James Tolkan, who hated "slackers" in the Back to the Future trilogy and portrayed Tom Cruise's commanding officer in Top Gun, has died at 94. Tolkan died Thursday in Saranac Lake, New York, a family spokesperson announced.
For generations of film viewers, Tolkan became the embodiment of exasperated authority figures. His career, rather than being defined by the handful of roles people remember, represented something far more substantial: a working actor who made his living across five decades in theatre, film, and television. That his name is synonymous with two of the 1980s' most beloved films speaks to the power of a well-cast character actor, one whose presence on screen carried immediate weight.
As vice principal Mr Strickland, he appeared in the original Back to the Future in 1985 and returned for the 1989 sequel. For the third film in 1990, he played Strickland's grandfather. In that first film, Tolkan played no-nonsense authority figures who chewed out Michael J. Fox. The role itself was brief but indelible. He also appeared in 'Dick Tracy,' three Sidney Lumet movies and on Broadway in the original 'Glengarry Glen Ross.'
What makes Tolkan's trajectory particularly striking is how he was discovered so late in his career by mainstream Hollywood. Born in Calumet, Michigan, in 1931, Tolkan graduated from Amphitheater High School in 1949. Following a short career in the navy during the Korean War, and stints at three colleges, he got on a bus for New York City. With just $75 in his pocket, Tolkan landed in a cold water flat where the rent equaled his VA check. As he worked on the docks, Tolkan studied acting under the guidance of Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg, going on to spend 25 years in New York theater. His 1960 television debut in the TV series Naked City passed quietly. It was only when he moved his career to California and Canada in 1983 and would land his most memorable film roles as the "slacker"-barking Mr. Strickland in Back to the Future (1985) for director Robert Zemeckis, and the following year, as Tom Cruise's commanding officer "Stinger" in the box office smash Top Gun that his face became instantly recognisable to millions.
The irony of his casting was never lost on those who knew him. As mean and nasty as Mr. Strickland was, James Tolkan was the polar opposite. He was just one of the kindest men you would ever meet. Crews and colleagues consistently described a man whose off-screen temperament bore no resemblance to the characters he inhabited. Tolkan always considered himself an east side actor. "I'm really just a New York actor. I'm a stage actor. And I said I was never going to Hollywood until Hollywood sends for me," he told Media Mikes. When Hollywood did call, he answered.
Tolkan is survived by his wife, Parmelee, whom he met on the set of "Pinkville," an off-Broadway play, in 1971. Tolkan's family requests memorial donations to animal charities instead of flowers.
A career that began on the docks of New York and flourished across theatre, television, and film proved that a character actor's work endures not through the breadth of the credits but through the depth of the roles. For most people, Tolkan will be remembered for two films. For those who worked with him, he was far more than that.