James Tolkan, ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘Top Gun’ Actor, Dies at 94

Character actor James Tolkan, known for playing tough authority figures in several well-known films including the Back to the Future series and Top Gun, has died at the age of 94.

Tolkan passed away Thursday in Saranac Lake, New York, according to a statement released by a family spokesperson.

Throughout a long career in film, television, and theater, Tolkan built a reputation for portraying stern, commanding characters. Many fans remember him best as the strict Hill Valley High School principal Mr. Strickland in Back to the Future (1985) and its 1989 sequel. He returned once again in Back to the Future Part III (1990), this time portraying the grandfather of the same character. The role made him famous for barking the word “slackers,” something fans often asked him to repeat whenever they met him.

In the 1986 action hit Top Gun, Tolkan appeared as Tom “Stinger” Jardian, the hard-edged commanding officer who reprimands Tom Cruise’s pilot character, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, for his reckless flying.

His film career included many other memorable appearances. In Love and Death (1975), directed by Woody Allen, he played both Napoleon and a double of the French leader. In Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy (1990), Tolkan portrayed a dishonest accountant known as Numbers who worked for crime boss Big Boy Caprice, played by Al Pacino.

Tolkan also worked multiple times with director Sidney Lumet. He appeared as a police officer in Serpico (1973), starred by Al Pacino, later played a determined district attorney in Prince of the City (1981), and eventually portrayed a judge in Family Business (1989).

His other film credits included The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), The Amityville Horror (1979), Wolfen (1981), WarGames (1983), Masters of the Universe (1987), True Blood (1989), and Opportunity Knocks (1990).

On stage, Tolkan appeared in the original Broadway production of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross during the 1984–1985 season. He played the character Dave Moss, a role later performed by Ed Harris in the 1992 film adaptation.

James Stewart Tolkan was born June 20, 1931, in Calumet, Michigan. After his parents divorced, he spent time in Chicago before eventually settling in Tucson, Arizona, where he graduated from Amphitheater High School in 1949. He later served in the U.S. Navy.

Following his military service, Tolkan attended Coe College and the University of Iowa. With just $75 in his pocket, he eventually moved to New York to pursue acting. There he studied with Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg at The Actors Studio, where one of his classmates in 1956 was Warren Beatty.

Tolkan made his first on-screen appearance in 1960 in an episode of the ABC television series Naked City. Several years later, in 1966, he stepped into a major Broadway role when he replaced Robert Duvall as the villain Harry Roat in the original stage production of Wait Until Dark, starring Lee Remick.

Television audiences also saw him frequently. He appeared in five episodes of Remington Steele as insurance investigator Norman Keyes and portrayed various characters across 21 episodes of A Nero Wolfe Mystery, where he also directed a couple of installments. Over the years he also guest-starred in series such as Miami Vice, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Wonder Years, and Leverage.

Tolkan is survived by his wife, Parmelee. She worked at the American Place Theater as a costume and scenery painter. The two met while working on the 1971 off-Broadway play Pinkville, where he was acting and she was part of the props team. They married later that year in Lake Placid.

The family said that those wishing to honor his memory can consider donating to a local animal shelter, animal rescue group, or Humane Society chapter.

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