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Renowned actor James Tolkan, celebrated for his memorable performances as a cigar-smoking naval officer in “Top Gun” and a stern high school administrator in “Back to the Future,” has passed away at the age of 94.

According to his booking agent, John Alcantar, Tolkan died peacefully on Thursday in Lake Placid, New York, where he resided. The “Back to the Future” website published a brief obituary but did not disclose the cause of death.

In the beloved classic “Back to the Future,” Tolkan brought to life the character of Vice Principal Gerald Strickland, known for his no-nonsense demeanor and trademark bow tie, as he kept a watchful eye on the students of the fictional Hill Valley High School—particularly Michael J. Fox’s character, Marty McFly.

In the 1985 film, Strickland famously confronts McFly, stating, “You got a real attitude problem, McFly. You’re a slacker. You remind me of your father when he went here. He was a slacker, too.”

Tolkan’s role as commanding officer Tom “Stinger” Jardian in “Top Gun” is equally iconic. In a memorable scene towards the film’s conclusion, Jardian inquires about Tom Cruise’s character, Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s future plans, to which Mitchell ambitiously responds that he aspires to become a Top Gun instructor.

“God help us,” Tolkan’s character replies, laughing.

Born in Calumet, Michigan, Tolkan graduated from high school in Arizona and served in the Navy during the Korean War. He eventually made his way to New York, where he spent a quarter century acting in theater roles. He was a member of the original ensemble cast of “Glengarry Glen Ross.”

Tolkan is survived by his wife of 54 years, Parmelee Welles, who said in a statement that her husband also was an avid art collector and adored animals.

Stephen Miller, known for his aggressive tactics, has been a critical influencer in the recent shifts within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), contributing significantly to Kristi Noem’s exit. Now, as a new leader steps in, the challenges remain daunting, with Miller, one of President Trump’s most influential advisors, closely overseeing the mass deportation strategy.

According to several senior DHS officials, both current and former, Miller’s forceful involvement has not only driven Trump’s tough immigration policies but also created turbulence and uncertainty within the department. His authoritative style has been a defining feature of the administration’s approach.

Markwayne Mullin, a senator from Oklahoma, has recently taken the reins at Homeland Security following a turbulent period under Noem’s leadership. Her tenure, marred by controversy and alleged personal entanglements with advisor Corey Lewandowski, ended abruptly, paving the way for Mullin’s appointment.

Insiders from the Trump administration have indicated Miller played a significant role in undermining Noem’s position. They warn that unless President Trump curtails Miller’s influence, Mullin might face a similar fate, potentially not surviving a full year in this challenging role.

Miller’s unprecedented command over Homeland Security is evident in his daily 10 a.m. conference calls with the department’s senior officials. These meetings are where he issues strict orders to intensify deportations and, as reported by sources, often resorts to reprimanding agency leaders, cautioning them of potential termination should they fail to comply with his directives.

Multiple senior officials directly familiar with the 10am calls revealed Miller’s control of DHS resulted in some occasions that directly undermined Trump’s prior orders.

During Trump’s massive immigration crackdown in in Los Angeles in June, the President spoke with top officials and told them to avoid targeting farm workers. The next day at 10am, Miller sent out different orders.

‘Stephen got on the call the next day, and said “We’re discussing that internally” and that we should just disregard what he said,’ one official told the Daily Mail. ‘It was like the President never said anything. It was just like Stephen was in charge.’ 

Miller’s heavy-handed oversight has made him the driving force behind Trump’s immigration crackdown, while also fueling chaos and confusion within the department

Kristi Noem was pushed out of DHS in part after she appeared to blame Miller for her response to the death’s of Alex Pretti and Renee Good

‘Stephen purports to speak with the authority of the President himself, and he makes that very clear on the calls, even if it means undermining what the President just said exactly,’ the source added.

Other DHS insiders say Miller’s power, if anything, has only grown since Noem’s firing and that Mullin will govern the department with him as his marionette.

‘He was picked because Miller will be able to use him as his puppet,’ A DHS official told the Daily Mail.

Another DHS source added: ‘It’s a broken system that’s completely disconnected, and so Mullin’s problem is that he’s not gonna be able to effectively run his department, and also the heads of the agencies, like the head of CBP, the head of USCIS, and others – they are Miller’s people.’

The Daily Mail has contacted Miller for comment.

Meanwhile Noem’s chief rival, Border Czar Tom Homan, will also wield more influence over Homeland Security as sources note he and Mullin are frequently in contact with each other.

‘But that still leaves Stephen trying to call the policy level shots,’ A DHS source said. ‘Mullin and Tom will still be the implementers of Stephen’s decisions.’

