Tom Skerritt, ‘Alien’ and ‘Top Gun’ Star, Dies at 93
Tom Skerritt, whose roles ranged from Captain Dallas in 'Alien' to Viper in 'Top Gun,' died Wednesday of natural causes at 93. His screen career spanned six decades and earned him an Emmy for 'Picket Fences.'
Actor Tom Skerritt, known for his roles in the films “M*A*S*H,” “Alien” and “Top Gun” and for his Emmy-winning turn on television’s “Picket Fences,” died Wednesday at the age of 93, his manager confirmed. He died of natural causes, his family confirmed in a statement shared with USA Today.
“We are heartbroken by his loss,” the family statement 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 cared deeply about imagination, creativity, storytelling, service, veterans, the natural world, and helping others find and share their own voices.”
Skerritt, a Detroit native, had a Hollywood career that ran from the 1960s to the 2020s. His breakthrough role was Duke Forrest, a roguish U.S. Army surgeon, in director Robert Altman’s 1970 Korean War black comedy “M*A*S*H,” whose ensemble cast included Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould and Sally Kellerman. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards and later inspired the television series of the same name.
From “Alien” to “Top Gun”
In director Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi horror “Alien,” Skerritt played Dallas, the captain of the Nostromo, the commercial spacecraft whose crew encounters a deadly extraterrestrial creature. The film earned two Oscar nominations. In the 1986 blockbuster “Top Gun,” he shared the screen with Tom Cruise as commanding officer Mike “Viper” Metcalf.
His other credits included “Steel Magnolias,” in which he played Drum Eatenton, the husband of Sally Field’s M’Lynn; “The Turning Point”; “A River Runs Through It,” opposite Brad Pitt; “Contact”; and “The Dead Zone.” On television, he starred as Jimmy Brock, a Wisconsin sheriff, on the CBS drama “Picket Fences,” which ran for four seasons, winning the Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series in 1993. He also appeared in “Gunsmoke,” “The Twilight Zone” and the sixth season of “Cheers.”
Born in Detroit in 1933, Skerritt served in the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s before pursuing acting, making his film debut in 1962 alongside a young Robert Redford in “War Hunt.” He was married three times and was a father of five children. He kept working into his 90s: in 2025, he appeared in the western drama “Broke” with Wyatt Russell and Dennis Quaid. His family asked for privacy as they grieve and said information about a memorial would be shared later.
Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and USA Today.
