Culture 3 min read By Morgan Griffin
Tom Skerritt, Star of 'Top Gun,' 'Alien' and 'Picket Fences,' Dies at 93
Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor whose six-decade career spanned 'M*A*S*H,' 'Alien,' 'Top Gun' and 'Picket Fences,' died Wednesday of natural causes at 93. His family said they are heartbroken.
Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor whose quiet, commanding presence carried him through more than 60 years of film and television, died Wednesday of natural causes. He was 93. His family confirmed the death and said they are «heartbroken.»
Skerritt was best known to film audiences as Viper, the veteran naval aviator who mentors Tom Cruise's Maverick in «Top Gun,» and as Captain Dallas, the doomed commander of the commercial starship Nostromo in Ridley Scott's «Alien.» On television, he won an Emmy in 1993 for his role as Sheriff Jimmy Brock on the CBS drama «Picket Fences.»
His career began in the early 1960s and stretched across eras of American entertainment. He appeared in Robert Altman's «M*A*S*H,» the 1970 film that preceded the long-running television series, and later in «A River Runs Through It» and the comedy «Ted.» The range of those credits — war comedy, science fiction horror, sports drama, family saga, raunchy comedy — reflected a performer who was often memorable in supporting roles without ever seeming to chase the spotlight.
Skerritt was born in Detroit and raised in the city before attending Wayne State University and later the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied acting. He worked steadily in television Westerns and dramas in the 1960s before «M*A*S*H» brought him wider attention. His lean, rugged frame and mustache made him a natural fit for authority figures, though he played them with an understated warmth that kept them from becoming caricatures.
«Alien,» released in 1979, cast him as the captain of a crew that encounters a lethal extraterrestrial organism. The film became a landmark of science fiction and horror and launched a franchise, but Skerritt's Dallas was killed off early enough that he did not return for the sequels. «Top Gun,» released in 1986, became a defining blockbuster of the decade and gave him a role as the wise older pilot whose approval Maverick seeks.
On «Picket Fences,» created by David E. Kelley, Skerritt played the sheriff of a small Wisconsin town navigating oddball cases and family life. The series ran from 1992 to 1996 and earned him the Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. He remained active in film and television in the decades that followed, including a turn in the 2012 comedy «Ted» and appearances in independent films.
Tributes from across the entertainment industry are expected in the coming days. Skerritt is survived by his family, who confirmed his death and asked for privacy. No further details about memorial arrangements were immediately available.
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