Character actor Jame Tolkan has passed away at 94. Best know for playing Mr Strickland/Marshall Strickland in the Back to the Future Trilogy and Cmdr. Tom “Stinger” Jardian in the original Top Gun, he had a long and varied career in Hollywood. Born in Michigan in 1931, he graduated from High School in Arizona in 1949. He left College to serve in the US Navy during the Korean War. He served on the USS Sandoval, but was discharged after a year due to a heart condition.
He began his career in the 1960’s appearing in the TV show “The Naked City”. His first film role was in the movie “Stiletto” in 1966. He played Lieutenant Steiger in the 1973 hit film “Serpico”. He also appeared in the Docudrama “Independence” playing Thomas Paine. He played an FBI agent in Wargames, and Detective Lubnic in 1987’s “Master’s of the Universe”. His last movies were 2015’s “Bone Tomahawk” and 2025’s “Tom Wilson, Super Humbly Famous”.
RIP Mr Strickland
