Tom Skerritt, the veteran actor best known for Alien, Top Gun and the television drama Picket Fences, has died aged 93.
Skerritt died on Wednesday of natural causes, his family said in a statement. His publicist confirmed his death the following day.
“We are heartbroken by his loss,” his family said. “While the world knew Tom through his remarkable acting career, we knew him for his humor, curiosity, wisdom, generosity, and the love he brought into our lives.”
He won an Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his performance in Picket Fences in 1993, having been nominated twice for the role.
Set in the fictional Wisconsin community of Rome, the series saw Skerritt play Sheriff Jimmy Brock opposite Kathy Baker, who portrayed his doctor wife. The David E Kelley drama ran for four years from 1992 and won 14 Emmy Awards, as well as a Golden Globe.
Tom Skerritt’s film career
Skerritt’s film work included the role of Captain Dallas in Ridley Scott’s Alien, in which his character leads the crew of the spaceship Nostromo in the search for the creature aboard the vessel.
He later played Tom Cruise’s instructor in Top Gun, delivering the warning: “This school is about combat. There are no points for second place.”
Among his other notable performances were Shirley MacLaine’s husband in The Turning Point, Sally Field’s husband in Steel Magnolias and a scheming figure in Contact, in which Jodie Foster’s character attempts to communicate with extraterrestrial life.
Skerritt also appeared as the Reverend John Maclean in Robert Redford’s A River Runs Through It, alongside Brad Pitt. Redford and Skerritt had first worked together on the 1962 Korean War film War Hunt, which also marked the film debuts of Sydney Pollack and Francis Ford Coppola.
Redford later described Skerritt as a lifelong friend, saying: “His values were close to mine, and he kept his integrity.”
Skerritt’s television credits included recurring roles in Cheers, Brothers and Sisters and Leverage. He also starred in the television film What the Deaf Man Heard and modelled for Guess jeans.
Although he had initially hoped to become a writer and director, acting became his career. He directed and starred in the 1997 television film Divided by Hate.
From Detroit to the stage
Born into a middle-class family in Detroit, Skerritt was the son of a small businessman and a housewife. He spent four years in the Air Force before attending Wayne State University and later the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied filmmaking after being inspired by Citizen Kane.
A theatre production of The Rainmaker led to his first film role in War Hunt. He went on to balance film and television work throughout his career, later appearing on stage as the narrator in Our Town and making his Broadway debut in 2013 in A Time to Kill.
“A writer once described me as a character actor locked in a leading man’s body, and I’ve always loved that,” Skerritt said. “It’s a nice compliment. I’ve been able to walk the line between television and features.”
He is survived by his third wife, Julie Tokashiki, and five children.
