'Top Gun' and 'Alien' Actor Tom Skerritt Dies at 93
Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor known for his roles in "Top Gun," "Alien," "Steel Magnolias" and the TV drama "Picket Fences," has died. He was 93.
Skerritt died Wednesday of natural causes, his family said. In a statement, they said they were "heartbroken by his loss" and remembered him for "his humor, curiosity, wisdom, generosity and the love he brought into our lives," ABC7 reported.
The family asked for privacy and said details about a memorial will be shared later.
From "M*A*S*H" to "Top Gun"
Born in Detroit in 1933, Skerritt served four years in the U.S. Air Force after high school. He later studied at Wayne State University and UCLA, where a stage production of "The Rainmaker" helped launch his acting career. He left school without a degree to pursue acting full time.
Skerritt made his film debut in the 1962 movie "War Hunt." He went on to work with director Robert Altman in "M*A*S*H," playing Capt. Augustus "Duke" Forrest.
Over the decades, Skerritt became one of Hollywood's most dependable faces. In 1979's "Alien," he played Capt. Dallas, the doomed commander of the spaceship Nostromo. Seven years later, he played Cmdr. Mike "Viper" Metcalf, the flight instructor at the Navy's elite fighter pilot school in "Top Gun."
He also played the patient husband of Shirley MacLaine's character in "The Turning Point," Sally Field's husband, Drum Eatenton, in "Steel Magnolias," and the Rev. Maclean in Robert Redford's "A River Runs Through It." In "Contact," he played David Drumlin, a scheming scientist who stands in the way of Jodie Foster's character, according to Fox News.
Skerritt once summed up his career with a bit of humor. "A writer once described me as a character actor locked in a leading man's body," he told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1997.
An Emmy for "Picket Fences"
On television, Skerritt was best known for playing Sheriff Jimmy Brock on the quirky CBS drama "Picket Fences." The role earned him two Emmy nominations, and he won the award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series in 1993.
He also had memorable film roles in "Ice Castles," the Cheech and Chong comedy "Up in Smoke," and Stephen King's "The Dead Zone," where he played Sheriff George Bannerman. On TV, he appeared on "Cheers," "The West Wing," "Brothers & Sisters" and "The Good Wife."
Skerritt took to the stage later in life as well. He narrated "Our Town" at Seattle's Intiman Theatre in 2004 and made his Broadway debut in 2013 in an adaptation of John Grisham's "A Time to Kill." In its review of that play, The Associated Press said Skerritt "nicely pulls off a charming disgraced and drunken lawyer."
Looking back on his career, Skerritt said he felt "a great sense of gratitude and appreciation and good fortune" for the projects he had been part of.
Giving Back to Veterans and Rivers
Away from the camera, Skerritt devoted much of his time to causes close to his heart. He helped found TheFilmSchool in Seattle to support the next generation of filmmakers.
He also co-founded the Red Badge Project, which helps veterans cope with PTSD, anxiety and depression by writing and sharing their stories.
Inspired in part by his time filming "A River Runs Through It," Skerritt helped create "Reflections of the River," a documentary series about the health of America's rivers. He also supported river conservation through groups including American Rivers and the Gallatin River Task Force.
His Family
Skerritt is survived by his wife, Julie, and his five children, Andy, Erin, Matt, Collin and Emiko. He also leaves behind five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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