Actor James Tolkan, who was perhaps best known for his roles as Michael J. Fox‘s belittling high school principal, Mr. Strickland, in Robert Zemeckis‘ Back to the Future and Tom Cruise‘s hardline commanding officer, Commander Tom “Stinger” Jardian, in Tony Scott‘s Top Gun, has died at age 94.
His passing was announced via the official Back to the Future website. According to the statement, he passed away peacefully in Saranac Lake, New York, but did not mention the cause of death.
Born in Calumet, Michigan, in 1931, Tolkan had a brief stint in the Navy during the Korean War before turning to acting. He spent 25 years in the New York theater scene, where one of his most notable roles was as part of the original ensemble cast of Glengarry Glen Ross as salesman Dave Moss.
Prior to his iconic turn as Marty McFly’s short-fused principal, Tolkan appeared in Sidney Lumet‘s Prince of the City and Serpico, opposite Al Pacino, in Woody Allen‘s Love and Death as Napoleon (and his look-alike), and John Badham‘s WarGames, opposite Matthew Broderick.
In Back to the Future, James Tolkan played Mr. Gerald Strickland, the perpetually scowling, iron-fisted principal of Hill Valley High School. A secondary antagonist in the film, he was remembered by fans for repeatedly calling Marty a “slacker” and warning him that he was headed nowhere fast, ultimately serving as a motivating force for Marty to prove him wrong and take control of his future. He reprised the role in the sequel and played his own ancestor in Back to the Future III.
Post Back to the Future and Top Gun roles have included Warren Beatty‘s Dick Tracy as a crooked accountant and small parts on The Wonder Years, The Pretender, and Bone Tomahawk, opposite Kurt Russell.
Tolkan is survived by his wife, Parmelee, with whom he was married for 54 years, and his three nieces in Des Moines, Iowa.
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