James Tolkan

James Tolkan
Born	James S. Tolkan June 20, 1931 (1931-06-20) (age 78) Calumet, Michigan, U.S.

James S. Tolkan (born June 20, 1931) is an American actor, often cast as a strict, overbearing, bald-headed authority figure.

Biography

Personal life

He was born in Calumet, Michigan, the son of Ralph M. Tolkan,^[1] a cattle dealer, and attended the University of Iowa, Coe College, the Actors Studio and Eastern Arizona College.^[2] Tolkan currently lives in Lake Placid, New York and is an active participant in the Saranac Lake Pool League.

Career

Tolkan is best known for his role in the 1985 film Back to the Future as the strict, disciplinarian Hill Valley High School principal Gerald Strickland. He referred 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, where unnamed gang members made a drive-by assault on him in a bleak alternate present (then 1985) - he also referred to these criminals as "slackers" as he shot back. In 1990, he played the part of Mr. Strickland's grandfather in Back to the Future Part III. Other well-known roles include a government agent in WarGames and Stinger, the no-nonsense officer in the 1986 box-office hit Top Gun. He also appeared in the 1987 film Masters of the Universe as a police officer. He played a dual role in the Woody Allen comedy Love and Death, playing both Napoleon and a Napoleon look-alike. He also appeared as Big Boy Caprice's accountant "Numbers" in the 1990 Warren Beatty film Dick Tracy.

Tolkan has also made guest appearances on many TV shows, including Naked City, Remington Steele, Miami Vice and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. A member of the repertory cast of A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001-2002), he played more than a dozen varied roles in the A&E TV series and also directed two episodes ("Die Like a Dog" and "The Next Witness").

Filmography

Actor

Director

• A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001–2002)

"The Next Witness" (2002)

"Die Like a Dog" (2002)

References

External links

• James Tolkan at the Internet Movie Database
• James Tolkan at TV.com
• James Tolkan at the Internet Broadway Database