Special Report: Short King/Tall Guy Duo of the Month

Since I missed my chance to write a blog for the Short King of the Month of June (and it is now the end of July), I figured my best course of action was to try something new. So I opted to write this appreciation blog about one of my favorite short king/tall guy duos, in lieu of two separate Short King blogs for June and July. “Tall Guy Week,” which is a time period of appreciation similar to Short King Spring, also happens to fall on the first week of June- this only furthered my rationale for writing this combined blog. But enough yapping from me, let’s get into it. 

Nearly 39 years ago, during this month of July, one of the greatest movies of the 1980's premiered in theaters. Yup, I’m talking about Back to the Future (the first one), which was released on July 3, 1985. Not only was Back to the Future a commercial success, raking in nearly $400 million in gross revenue (making it the highest grossing film of that year), but it also starred the most iconic- and arguably the best- short king/tall guy duo in history. 

I’m gonna put it right out there- Michael J. Fox is a certified short king. Fox walks around at a solid 5 foot 4 inches. He, alongside several others, pioneered the short guy takeover in late 20th century Hollywood. Besides the Back to the Future trilogy, he has starred in about 40 other films, including The Secret of My Success and the cult classic, Teen Wolf. Prior to the majority of his film career, Fox was well known for his role in the sitcom Family Ties, where he played Alex P. Keaton (also very well known as the “Young Republican”). It was on the set of Family Ties, where Fox also met his wife of 35 years, Tracy Pollan. It is definitely worth mentioning that Tracy Pollan is a tall queen, standing at the above average height of 5 foot 7 inches. Yes indeed- Michael J. Fox bagged a tall queen- what a LEGEND. 

Every short king needs their tall guy buddy; it’s just the way the world works (think DeVito and Arnold in Twins, or Dan and Producer Reese 👀). This being said, MJF’s tall guy buddy is none other than Christopher Lloyd (fellow co-star of the Back to the Future trilogy). Lloyd towers over Fox, with a standing height of 6’1”- but this height difference is what adds to their ELECTRIC dynamic. Without these two co-starring with each other, I don’t think the Back to the Future series would have had such a successful run. Christopher Lloyd is no slouch himself, appearing in at least 85 different films throughout his career (ironically, this man is also 85 years old today- which would average out to starring in 1 film per year of his life). 

Out of all the short kings that I’ve shown appreciation for so far, I think Michael is currently at the top of the list. He’s a very charismatic dude, and I’ve never heard anything bad about him- no allegations, no scandals, and no typical Hollywood b.s. In 1991, Michael was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but this did not stop him from being the true short KING that he was! Over the next 3 decades, while his acting career gradually slowed down, Michael leveraged his fame and fortune to advocate for Parkinson’s and founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Though he struggles to form sentences properly and hold himself upright these days, his will to fight this disease and raise awareness remains strong. What a legend. 

If you’re wondering if this short king/tall guy duo still keep in touch, then you’ll be happy to know that they both spoke at a Back to the Future panel during New York’s 2022 Comic Con. Lloyd can be seen helping Fox stand in the photo below. To no surprise, Lloyd has been a big supporter of Michael’s foundation and his fight against Parkinson’s. To this I will conclude my blog by saying that the short king/tall guy bromance is truly something special, something unbreakable. To all my fellow short kings out there, show some love to your tall guy homies every once in a while.

God Bless,
Producer Reese