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Dave 1985
David Tiberius "Dave" McFly
Biographical information
Date of birthNovember 5, 1963[1]
Age (1885)Not yet born
Age (1955)Not yet born
Age (1985)21/22
Age (2015)51/52
Age (2045)81/82
Physical description
GenderMale
Hair colorBrown
Eye colorBrown
Behind-the-scenes information
Played byMarc McClure
Voiced byMarc McClure
  [Source]
"Brother Dave, twenty-one, sat [at the dinner table] opposite him [Marty], wearing a Burger King uniform. He kept one eye on the clock and the other on his food, which he wolfed down in large sections, swallowing like a half-starved animal."
—From Back to the Future by George Gipe (quote, page 34)
" Looking once again at the clock, Dave wiped his mouth and pushed his chair back. "Damn," he said. "I'm gonna be late again." / "Please watch your language," his mother warned. / "Hell, yes," Dave said, getting up and starting for the front door. A moment later, they [the rest of the family] heard his car start up and roar off. Marty wished he owned his own car, even a heap like Dave's. At least he would be independent; if something went wrong with the car, he would have only himself to blame. "
—From Back to the Future by George Gipe (quote, page 37)
"See you later, pa. Time to change that [hair] oil!"
—Dave to his father

David Tiberius "Dave" McFly is the eldest child of George and Lorraine McFly. He was born in 1963 in Hill Valley, California and is the elder brother of Linda and Marty McFly.

Dave was quite laid back, and liked to laugh at his own jokes. He had a close bond with his father in nearly all timelines, and was probably the McFly sibling who got along with George the best. Dave liked to watch reruns of The Honeymooners with his father and had no real interest in sports.

Biography[]

In the first timeline, (October 25, 1985), Dave was working at Burger King where he may have been working for some time. Dave may have had to catch the bus to work (although in the novelization, he did own a tatty old car, much to the envy of Marty), suggesting that he could not afford a car and/or the insurance for one on his wages. The job suggested that Dave may not have done that well at school, or he may have been bullied like his father before him.

After Marty returned to 1985 from 1955, he found that his actions in the past had altered the lives of his family. Presumably due to having more confident parents, Dave's life had improved remarkably in this timeline and had begun a better job as a white collar office worker, for which he had to wear a suit and from where he offered to mail Marty's submissions form and demo tape cassette for R & G Records. It would appear though that even in this timeline, Dave did not have a car, as he seems annoyed when Marty thought that the family car was wrecked (which it was in the original timeline). Presumably, he either moved out of his boyhood home and was only visiting, or he still lived with his parents and was likely wisely investing the earnings from his office job into something long-term, such as a down payment on a house of his own.

After Marty successfully managed to set history right by taking the almanac off Biff in 1955, Dave reverted to the office worker that he was before, and was seen by Marty briefly as the family headed out to lunch.

It remains unclear as to whether Dave was still living in Hill Valley in 2015, by which time he was uncle to Marty Jr. and Marlene.

Alternate timelines[]

1985A[]

Back-to-the-future-2-deleted-scenes-marty-meets-dave-33

In a deleted scene from Back to the Future Part II, Marty discovers in 1985A that Dave is an alcoholic and living on the streets.

In the timeline in which Biff received a sports almanac from his future self, Biff became rich and murdered George in 1973A, marrying Lorraine and thus becoming Dave's stepfather.

In 1981A, the remaining McFlys noticed that Biff had removed all photographs and references to George from the house. This made Dave angry, causing him to storm out while exclaiming that he'd never be a Tannen and that Biff was not his father.

Soon, Dave made himself known to the Hill Valley Civic Committee. They planned to break into Biff's mansion to find incriminating evidence that they could use against him, and Dave volunteered to disable the alarm and leave a door unlocked so that Terry could get in and access the safe. The plan failed, as it relied on Biff going out for dinner with Lorraine and the children, but Biff stayed at home instead and had Terry murdered by a police officer (Biff owned the Hill Valley Police Department in this timeline).

