The character actor’s other credits include “WarGames,” “The Amityville Horror,” “Dick Tracy,” “Serpico,” and “Bone Tomahawk.”

James Tolkan, Top Gun and Back to the Future actor, dies at 94

The character actor's other credits include "WarGames," "The Amityville Horror," "Dick Tracy," "Serpico," and "Bone Tomahawk."

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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on March 27, 2026 8:58 p.m. ET

James Tolkan in Atlantic City, N.J., on March 30, 2019. Credit:

Bobby Bank/Getty

James Tolkan, the character actor who played supporting roles in beloved '80s films like *Top Gun* and the *Back to the Future* trilogy, has died. He was 94.

The official Instagram accounts for VFX company Industrial Light and Magic and production company Amblin, both of which worked on the *Back to the Future* movies, confirmed the news on Friday.

"We were saddened to learn of the passing of the great James Tolkan, known best to us at ILM as Principal Gerald Strickland and U.S. Marshal James Strickland in the *Back to the Future* trilogy," the post said. "Our thoughts are with his wife Parmelee Welles, and all who knew him across his memorable life and career."

Crispin Glover and James Tolkan in 'Back to the Future'.

MCA/Universal Pictures/Everett

*THR *reported that Tolkan died in Saranac Lake, N.Y. A cause of death was not immediately available.

Tom Wilson, who portrayed bully Biff Tannen and his various relatives in the sci-fi trilogy, paid tribute to his former costar in an Instagram post. "Such love and respect," he wrote in the caption of a photo of himself and Tolkan. "A tremendous artist and a great pal."

James Tolkan in 'Top Gun'.

CBS via Getty

As Principal Strickland, Tolkan scolded Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly on screen for being a "slacker." He's also present at Hill Valley High School when Marty visits three decades prior in 1955. He also appeared as an alternate version of Strickland in *Back to the Future Part II* as well as the character's grandfather Chief Marshal James Strickland in *Back to the Future Part III*.

In *Top Gun*, Tolkan portrayed Stinger, a stern commanding officer who tells Tom Cruise's Maverick, "Your ego is writing checks that your body can't cash" before reluctantly sending him to Top Gun.

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Born in 1931 in Calumet, Mich.,Tolkan served in the U.S. Navy before attending Coe College and the University of Iowa. He moved to New York in the 1950s to study at the Actors Studio with Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg.

Tolkan made his screen debut in a 1960 episode of *Naked City*, and appeared in *Wait Until Dark* on Broadway as the villainous Harry Roat, who was later portrayed by Alan Arkin in the film adaptation of the play.

James Tolkan.

L. Cohen/WireImage

Tolkan's first film role came in 1969's *Stiletto*. Throughout the 1970s, he acted opposite several major stars, including George C. Scott and Joanne Woodward in *They Might Be Giants*, Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle in *The Friends of Eddie Coyle*, and Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in *Love and Death*, in which he played Napoleon.

The actor played a small role in Sidney Lumet's seminal crime drama *Serpico* starring Al Pacino. He later reteamed with the filmmaker on 1981's *Prince of the City* and 1989's *Family Business*, and reunited with Pacino in 1982's *Author! Author!* and 2013's *Phil Spector*.

Christopher Lloyd and James Tolkan in Chicago on Feb. 26, 2010.

Daniel Boczarski/Getty

Tolkan also played supporting roles in hit films like *The Amityville Horror*, *WarGames*, and *Dick Tracy*. On the small screen, Tolkan guest starred on shows like *Miami Vice*, *Hill Street Blues*, *Early Edition*, and *Leverage*. He was a series regular on the short-lived '90s crime dramas *Cobra* and *The Hat Squad*.

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Other prominent projects included the Mel Gibson-Sissy Spacek drama *The River*, Sidney Poitier's Gene Wilder comedy *Hanky Panky*, and the fantasy adventure *Masters of the Universe*. His final screen credit came in 2015's Western horror film *Bone Tomahawk*.

Tolkan is survived by his wife, Parmelee Welles.

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