James Tolkan (1931-2026), USN Korean War, Cdr. Tom "Stinger" Jardien in "Top Gun" (1985) and Principal Strickland (1986) in "Back to the Future".

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A native of Calumet, MI and son of a cattle dealer,  Tolkan enlisted in the Navy during the Korean war and after basic training at San Diego was ordered to Oakland, CA and duty on an attack transport, USS Sandoval;  however, he got a medical discharge for a heart condition discovered before he shipped out.    He studied theater in college on the GI Bill,  and afterwards headed to New York to become an actor with 75 bucks in his pocket.  A fearsome, imposing   chrome-dome,  known for his no-nonsense authority figures,  he played Michael J. Fox's principal, Mr.  Strickland,  in 1985's "Back to the Future",  Tom Cruise's cigar chomping CO,  Cdr. Tom "Stinger" Jardien, in 1986's  "Top Gun" and  Det. Lubic in 1987's sci-fi flick, "Masters of the Universe".   He also appeared in 1973's "Serpico" with Al Pacino and "War Games" in 1983.   Per IMDB,  his first credited role was in 1960 in the TV cop drama,  "Naked City" and his last in 2015 playing a piano player in Kurt Russell's  "Bone Tomahawk".     The line "Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player" comes to mind with irony.  

 

Tolkan's characters were always entertaining and he weren't no slacker and neither were his dad, the cattleman.   RIP. 

 

 

[patches]

Thanks for this aerialbridge, sorry to hear

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Me too, patches, he was one of the great supporting actors, nobody could have done his signature parts better.     94, he had a good run and his marbles up to the end.