- Born
- Birth nameJames Stewart Tolkan
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- Fiery, forceful and intimidating character actor James Tolkan has
carved out a nice little niche for himself in both movies and
television alike as a formidable portrayer of fierce and flinty
hard-boiled tough guy types. James Stewart Tolkan was born on June 20,
1931 in Calumet, Michigan. His father, Ralph M. Tolkan, was a cattle
dealer. James attended the University of Iowa, Coe College and Eastern
Arizona College. After serving a year-long stint in the United States
Navy, Tolkan went to New York and studied acting with both
Lee Strasberg and
Stella Adler at the Actors Studio. Short
and bald, with beady, intense eyes, a wiry, compact, muscular build, a
gruff, jarring, high-decibel voice, and an aggressive, confrontational,
blunt-as-a-battle-ax, rough-around-the-edges demeanor, Tolkan has been
often cast as rugged, cynical no-nonsense cops, mean, domineering
authority figures, and various ruthless and dangerous criminals.
Tolkan first began acting in movies in the late 1960s and was highly
effective in two pictures for Sidney Lumet:
He was a rabidly homophobic police lieutenant in the superbly gritty
Serpico (1973) and a sneaky district
attorney in the equally excellent
Prince of the City (1981).
Best known as the obnoxiously overzealous high school principal Gerard
Strickland in the Back to the Future films, Tolkan's other most
memorable roles include Napolean in
Woody Allen's
Love and Death (1975), a ramrod
army officer in WarGames (1983), mayor
Robert Culp's mordant, wisecracking assistant in
Turk 182 (1985), the hard-nosed
Stinger in Top Gun (1986), the choleric
Detective Lubric in
Masters of the Universe (1987),
meek mob accountant Numbers in
Dick Tracy (1990), and
Wesley Snipes' bullish superior in
Boiling Point (1993).
James has had recurring parts on the television series
A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001)
(he also directed two episodes),
Mary (1985),
Cobra (1993),
The Hat Squad (1992) and
Remington Steele (1982).
Among the television series James has done guest spots on are
Naked City (1958),
Hill Street Blues (1981),
Miami Vice (1984),
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990),
The Equalizer (1985),
The Wonder Years (1988) and
The Pretender (1996). Besides
his film and television work, Tolkan has also performed on stage in
productions of such plays as "Between Two Thieves", "Wings", "One
Tennis Shoe", "The Front Page", "Twelve Angry Men", "Full Circle", "The
Tempest", "Golda", "The Silent Partner" and the original 1984 Broadway
production of David Mamet's "Glengary, Glen
Ross". When he isn't acting, James Tolkan spends his spare time
collecting folk art.- IMDb Mini Biography By: woodyanders
- SpouseParmelee Welles(August 28, 1971 - present)
- ParentsRalph M. TolkanMarjorie Tolkan
- RelativesAnna Tolkan(Grandparent)Harry Tolkan(Grandparent)
- Often plays strict, overbearing authority figures
- Bald head and beading intense eyes
- Gruff jarring high-decibel voice
- Aggressive, confrontational demeanor
- Frequently cast in Sidney Lumet films.
- Attended the University of Iowa, Coe College and Eastern Arizona College (EAC).
- Studied with Stella Adler in New York and was an understudy to Robert Duvall in the 1965 production of Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge".
- His paternal grandparents, Anna and Harry Tolkan, were Russian Jewish immigrants. His maternal grandparents, Sofia and Alexander Silvola, were Finnish.
- Born on the same date as Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis.
- Standard character actor who has reliably played in urban films as both good guys (policemen, attorneys) and bad guys (mobsters).
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