James Tolkan


James Stewart Tolkan is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as high school vice-principal in charge of discipline Mr. Strickland in Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II, and as the character's ancestor, Marshal James Strickland, in Back to the Future Part III. Other memorable film roles include Serpico, Love and Death, Prince of the City, Top Gun, Masters of the Universe, Dick Tracy, and Problem Child 2.

Early life

Tolkan was born in Calumet, Michigan, the son of Dale Nichols and Ralph M. Tolkan, a cattle dealer.
Tolkan graduated from Amphitheater High School in Tucson, Arizona, in 1949, where he played on the football team. He then attended the University of Iowa, Coe College, the Actors Studio and Eastern Arizona College. Tolkan served in the U.S. Navy onboard the, but he had an issue with his heart; within a year, he was discharged for medical reasons.

Career

Tolkan is perhaps best known for his role in the 1985 film Back to the Future as the strict Hill Valley High School vice principal Gerald Strickland; the character refers to Marty McFly, his father, and Biff Tannen derisively as "slackers". He reprised the role in the 1989 sequel Back to the Future Part II, in which unnamed gang members make a drive-by assault on him in a dystopian 1985; he also refers to these criminals as "slackers" as he shoots back. In 1990, he played the part of Strickland's grandfather Chief Marshal James Strickland in Back to the Future Part III. Tolkan would again reprise his role as Strickland, and the character's ancestors and descendants, in the 1991 animated series spin-off.
Other well-known roles include an FBI agent in WarGames and Stinger, the no-nonsense commanding officer of 's embarked F-14 squadron in the 1986 box-office hit Top Gun. He portrayed the role of cold and determined District Attorney Polito in Sidney Lumet's Prince of the City. He played the obsequious and evasive union treasurer Lou Brackman in 1986’s Armed and Dangerous. He appeared in the 1987 film Masters of the Universe as Detective Lubic. He had a dual role in the Woody Allen comedy Love and Death, playing both Napoleon and a look-alike. He appeared as Big Boy Caprice's accountant "Numbers" in the 1990 Warren Beatty film Dick Tracy. He appeared in Serpico in a small but notable role as a policeman who accuses Serpico of having a homosexual encounter with another policeman in a men's room.
Tolkan has made guest appearances on many TV shows, including The Hat Squad, Naked City, Remington Steele, Miami Vice and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. A member of the repertory cast of A Nero Wolfe Mystery, he played more than a dozen varied roles in the A&E TV series and also directed two episodes.

Filmography

Video games