Beloved character actor James Tolkan, best known as the principal in the Back to the Future franchise, died this Friday at the age of 94. Tolkan featured in Robert Zemeckis' original 1985 Back to the Future movie as Hill Valley High School chief Mr. Strickland, who is given to denouncing 'slackers.' Meanwhile Michael J. Tolkan played the role of Dave Moss, latter immortalized by Ed Harris in the 1992 movie of the iconic workplace machismo satire. As recently as last year, he attended a Back to the Future fan expo in New Orleans where he and Michael J.

Source: Daily Mail March 28, 2026 04:04 UTC