James Tolkan, best known for his roles as authoritarian figures in the films “Back to the Future” and “Top Gun,” has died. He was 94 years old.
Tolkan died Thursday in Lake Placid, New York, where he lived, his booking agent John Alcántar said Saturday. A brief obituary published on the “Back to the Future” website stated that Tolkan died “peacefully”, but did not provide a cause of death.
In “Back to the Future”, Tolkan played Gerald Strickland, a bow-tie-wearing vice principal who keeps track of the trouble students face in the halls of the fictional Hill Valley High School – particularly Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox played.
Tolkan’s character in the 1985 film says, “You’ve got a real attitude problem, McFly.” “You’re a slacker. You remind me of my father when he moved here. He was a slacker too.”
Tolkan also appeared in “Top Gun” as Commanding Officer Tom “Stinger” Jardian. At the end of the film, when Jardiance asks Tom Cruise’s character, Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, about his choice of future line of duty, Mitchell responds that he wants to be a Top Gun instructor.
“God help us,” Tolkien’s character replies, laughing.
Born in Calumet, Michigan, Tolkan served in the Navy during the Korean War and eventually moved to New York, where he spent a quarter century acting in theater roles. He was a member of the original cast of “Glengarry Glen Ross”.
Tolkan is survived by his wife of 54 years, Parmelee Wells.