Trump Insiders claim Markwayne Mullin will not last long so long as Stephen Miller is still calling the shots

In one instance, Lyons was so stressed out by Miller’s demands in LA that he had to be relieved of his duty for medical reasons

Miller not only shapes the agency’s policy direction, but also inserts himself into operational minutia, frequently undercutting ICE Director Todd Lyons and other immigration enforcement leaders.

The Daily Mail contacted Lyons for comment.

In one instance, Lyons was so stressed out by Miller’s demands in LA that he had to be relieved of his duty for medical reasons, an insider said.

‘The stress was so bad that, like Todd Lyons ended up getting relieved of duty because he was basically having a heart attack during the operation,’ a source on the call told the Daily Mail. ‘Stephen was just crushing him. And he had no ability. He had no authority to lead, like he was not empowered by Stephen to lead, because Stephen was micromanaging things so extremely.

Lyons, with a pale deadpan expression, apparently told Miller at one point: ‘I don’t know what you want me to do.’

Miller is said to have responded bluntly: ‘I want 3000 arrests a day, Todd! There’s 4 million illegal aliens in Los Angeles. If you have to go door to door, busting down doors, if you have to engage every single work party you see of brown people speaking Spanish. I don’t care!’

Politico reported on Friday that Lyons has been hospitalized on at least two occasions for stress-related issues while carrying out immigration enforcement.

Lyons is not the only ICE official who had to be taken off the job during a medical scare. Back in December, the Daily Mail reported that Tyshawn Thomas, the HR chief with ICE, had his own stress-related ‘fainting episode’ on the job, and was removed on a stretcher and rushed by ambulance to the hospital. He was transferred out of the role soon after, purportedly to the Miller-led pressures to meet hiring quotas.

The infighting and scandals that have plagued DHS over the past year have eroded public support for Trump’s mass deportation agenda, a cornerstone of his electoral mandate when he won back the White House in 2024.

The most damaging episodes were the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, which Miller was at the center of.

During his 10am calls with immigration leaders, Miller was demanding agents be sent out to areas in Minneapolis where DHS knew there was a heavy presence of protesters to ‘force confrontations,’ two DHS senior sources told the Daily Mail.

One official noted that Miller repeatedly urged agents to engage protesters so the administration could win the ‘PR battle.’

‘He’s [Stephen Miller] the architect of Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s deaths’ one senior DHS official told the Daily Mail

Mere hours after a Border Patrol and ICE agents fatally shot Pretti, an ICU nurse, Miller called the victim an ‘assassin’ on social media

‘Miller said on these calls, “If we let them have the perception that their protesting is successful, then the administration will never successfully prosecute interior operations to remove aliens,”‘ a DHS source recalled to the Daily Mail.

‘So we need to engage these protesters, and we need to vanquish them by force of arms. They need to be vanquished by any force necessary,’ Miller reportedly told immigration leaders, according to the source.

Mere hours after a Border Patrol and ICE agents fatally shot Pretti, an ICU nurse, Miller called the victim an ‘assassin’ on social media.

‘This is why he f***ing needs to be fired. It’s absolutely nuts,’ another senior DHS official familiar with the calls told the Daily Mail. ‘He’s the architect of Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s deaths.’

Miller later walked back those remarks after the FBI opened up an investigation into whether the agents violated Pretti’s civil rights.

At the time Noem, facing her own pressures for mishandling the crisis, vented about Miller’s influence to others close in her circle, reportedly telling an anonymous Axios source: ‘Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen.’

That comment about Miller ultimately contributed to her downfall, sources tell the Daily Mail.

The Trump administration’s potential choice for engaging with Iran is stirring interest and raising eyebrows. The name being floated is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian parliament speaker known for his hardline stance. Ghalibaf, a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, is characterized by experts as a staunch loyalist with a history of issuing threats against the United States. His deep connections within Iran’s inner circle highlight both his influence and his limitations.

This situation presents a significant challenge for U.S. policymakers. While President Donald Trump has asserted that Washington is reaching out to the “right people,” the question remains: can a figure like Ghalibaf effectuate meaningful dialogue?

Beni Sabti, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies, remarks on Ghalibaf’s nature, describing him as lacking an independent voice. “Ghalibaf’s strength lies in being a ‘yes man,'” Sabti explains. “Whether he’s instructed to engage diplomatically with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff or to take a more aggressive stance, he will comply. It’s not about moderation; it’s about following orders.”

Ghalibaf, at 64, is deeply entrenched in Iran’s security framework, reflecting his longstanding role within the regime. His career trajectory and loyalty to Iran’s leadership make him a pivotal, yet potentially constrained player in any diplomatic endeavors.

Regime Insider 

Ghalibaf, 64, is a product of Iran’s security establishment.

He rose through the ranks of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during the Iran-Iraq War, eventually becoming commander of the IRGC air force.

