James Tolkan, Back to the Future and Top Gun Actor, Dies at 94

Character histrion James Tolkan, champion known for playing no-nonsense authorization figures who chewed retired Michael J. Fox and Tom Cruise, respectively, successful Back to the Future and Top Gun, died Thursday astatine property 94.

Tolkan played Stanford S. Strickland, the stern main of Hill Valley High, successful Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II. He returned for Back to the Future Part III arsenic Strickland’s ancestor James Strickland, the Marshal of Hill Valley successful 1885.

In the 1985 original, Strickland famously went nose-to-nose with Fox’s Marty McFly aft issuing him a detention gaffe and informing him to enactment distant from Doc Brown.

James Tolkan. (Photo: Bryan Bedder/Variety via Getty Images)

“You’ve got a existent cognition problem, McFly, You’re a slacker. You punctual maine of your begetter erstwhile helium went here. He was a slacker, too,” Strickland barked. “You’re excessively overmuch similar your aged man. No McFly ever amounted to thing successful the past of Hill Valley.”

Tolkan followed Back to the Future with 1986’s Top Gun wherever helium portrayed Tom "Stinger" Jardian, the Commander of the USS Enterprise.

Stinger’s berating of Cruise’s Maverick included specified memorable lines arsenic “Son, your ego is penning checks your assemblage can’t cash!” and “You screw up conscionable this much, you’ll beryllium flying a cargo level afloat of rubber dogshit retired of Hong Kong!”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tolkan passed distant successful Saranac Lake, New York. He was calved successful Calumet, Michigan connected June 20, 1931 and began his acting vocation successful theatre aft serving successful the US Navy.

Tolkan’s different movie credits see Dick Tracy, Serpico, Prince of the City, Wolfen, WarGames, Masters of the Universe, The Amityville Horror, Opportunity Knocks, Family Business, Boiling Point, and Bone Tomahawk.

His galore TV credits see Miami Vice, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Remington Steele, The Equalizer, Hill Street Blues, Tales from the Crypt, The Wonder Years, and David Mamet’s 2013 telefilm Phil Spector.