James Tolkan passes away at the age of 94

James Tolkan passed away at the age of 94.

On March 26, Thursday, the late actor’s management confirmed to PEOPLE. A crew member who worked on Back to the Future told People about the late actor.

The crew further told, “I saw him at the last convention, which he did this past October. Well, we sat next to each other, you know, meeting fans. He was so good with the fans because he never turned down a request to do a photo nose-to-nose like he was with Michael J. Fox in the movie, and you know, call them slackers and play with them”.

They further added, “Any time I got a chance to see James was just delightful. As mean and nasty as Mr Strickland was, James Tolkan was the polar opposite. He was just one of the kindest men you would ever meet”.

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He was known as Mr Strickland in the Back to the Future franchise and as the stern commander Tom Stinger.

The actor, who was originally from Michigan, “cycled through Chicago after his parents divorced and wound up in Tucson, Arizona, where he graduated from Amphitheatre High School in 1949,” according to a statement shared by Tolkan’s management.

Tolkan went on to serve in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and moved to New York City following his military service, where he studied acting with both Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg’s acting studios. Tolkan was a member of the original ensemble cast of Glengarry Glen Ross on Broadway. The play most recently had a Broadway revival in 2025 that starred Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr.