I.
When Marty McFly enters his cafe, Lou mistakes his vest for a life jacket and asks him, 'Hey kid. What'd you do, jump ship?...Well, what's with the life preserver?' When he barks at Marty to order something and is asked for a Tab, he doesn't know Marty wants a soda since a "tab" is a slang for a bill to Lou. When asked for a Pepsi Free, he tells Marty, "If you want a Pepsi pal, you got to pay for it!"
After Marty sees his father George McFly, Lou's employee Goldie Wilson makes a comment about running for mayor of Hill Valley and Lou replies, "A colored mayor. That'll be the day." This was of course just after the Brown v. Board of Education decision of the Supreme Court of the United States and before the Civil Rights Movement and it was probably not conceivable to most whites for an African American man to get elected to a public office such as mayor. When Goldie vows to be the best mayor Hill Valley has ever seen and "clean up this one-horse town," Lou jokingly replies, "Good, you can start by cleaning up these floors."
George McFly goes into Lou's cafe, ordering chocolate milk just before trying to ask Lorraine to the dance where they were meant to have met. Lou, off screen, slides the drink to George on the bar counter.
Coincidentally, Norman Alden was in a television series western in 1955 called, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. Alden played the character known as Johnny Ringo.
Einstein
| Einstein | |
|---|---|
| Back to the Future character | |
| Portrayed by | Freddie |
| Voiced by | Danny Mann |
| Role | Doc's pet & first time traveler |
| Appeared in | Part I, Part II, Part III, AS, The Ride |
| Information | |
| Occupation | None |
| Original time | 1985 |
| Time traveler | Yes (First) |
| Years visited | 2015 |
Einstein (often known as "Einie") is Doc Brown's pet sheepdog in 1985, and later to the Brown family. His age is unknown, although he is fully grown and is most likely "middle age" for a dog. He is the latest of many of Doc's pet dogs named after famous scientists; in this case, Albert Einstein.
Einstein is Doc's constant companion, and despite being involved in many of Doc's experiments, Doc does care about his pet. According to Back to the Future III, he likes being walked twice a day, and he only likes canned dog food.
Back to the Future
Einstein is introduced at the Twin Pines Mall parking lot, where Doc Brown conducts his first time travel experiment. With Doc controlling the De Lorean time machine via remote, Einstein sitting inside it, and Marty filming, Einstein successfully blasts forward in time by one minute, leaving at 1:20am and arriving at 1:21am on October 26, 1985, therefore becoming the first ever time traveler. As the trip was instaneous from his perspective, Einstein is completely unaware that he time traveled.
Minutes later, Einstein warns Doc that the Libyan terrorists (whom he obtained plutonium to power the time machine from) have arrived at the Mall. As the terrorists murder Doc and chase Marty around the parking lot (until he disappears back to 1955), Einstein stays in the truck, probably scared of the gunfire.
Thus he survives the terrorists and at the end of the movie, after dropping Marty back home, Doc takes Einstein with him into the future. What happens when they are there is partly unknown, but Einstein is left in a suspended animation kennel when Doc heads back to 1985 to pick up Marty (and Jennifer, who happens to be there) to bring them to 2015.
Back to the Future: Part II
Doc retrieves Einstein from the kennels (this line was in fact written to explain why Doc took Einstein with him to 2015 in Part I, but did not bring him back to 1985 at the end of the film). Einstein stays with Doc and Marty for the remainder of their time in 2015 and tracks down Jennifer, who has been taken to her future home by the police. Doc still has Jennifer's purse, which Einstein uses to get her scent.
Mission accomplished, the four head back to 1985, only to find out it is in fact 1985-A. In this reality Doc-A was sent to a mental institution in 1983-A, and it is unknown what happened to the alternate Einstein. His basket is shown in the remains of Doc-A's lab, so an alternative Einstein did exist at some point in this reality.
Einstein (from the unaltered timeline) is left behind when Doc and Marty head back to 1955 to correct history. When the timeline is reverted back to normal, it changes around Einstein, although he would probably be unaware of this.
Back to the Future: Part III
In a letter to Marty, Doc asks his friend to walk Einstein twice a day and that he only likes canned dog food. 1955 Doc asks who his counterpart is referring to and Marty says it is what he calls his dog in 1985. At the end of the movie, Doc returns to 1985 with his wife Clara and sons Jules and Verne. Einstein is with the family right at the end when they depart in the time machine for times unknown.
Back to the Future: The Animated Series
Einstein was a main character in the animated series. He underwent a bit of a transformation, with the cartoon version not looking that much like the film version. Einstein was also a lot smarter and would help Doc with his inventions, due to him being slightly anthropomorphic. The opening credits to Season 1 show that Einstein can drive the steam train time machine by himself. He usually wore a stopwatch around his neck, as he did in the first film.
