8 Not-So-Secret Facts About ‘The Secret of My Success’

Gerry Strauss April 10, 12:28 pm

THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS, Michael J. Fox, 1987 — Everett Collection

Let’s face it: Michael J. Fox had us wrapped around his little finger in the eighties; the Canadian wunderkind actually convinced us that he could travel back in time, transform into a werewolf, and maintain a friendship with a kid named Skippy, all in the same decade. With that in mind, it should be no surprise that Fox scored another big-screen hit with 1987’s The Secret of My Success.

Costarring Helen Slater (otherwise best known for taking on the title role in Supergirl, an unfortunate box-office bomb), this Manhattan-set comedy told the story of a mail boy who maneuvered his way up the company ladder, battling corporate greed and finding love along the way. As we celebrate the 38th anniversary of this movie’s release, here are some lesser-known facts about this under-the-radar classic.

1It was inspired by Steven Spielberg

American film director Steven Spielberg, UK, 16th November 1973

Believe it or not, the story behind The Secret of My Success was based on the early career of legendary director Steven Spielberg, who kickstarted his own journey to success by sneaking onto the Universal Studios lot and acting like he worked there — main character Brantly Foster (Fox) uses a similar strategy in this movie to begin his unlikely climb up the corporate ladder.

In a 2006 interview with the Directors Guild of America, Spielberg revealed that as a high schooler on a trip to Universal Studios, “I took a tour one day … and they gave everybody a bathroom break about midday. So I got off to go to the bathroom and I hid in the stall, and I waited until everybody had left. I came out a half an hour later and I was free. I was on the Universal Studios lot … I met the film librarian, a man named Chuck Silvers, and he thought I had a lot of chutzpah and showed ambition, so he gave me a three-day pass on his own name. So I did that for three days, and then I took a shot that maybe the guard would recognize me without having to show him my papers. And so on the fourth day I walked onto the lot and waved at Scotty, the guard. Scotty waved back and I spent the next two and a half months on the lot five days a week until school began.”

2It’s the movie where Michael J. Fox grew up (sort of)

THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS, from left: Helen Slater, Michael J. Fox, 1987,

Despite being in his mid-twenties, Fox’s youthful looks and iconic roles in Family Ties and Back to the Future led to him being typecast as a teenager for quite some time. Playing more “grown-up” characters like Brantly Foster was an important way to change that perception, but the young star still had one trait that he couldn’t quite grow out of: his height.

Standing at only 5′ 4”, Fox needed to rely on plenty of hidden tricks to make himself appear more sizable on camera, especially when it came to kissing scenes with his taller love interests. 5′ 8” Helen Slater was no exception, leading to plenty of smoke and mirrors during the filming of their scenes together.

3It was actually filmed in New York City

©Universal/courtesy Everett Collection

Most movies are produced on studio backlots in southern California — easily manageable locations where the intended setting can be simulated. This wasn’t the case for The Secret of My Success, as producers felt the film needed an authentic city vibe. Despite the inherent difficulties of filming in one of the world’s busiest melting pots, the movie ended up being shot almost entirely in approximately 35 different locations in Manhattan.

4Michael J. Fox was literally smoking hot on the set

©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

One curious visual in the movie occurs when Brantley Foster plops his feet up on his desk, unintentionally revealing sneakers full of burn marks. This was not in the script, as the marks were a result of Fox’s intense smoking addiction. With a busy production schedule and the responsibility of appearing in almost every scene in the movie, the young star had taken to saving time by putting out his cigarettes with his shoes.

5Supergirl replaced an Empty Nest-er

©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

Between her two signature TV roles on Family (1976-1980) and Empty Nest (1988-1995), Kristy McNichol was hand-selected to play the female lead for this movie. Unfortunately, she was fired shortly before production began due to concerns about challenging behavior stemming from her battle with bipolar disorder. Helen Slater was given the nod, and the rest is history.

6Fox = the hardest working guy in show biz

The tales of Michael J. Fox’s insane filming schedule during the eighties are legendary, as he somehow juggled the intense production for special-effects heavy projects like Back to the Future and Teen Wolf with weekly rehearsal and taping responsibilities on his hit sitcom Family Ties.

The Secret of My Success was no different, as production lasted from June 4 through August 1 in 1986, merely one day before Fox had to be on set for kick-off the fifth season of Family Ties (he also filmed another movie, Light of Day, during this same hiatus!)

7It was almost a Broadway musical?

While Back to The Future was famously transformed into a successful Broadway musical, The Secret to My Success came remarkably close to achieving the same fate. In fact, the show (first developed back in 2013) was midrun for its world premiere and pre-Broadway tryout at the Paramount Theatre in March 2020 (with Sydney Morton and Billy Harrigan Tighe as the two leads) when COVID-19 derailed it. Despite reappearing in later years on smaller stages, the show’s momentum towards Broadway glory never recovered.

821 years later, it inspired a TV comedy tribute

Though The Secret of My Success hasn’t quite achieved the same timeless stature of Fox’s other early films, or similar ’80s workplace comedies like Working Girl, it was the subject of a major tribute from one of the biggest comedy shows of the 2000s. In 2008, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia aired the episode “Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack,” in which characters Mac and Charlie get jobs in the mailroom of a big corporation — and Mac tries to lie his way into a better role by taking over an empty office.

And just in case viewers missed the reference, the pair begin to explicitly talk about The Secret of My Success … before getting sidetracked into a discussion about Yello’s “Oh Yeah,” which they remember as being called … “Day Bow Bow.”