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James Tolkan, known for his roles in the “Back to the Future” series and “Top Gun,” died on Thursday. He was 94 years old.
His death was announced on the official Back to the Future website. It says he died peacefully in Saranac Lake, New York. Tolkan’s prolific career spanned five decades – on Broadway, in front of the camera and in front of television.
Tolkan was born in Calumet, Michigan in 1931 and graduated from Amphitheater High School in 1949. After a brief stint in the Navy during the Korean War and studying at three different colleges, he boarded a bus to New York City. With just $75 in his pocket, he ended up in a basic rental apartment with no hot water, the rent exactly equal to his veteran’s check. While working at the docks, Tolkan took acting lessons from Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg and would eventually spend 25 years in the New York theater.
Career in New York
From New York, Tolkan made his screen debut in an episode of “Naked City” on ABC in 1960 and took on his first film roles, including Sidney Lumet’s “Prince of the City” (1981). He has also appeared as a guest actor in numerous television series, such as “The Hat Squad”, “Remington Steele”, “Miami Vice”, “The Wonder Years” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. In five episodes of the NBC format “Remington Steele” he played the insurance investigator Norman Keyes; In “A Nero Wolfe Mystery” (2001–02), he portrayed more than a dozen different characters and directed two episodes himself.
In 1983 he relocated to California and Canada – and soon landed his most iconic film roles: as the “slacker” fright Mr. Strickland in Robert Zemeckis’ “Back to the Future” (1985) and the following year as Tom Cruise’s superior “Stinger” in the box office hit “Top Gun”.
Tolkan appeared in his role in all three parts of the “Back to the Future” series. Throughout his life, fans asked him about the legendary line, which became almost the epitome of his screen presence. “When we made the second and third films, we had huge trailers – it was incredible,” he told Impulse Gamer. “That’s what I remember: the fun. It was the most fun I’ve ever experienced while filming.”
