James Tolkan, 'Strickland' and 'Stinger' Actor, Dies at 94
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- James Tolkan died Thursday in Saranac Lake, NY, at age 94, with the official Back to the Future website announcing the death but providing no cause; he was born June 20, 1931, in Calumet, MI, and served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War before attending acting school in New York City.
- Tolkan was cast as Hill Valley High School vice principal Mr. Strickland in Robert Zemeckis' 1985 Back to the Future — a role he reprised in the 1989 sequel Back to the Future II and as Strickland's Wild West ancestor in Back to the Future III the following year.
- Tolkan played USS Enterprise carrier air group commander Tom "Stinger" Jardian in the 1986 Tony Scott-directed Top Gun, barking at Maverick and Goose early in the film and later delivering the line "God help us" when Cruise's pilot requests a Top Gun instructor posting.
- Tolkan was part of the original Broadway cast of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross in 1984-85, playing salesman Dave Moss — one of nine Broadway shows he would appear in over a career that also included early screen credits in Sidney Lumet's 1973 Serpico and the 1975 Woody Allen satire Love and Death.
- Tolkan held four series-regular TV roles across his career: the 1985-86 CBS sitcom Mary, the 1992-93 CBS cop drama The Hat Squad, the 1993-94 syndicated action series Cobra opposite Michael Dudikoff, and the 2001-02 A&E period drama Nero Wolfe, on which he also directed two episodes.
- Tolkan continued working into his early 80s, with his final screen roles being the judge in the 2013 TV movie Phil Spector and a pianist in the 2015 Kurt Russell Western Bone Tomahawk.
- Tolkan is survived by his wife of 54 years, Parmele, and three nieces; his family asked that memorial donations be directed to a local animal shelter, animal rescue organization, or Humane Society chapter.
Why it matters: Tolkan carved out a rare niche as the authority figure audiences loved to resent — his Strickland and Stinger became two of the most quoted mid-1980s movie antagonists despite limited screen time, and the roles have outlived dozens of higher-billed co-stars in cultural memory.
