Overview
- Tolkan, who died Thursday in Saranac Lake, New York, was 94 according to his family and the Back to the Future team.
- Officials described the death as peaceful, with no cause released.
- He was best known for playing the stern school official Mr. Strickland in Back to the Future and the commander Stinger in Top Gun.
- His career drew on New York stage work and training with Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg after brief Navy service, including a role in the original cast of Glengarry Glen Ross.
- He is survived by his wife, Parmelee, and three nieces, and the family asked for donations to animal shelters as colleagues, including Christopher Lloyd, shared tributes.