Posted on 03/28/2026 5:00:26 AM PDT by DFG
James Tolkan, who famously starred as Mr. Strickland in the Back to the Future franchise and as the stern Commander Tom "Stinger" Jardian in Top Gun, has died. He was 94.
Tolkan died in Saranac Lake, N.Y., on Thursday, March 26, the late actor's management confirmed to PEOPLE.
"I dearly, dearly loved Mr. Tolkan," a crew member who worked on Back to the Future tells PEOPLE of the late actor.
"I saw him at the last convention he did this past October," the crew member tells PEOPLE. "Well, we sat next to each other, you know, meeting fans. He was so good with the fans because he never turned down a request to do a photo nose-to-nose like he was with Michael [J. Fox] in the movie, and you know, call them slackers and and play with them."
"Any time I got a chance to see James was just delightful," the crew member adds. "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."
The actor, who was originally from Michigan, "cycled through Chicago after his parents divorced and wound up in Tuscon, Arizona where he graduated Amphitheater High School in 1949," according to a statement shared by Tolkan's management.
Tolkan went on to serve in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, and moved to New York City following his military service, where he studied acting with both Stella Adler and Lee Strasburg's acting studios. Tolkan was a member of the original ensemble cast of Glengarry Glen Ross on Broadway. The play most recently had a Broadway revival in 2025 that starred Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr.
(Excerpt) Read more at people.com ...
Better known from his Top Gun squadron commander role, I think...
“Did he EVER have hair”? RIP.
There’s a pic of him in high school with a head of hair on his Wiki page.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tolkan
“I can’t believe what I have to do here. You two characters are going to Top Gun.”
Even in the movie, “Serpico,” (1973) which was his six film role, he had some hair, but he still was pretty bald back then.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxTOqAcQGuw
He also starred in “Dick Tracy”.
Famous for playing the bald, hardnosed, no nonsense guy in every movie. RIP. In a lot of good movies.
Rest in Peace.
Great play and a great movie. I wonder which character Tolkan played - perhaps the sad-sack Shelley, who was played by Jack Lemmon in the film?
I liked him in his bit part in (one of my favorite movies) The Friends of Eddie Coyle. He was the guy who took out the hit on Eddie Fingers.
I loved him as Steel’s nemesis in “Remington Steel,” too.
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