James Stewart Tolkan (June 20, 1931 – March 26, 2026) was an American character actor. He was best known for portraying the strict high school vice‑principal Mr. Strickland in Back to the Future (1985) and Back to the Future Part II (1989), and the character's ancestor, Marshal James Strickland, in Back to the Future Part III (1990). His other notable film credits included Serpico (1973), Love and Death (1975), Prince of the City (1981), Top Gun (1986), Masters of the Universe (1987), Viper (1988), Dick Tracy (1990), and Problem Child 2 (1991).
Early life
thumb|upright|Tolkan as a high school senior in 1949
James Stewart Tolkan was born on June 20, 1931, in Calumet, Michigan, to Dale Nichols and Ralph M. Tolkan, a cattle dealer. He graduated from Amphitheater High School in Tucson, Arizona, in 1949, where he played on the football team. Tolkan attended Eastern Arizona College on a football scholarship before leaving to join the United States Navy during the Korean War, serving aboard the . He was discharged within a year due to a heart condition, and in 1956 he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama from the University of Iowa.
Career
thumb|Tolkan autographing a [[Back to the Future poster in 2019]]
Tolkan made his film debut in The Three Sisters, an independently produced 1966 Actors Studio adaptation of Anton Chekov's play Three Sisters. The film featured an ensemble cast that included Geraldine Page, Sandy Dennis, Kim Stanley, Shelley Winters, Kevin McCarthy, Robert Loggia, and James Olson. in which the character derisively refers to Marty McFly, George McFly, and Biff Tannen as "slackers". Tolkan reprised the role in Back to the Future Part II (1989) appearing in a dystopian 1985 sequence in which unnamed gang members attack him; he again uses the term "slackers" as he returns fire. In Back to the Future Part III (1990), he played Chief Marshal James Strickland, the character's grandfather. He later voiced an unnamed Civil Defense Warden in a 1992 episode of the animated spin-off series.
Tolkan's other notable film roles included an FBI agent in WarGames (1983), He played the Coroner in The Amityville Horror (1979).
On television, Tolkan made guest appearances on numerous series, including Naked City, The Wonder Years,
Filmography
Film
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+ James Tolkan film credits<!-- WP:ACCESSIBILITY & MOS:TABLECAPTION -->
|- align="center"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
! Ref.
|-
| 1966 || The Three Sisters || Officer / Carnival Character || ||
|-
| 1979 || The Amityville Horror || The Coroner || ||
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1986 || Off Beat || Harry || ||
|-
| rowspan=5 | 1989 || True Blood || Detective Joe Hanley || ||
|-
| Back to the Future Part II || Principal Gerald Strickland || ||
|-
| Problem Child 2 || Mr. Thorn || ||
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1996 || Underworld || Dan "Iceberg" Eagan || ||
|-
| 2025 || BTTF Project 85: The Back to the Future Fan Remake || Principal Gerald Strickland || Uncredited ||
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ James Tolkan television credits<!-- WP:ACCESSIBILITY & MOS:TABLECAPTION -->
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes !! Ref.
|-
| 1960
| Naked City
| Evan Humboldt
| Episode: "The Man Who Bit a Diamond in Half"
|
|-
| 1985
| Hill Street Blues
| Coach Beasley
| Episode: "Queen for a Day"
|
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1996
| Nowhere Man
| Commander Cyrus Quinn
| Episode: "Heart of Darkness"
|
- 1998: Top Gun: Hornet's Nest – Commander Hondo