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Actor Tom Skerritt, Star of 'Top Gun' and 'Alien,' Dies at 93
Confirmed
In Short: Actor Tom Skerritt, known for his roles in 'Top Gun' and 'Alien,' died Wednesday of natural causes at the age of 93, according to his family's statement.
Actor Tom Skerritt, known for his roles in 'Top Gun' and 'Alien,' died Wednesday of natural causes at the age of 93, according to his family's statement.
Skerritt, who had a career spanning from the early 1960s to the 2020s, earned more than 170 film credits across television and film, according to his IMDb page.
In 'Top Gun,' Skerritt played Mike 'Viper' Metcalf, the commanding officer of the Top Gun program, and in 'Alien,' he portrayed the beleaguered and doomed captain of the ship Nostromo.
He also starred in 'M*A*S*H,' 'Steel Magnolias,' and 'A River Runs Through It,' among other notable films.
Skerritt's family said in a statement, '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 was also known for his commitment to helping veterans through the Red Badge Project, which he co-founded to assist veterans with PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
Skerritt's career began in Westerns before breaking out in the megahit 1970 Robert Altman film 'M*A*S*H' as surgeon Duke Forrest.
He made his Broadway debut in 2013 in an adaptation of John Grisham's 'A Time to Kill,' where he played a disgraced and drunken lawyer.
Skerritt's loved ones expressed their gratitude for the 'love and support' they are receiving at this painful time.
The family statement concluded, 'Tom believed deeply in the power of storytelling. He helped found TheFilmSchool in Seattle to support the next generation of filmmakers and storytellers.'
What this adds
WarpBeat previously reported on Skerritt's death, but this report adds details about his extensive career and contributions to the film and television industry.
Background
Actor Tom Skerritt, known for his roles in 'M*A*S*H,' 'Alien,' and 'Steel Magnolias,' died on Wednesday due to natural causes at the age of 93.
Picket Fences is an American family drama television series about the residents of the town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley.
Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant j.g. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, are F-14 Tomcat pilots assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.
What's confirmed
- Skerritt died Wednesday of natural causes, his family said in a statement.
- "A writer once described me as a character actor locked in a leading man's body, and I've always loved that. It's a nice compliment. I've been able to walk the line between television and features," he told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1997.
- Skerritt was twice nominated for an Emmy — both for "Picket Fences," winning outstanding lead actor in a drama series in 1993.
- Onstage, he was the narrator in "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 which The Associated Press wrote he "nicely pulls off a charming disgraced and drunken lawyer."
- "That commitment later extended to the Red Badge Project, which he co-founded to help veterans work through PTSD, anxiety, and depression by writing and sharing their experiences."
- "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," the statement said.
- “There was such a deep connection we made with each other that it matured into a level-headed friendship,” Redford told the Seattle Times in 2007.
- I really like that idea.” Things shifted again after that, including a memorable role as Tom Cruise’s instructor in the landmark “Top Gun”: “Gentlemen, you are the top 1% of all Naval aviators.
- “Things happen,” he told The Ottawa Citizen in 1992.
- Then came “Alien,” with Skerritt playing the beleaguered and doomed captain of the ship Nostromo, crouched in a dark, claustrophobic duct, hunting the alien with a sputtering flamethrower.
- "It was written by the best writer on television," he told the A.V.
- An Emmy-winning actor known for roles in “Top Gun” and “Picket Fences,” Tom Skerritt has died at 93.
What's still developing
- In a 2019 interview with Consequence, Skerritt said that he knew the movie would be a success with Ridley Scott as a director: “I remember we were one or two weeks into it, and one of the actors, I forget who, said, ‘Man, I feel like we could be making a classic,’ and I said, ‘We are, man.'” Following Alien, Skerritt went on to feature in movies including The Dead Zone and Spacecamp, and also starred in the 1986 classic Top Gun, playing Mike “Viper” Metcalf, commanding officer of the Top Gun program.
- But with his lean frame and weather-beaten good looks, Skerritt quickly found his place in front of the camera.
- He spent his early days in Hollywood appearing in television shows, from My Three Sons to The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and hanging out with the likes of Robert Redford and director Hal Ashby, who cast Skerritt in Harold and Maude (as a cop, of course).
- Redford and Skerritt were vying for the same lead role, with the former winning out.
- “We are heartbroken by his loss,” his family said ( via The Hollywood Reporter ).
- Born in Detroit in 1933, Skerritt served four years in the U.S.
- "It is spontaneity and impulse that make the difference, and that is what I felt we had with 'Alien,'" Skerritt said in a 2019 interview.
- Onstage, he was the narrator in “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 which The Associated Press wrote he “nicely pulls off a charming disgraced and drunken lawyer.” WBAL NewsRadio 1090, FM 101.5 and the WBAL mobile app.
- Skerritt played Captain Augustus Bedford "Duke" Forrest, a surgeon serving alongside Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and Trapper John McIntyre (Elliott Gould) at a mobile Army surgical hospital during the Korean War. Skerritt credited Altman with giving him the confidence to experiment with his character and take creative risks. "I just loved the guy from the first," Skerritt said of Altman. "He made me realize early on that you could do no wrong, as long as you tried."
- Britain's energy supplies are secure for winter, national grid operators have said, despite expected higher gas demand at peak times and possible "tight days" for electricity.
Sources
- ABC7 Los Angeleslink
- Breitbartlink
- CBS Newslink
- Consequence of Soundlink
- Daily Gate Citylink
- Fox Newslink
- LiveNOW from FOXlink
- Los Angeles Timeslink
- NBC Newslink
- NPRlink
- NonStop Local KHQlink
- Oannlink
- PBSlink
- Rolling Stonelink
- The Hollywood Reporterlink
- Wide Open Countrylink
- Paramount Pictures / YouTube — video link