Biff had guessed Dave's involvement, and had his men lock Dave in the trunk of a car and take him to the edge of Hill Valley. They ordered him to leave town and never return. In reality, they felt sorry for Dave, and were another example of people having to obey Biff or be punished like Terry.

In 1985A, Biff said that if Lorraine left him, he would have "Dave's probation revoked" — indicating that Dave had been in trouble with the police, which Biff owned.

Other alternate timelines[]

In the 1986F timeline, George mentions that Dave (along with Linda) left Hill Valley a long time ago.

In the 1986G timeline, Dave had likewise left Hill Valley and worked at a big city newspaper.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Dave and Linda are not mentioned, nor seem to exist in the short Back to the Future: The Story.
  • Dave was unnamed in the Back to the Future first draft screenplay and had left home.
  • In the script for the film, Dave's employment in the original timeline was McDonald's. It was changed to Burger King to reflect the product placement, as Marty is seen skateboarding by a Burger King and a now-defunct Toys R'Us when he leaves Doc's lab in the opening scene.[2]
  • Dave did not appear in the finished version of Back to the Future Part II, although he was mentioned by Biff Tannen in 1985A. However, Dave did appear in a scene cut from the movie — but reinstated by Craig Shaw Gardner for the novelization — where it is revealed that he is an alcoholic (like his mother in the original timeline in the first film). He does not appear to have much contact with his family, possibly due to Biff, although he is pleased to see Marty ("our" Marty, not the Marty native to this timeline) in Courthouse Square. The scene was edited out for both time reasons and because there was no similar scene for Linda; the late actress Wendie Jo Sperber was pregnant at the time and unable to film.
  • The reference to Dave working at a big city newspaper in the 1986G timeline in Back to the Future: The Game - Episode 3: Citizen Brown is an in-joke which refers to Marc McClure's role as Jimmy Olsen in the Superman film series.
  • Dave was originally intended to make an appearance in the Back to the Future Part II first draft screenplay, where Marty was to encounter him in both 2015 and 1967. The script called for Marty to run into Dave and Linda on October 7, 2015, who would mistake him for his son Marty Jr. (named Norman in the original draft), with Linda thinking he's wearing a "'80's retro-look", and take him to Hill Valley Community Hospital with them, where Lorraine is giving a speech at a dedication ceremony. The script describes the 2015 Dave as "55, has developed a paunch, and his thinning hair is grey". Also, Dave had a tendency to pick Linda and Marty at their cheeks while saying "pick, pick, pick" and boss them around. Later, when 2015 Jennifer Parker chews off the 2015 Marty, she mentions that Marty had almost ruined Dave's investment firm with a synthetic paper scam. Later, when Marty goes to 1967 to retrieve the almanac, Dave is mentioned to be 5 (sic), and when Marty witnesses him picking on Linda, he would then grab him and say he was from the "Brat Police", and threaten to take him away if he didn't behave. Later, at the dinner table, when Dave doesn't want to eat his carrots, Marty would then order him to eat them, causing Dave to eat them like his life depended on it.

Appearances[]

Relatives[]


Notes and references[]

Individuals
The McFly Family
Marty McFly | George McFly | Lorraine Baines McFly | Jennifer Parker | Seamus McFly | Maggie McFly
Dave McFly | Linda McFly | Martin McFly, Jr. | Marlene McFly | Arthur McFly
The Brown Family
Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown | Clara Clayton Brown | Jules Brown | Verne Brown | Einstein
The Tannen Family
Biff Tannen | Buford Tannen | Griff Tannen | Irving "Kid" Tannen
The Strickland Family
James Strickland | Roger Strickland | Irene Strickland | Edna Strickland | Gerald Strickland
Other Individuals
Match, Skinhead & 3-D | Goldie Wilson | Douglas J. Needles | Marcus Irving
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