The legendary Mr. Strickland from Back to the Future is dead, James Tolkan was 94 years old
“You’re a bastard McFly!” Unforgettable principal of Hill Valley High School and commander of the Top Gun pilots.
“It’s as if he’s always been bald !”
American actor James Tolkan, famous for his role as the authoritarian principal Mr Strickland in the saga Back to the futuredied Thursday in Saranac Lake, New York. He was 94 years old.
The news of his disappearance was announced by a spokesperson for his family, as well as by screenwriter and producer Bob Gale, also relayed on the official website of the franchise.
James Tolkan’s career has spanned more than five decades. He debuted on television in the series Naked City in 1960, and appeared for the last time in cinema in 2015 in Bone Tomahawk.
He remains especially associated with the trilogy Back to the futurewhere he plays the strict principal Mr. Strickland in the first part (1985), where he says this famous line: “You’re a McFly bastard!” He comes back in the sequel in 1989, before returning in 1990 in the third part by playing the ancestor of his character, then an uncompromising Marshal of the United States who will end up arresting Molosse Tannen.
A few years later, this former US Navy soldier once again plays on his severe image in Top Gun. In the action film directed by Tony Scott, he plays Commander Tom “Stinger” Jardian, giving orders to Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer.
In the cinema, he also appears in WarGames, Amityvilleor even Armed and Dangerous. On television, we find him in series like Leverage.
James Tolkan leaves behind his wife, Parmelee, whom he met in 1971 on the off-Broadway play Pinkville.