Jules Brown
Jules Eratosthenes Brown is played in Back to the Future Part III by Todd Cameron Brown and voiced in the animated series by Josh Keaton.
Jules was most likely born in 1886, the elder son of Doc and Clara Brown. His first name is in reference to Jules Verne, the favorite novelist of his parents. His middle name was revealed in Back to the Future: The Animated Series as a reference to Eratosthenes of Cyrene.
Unlike his younger brother, Verne, Jules is very smart for his age and takes after his father in that he will use very long words in his everyday speech. He always calls Marty McFly "Martin." Jules is top of the class at school; however, he is not that popular and only has a few friends. Nevertheless, he is usually quite good-natured, even if he does tease his brother quite a bit. Jules did once let being rich go to his head after he grew a money tree. He appears to have a crush on his classmate Franny Philips and also likes baseball and inventing.
Back to the Future Part III
When Doc and Clara were left behind in 1885 near the end of the film, they had no way of leaving the 19th century since the DeLorean time machine with Marty inside it, had gone back to 1985 where it was destroyed by a train. Doc and Clara married and had their sons Jules in 1886 and Verne in 1888.
Doc knew that he shouldn't be in the past, and neither should his family, since Clara should have died in 1885, and Jules and Verne never existed originally. As such, he manages to build a new time machine out of a steam train and managed to get his family out of the 19th century and back to the 20th century. The family visited 1985 at the end of the film to see Marty and Jennifer, where Jules met them for the first time, before they departed to a time unknown.
Back to the Future: The Animated Series
The animated series reveals that Jules, along with the rest of the family, moved to the 20th century. By 1991, when the series began, Jules was about 10–11 years old (biologically). Played by child actor Josh Keaton.
Jules appeared in most episodes, although the only episode centered around him was "The Money Tree," where he tried to become popular by inventing a money tree. Usually Jules would be with Verne (and sometimes his parents or Marty) in their time travel adventures. He invented a machine that would provide newspaper headlines from any day in history, which he later used to save his parents from a space cruise in 2091 that would end up crashing, and was indirectly involved in almost erasing electricity from existence (after saying to Verne that he was adopted, Verne thought Benjamin Franklin was his father and interfered with the famous kite experiment).
Verne Brown
Verne Newton Brown is played in Back to the Future Part III by Dannel Evans and voiced in the animated series by Troy Davidson.
Verne was born on October 29, 1888, the younger son of Doc and Clara Brown (Clara Clayton). His first name is in reference to Jules Verne, the favorite novelist of his parents. His middle name was revealed in Back to the Future: The Animated Series as a reference to Isaac Newton. He assisted in his own birth via time travel in the episode, "A Verne By Any Other Name".
Verne is usually a quite cheerful young man; however, he dislikes losing and doing chores. He likes video games and watching television. He is almost always seen wearing a raccoon skin cap like Davy Crockett, even when swimming. Unlike older brother Jules, Verne appears to be quite popular at school and has many friends, including Marty McFly. He also acts his age, unlike Jules, who acts at least 10 years older. At one point, he believed that he was adopted, due to not being as intelligent as the rest of the family. However, this turned out to simply be due to Jules teasing him. His favorite insult is "skunkhead", mostly to Jules (ironic since it is Verne who wears a raccoon skin cap on his head).
Back to the Future Part III
When Doc and Clara were left behind in 1885 near the end of the film, they had no way of leaving the 19th century since the DeLorean time machine, with Marty inside it, had gone back to 1985 where it was destroyed by a train (Marty managed to escape in time). Doc and Clara married, and had their sons Jules in 1886 and Verne in 1888.
Doc knew that he should not be in the past, and neither should his family, since Clara should have died in 1885 and Jules and Verne never existed originally. As such, he managed to build a new time machine out of a steam train and managed to get his family out of the 19th century and back to the 20th century. The family visited 1985 at the end of the film to see Marty and Jennifer, where Verne met them for the first time, before leaving for times unknown.
Back to the Future: The Animated Series
The animated series reveals that Verne, along with the rest of the family, moved to the 20th century. By 1991, when the series began, Verne was about 8 years old (biologically) and settled in very well to the 1990s. A few episodes centered around Verne - he visited the American Civil War after an argument with Jules, thought Benjamin Franklin was his father (again, after arguing with Jules) and accidentally interferes with Franklin's kite experiment, brought back a dinosaur egg to present day Hill Valley, and assisted in his own birth in a predestination paradox that ended with him being named for himself, as before his arrival, neither of his parents were going to name him "Verne", and it was only after naming him that Doc and Clara realized their children had become coincidentally named "Jules" and "Verne", after their favorite author, Jules Verne.
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