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).
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Early life
James Stewart Tolkan was born on June 20, 1931, in Calumet, Michigan, to Marjorie Effie Nichols (1912–1993) and Ralph Milton Tolkan (1908–1967), 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 USS Sandoval. 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.
