James Tolkan, the character actor best known for playing the stern, slacker-hating vice principal Mr. Strickland in the “Back to the Future” franchise and the hard-nosed Commander Stinger in “Top Gun,” died Thursday. He was 94.

Mr. Tolkan passed away peacefully in Saranac Lake, New York, his family announced, along with writer-producer Bob Gale and the franchise’s official website. No cause of death was given.

Mr. Tolkan’s career spanned more than five decades, beginning with his first television credit in the 1960 series “Naked City.” Born in Calumet, Michigan, in 1931, Mr. Tolkan served in the Navy during the Korean War before attending three colleges. He then boarded a bus to New York City with $75 in his pocket and enrolled with both Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg to study acting. According to an obituary posted on the franchise’s official website, Mr. Tolkan spent 25 years in New York theater.

Among his stage credits, Mr. Tolkan performed on Broadway as salesman Dave Moss in the original 1984–85 production of “Glengarry Glen Ross,” a role later portrayed by Ed Harris in the 1992 film adaptation.

Mr. Tolkan is perhaps most recognized for his work in the “Back to the Future” trilogy, in which he played Mr. Strickland in the 1985 original and 1989 sequel. In 1990, he returned as the grandfather of his character for the third film. The cigar-loving Mr. Strickland brands Marty McFly, his father and school bully Biff Tannen as “slackers” throughout the series.

Mr. Tolkan also played Tom “Stinger” Jardian, Commander of the USS Enterprise Carrier Air Group, in Tony Scott’s 1986 blockbuster “Top Gun,” barking at Maverick and Goose early in the film before giving Maverick his choice of duty assignment near its conclusion.

Over his 60-year career, Mr. Tolkan worked with directors, including Woody Allen in “Love and Death” (1975), Warren Beatty in “Dick Tracy” (1990) and Sidney Lumet three times — in “Serpico” (1973), “Prince of the City” (1981) and “Family Business” (1989).

Mr. Tolkan reprised his role in all three “Back to the Future” films. Reflecting on the sequels, he once told Impulse Gamer: “That’s what I remember — the fun of it. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had doing a movie.”

Tributes poured in from his “Back to the Future” co-stars following news of his death. Michael J. Fox posted to Instagram, sharing a side-by-side of their two characters alongside a message honoring his late colleague, playing on the word “slacker” that Mr. Strickland used so frequently in the films. Christopher Lloyd, who played Doc Brown in the trilogy, also posted a tribute on Instagram featuring a photo of the two actors. Lea Thompson, who played Lorraine Baines McFly, shared a series of reunion photos on Instagram and called Mr. Tolkan “a kind, beautiful, wonderful actor and friend.”

Mr. Tolkan’s agent, John Alcantar, told TMZ that Mr. Tolkan loved the “Back to the Future” fandom and enjoyed attending fan conventions, describing him as “a total sweetheart of a man” despite the hard-nosed characters he typically portrayed on screen.

Mr. Tolkan is survived by his wife of 54 years, Parmelee, and three nieces. He met Parmelee on the set of the 1971 off-Broadway play “Pinkville,” where he starred and she worked as a prop girl. His family asked that donations in his memory be made to a local animal shelter, animal rescue organization or Humane Society chapter.