James Tolkan, the star of “Back to the Future” and “Top Gun,” has died at the age of 94.
The actor’s family announced Turkan’s death through a publicist on Friday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Writer and producer Bob Gale wrote on the series’ website that Tolkan “passed away peacefully on Thursday at Saranac Lake, New York.”
He is survived by his wife, Palmer, whom he met on the Off-Broadway set of Pinkville in 1971, when James was an actor and she was a prop girl. The two later married in Lake Placid in 1971.
Best known for his unforgettable scorn for playing Vice Principal Mr. Strickland in the original Back to the Future, he reprized the role in 1989’s Back to the Future Part II and appeared as Strickland’s grandfather in 1990’s Back to the Future Part III.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the Michigan-born actor starred in Top Gun (1986), The Amityville Horror (1979), Serpico (1973), He also appeared in such films as “The Game” (1983), “Masters of the Universe” (1987), “True Blood” (1989), and “Opportunity Knocks”. (1990), and many others.
The last time he appeared in the documentary “Tom Wilson: The Humble Celebrity” was in 2024.
His television appearances included appearances on “The Wonder Years” in 1990, the TV series “Naked City” in 1960, and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (1990).
In a 2021 interview, the actor recalled being told while attending the University of Iowa that he needed to go to New York if he wanted to take acting seriously.
“In 1956, I took a Greyhound bus from Iowa City with $75 in my pocket,” he recalled on “Reality of Wrestling.” “I didn’t know anyone in New York.”
Nevertheless, the determined young Turkan went to the Big Apple “to become an actor.” It was a gamble that paid off.
“Lo and behold, when I got to New York, I had no idea what I was getting into,” he revealed, noting that he was “scared to death,” “had to find a place to live,” and was “out of money.”
Tolkan admitted that being a “Central Park South busboy” was “hard at first,” but said it was “the best time of[my]life.” “It was full of promise and possibility,” he said.
He added elsewhere in the interview, “In some way, I’m successful.”
“I’ve been through a lot, both positive and negative,” he said, noting that he’s “enjoying a good life” thanks to his early struggles on his way up as an actor.
“I feel strong because I overcame everything.”