“He even completed flight training abroad, which was not unusual at the time, with France reportedly assisting at one stage. Until recently, he was still conducting training flights in France,” said Sabti.

He later served as Iran’s national police chief, overseeing internal security forces responsible for suppressing protests, including the 1999 student uprising, alongside Qassem Soleimani.

After transitioning into politics, Ghalibaf attempted to run for president multiple times but failed. He instead built his career through loyalty to the system, serving as Tehran’s mayor for more than a decade before becoming speaker of parliament in 2020.

“Ghalibaf went on to serve in senior national roles and is now speaker of parliament. He has consistently aligned himself with the supreme leader and follows directives rather than setting his own independent positions,” Sabti said.

“His name has also been linked to multiple corruption allegations, including misuse of oil revenues and sanctions evasion networks involving his family. His sons have reportedly been involved and are under sanctions,” Sabti said, adding, “There have also been public scandals involving family members traveling abroad and making luxury purchases, including widely circulated images of them arriving with numerous high-end Gucci suitcases.”

Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf listens as parliament members chant in support of the IRGC in Tehran, Iran, Feb 1, 2026. (Hamed Malekpour/Islamic consultative assembly news agency/West Asia News Agency/Handout via Reuters)

Limited Authority

Ghalibaf’s wartime statements reflect a hardening tone inside Iran’s leadership.

He has rejected ceasefire terms, declaring Iran would continue fighting “until the enemy truly regrets its aggression.”

He has also warned that attacks on Iranian infrastructure would trigger retaliation across the region, including against energy targets.

At the same time, he has publicly denied any negotiations with the United States, calling reports of talks “fake news” and accusing Washington of manipulating markets.

In remarks aired on Iranian television on Jan. 12, 2026, he warned that U.S. forces would face catastrophic consequences if they confronted Iran. “Come, so you can see what catastrophe befalls American bases, ships and forces,” he said, adding that American troops would be “burned by the fire of Iran’s defenders.”

In the same remarks, broadcast and translated by MEMRI, he described the U.S. president as “delusional and arrogant,” and framed Iran’s ideology as a growing global movement.

More recently, he escalated further. He warned that “the blood of American soldiers is the personal responsibility of Trump,” and vowed Iran would “settle accounts with the Americans and Israelis,” adding that “Trump and Netanyahu crossed our red lines and will pay the price.”

He has also threatened retaliation against regional energy infrastructure, signaling a willingness to expand the conflict beyond direct military confrontation.

Not the Decision-Maker

“He’s considered relatively moderate in the current Iranian context, but he’s not the one calling the shots. He’s not the leader himself,” Danny Citrinowicz, Middle East, national security and intelligence expert, told Fox News Digital, adding that Ghalibaf may serve as a channel to Iran’s leadership, but not as the ultimate authority.

“If you want to speak to someone in Iran, he’s probably the point of contact,” he said. “But he’s not deciding anything. Even if he wants to do something, he has to get approval from the IRGC and the supreme leadership.”

Sabti said, “Some point to periods during Rouhani’s presidency when he appeared to align with Rouhani and describe him as somewhat moderate, but that is misleading.”

A man lights a cigarette with fire from a burning picture of Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, as Israelis rally in support of the nationwide protests happening in Iran, in Holon, Israel, Jan. 14, 2026. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

A System That Makes Deals Harder

Analysts say the bigger issue is not Ghalibaf himself, but the system he operates within.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said: “Those who see the ascendance of someone like Ghalibaf, who is an IRGC veteran, as extending power outside his traditional civilian role have missed how personality, not profession, has been the driving force in Iranian politics for decades. Those who focus on IRGC backgrounds in the Supreme National Security Council may also overlook that recent secretaries — Shamkhani, Larijani and Ahmadian — all had IRGC backgrounds.”

“The system today is more radicalized and decentralized,” Citrinowicz agreed. “It’s not one person. It’s multiple actors you need to coordinate with, which makes it much harder to negotiate.”

“I’m not saying it’s impossible, because this is still the Middle East, but it will be very difficult to reach an agreement with them, let alone one that reflects the same demands the U.S. was making before the war. There is no way they are going to agree to that,” he added.

A billboard depicting Iran’s supreme leaders is displayed above a highway in Tehran on March 10, 2026. (AFP/Via Getty Images)

Citrinowicz said the regime sees themselves as prevailing. “From Iran’s perspective, they are winning, not losing. They are using their strategic capabilities and effectively threatening a choke point in the global economy, namely the Strait of Hormuz. That only reinforces the radicalization taking place inside the regime. Under those conditions, they will be the ones making demands of Trump, not the other way around.”

Even if talks were to take place, he said, Ghalibaf would not be able to commit Iran without broader approval.