Tom Skerritt, 'Alien' and 'Top Gun' Star, Dies at 93
Tom Skerritt, the Detroit-born actor whose six-decade career stretched from Robert Altman's M*A*S*H to Ridley Scott's Alien and the blockbuster Top Gun, has died at the age of 93, his family announced. Skerritt died on Wednesday of natural causes, according to statements shared with media outlets including Reuters, CNN and USA Today.
The family's announcement
The family said in a statement: "We are heartbroken by his loss. 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," USA Today reported. Entertainment Weekly reported that the statement also described him as a loving husband to his wife Julie, a father of five, a grandfather and a great-grandfather, and asked for privacy as the family grieves.
A career across six decades
Reuters noted that Skerritt's Hollywood career ran from the 1960s into the 2020s. His breakthrough was as Duke Forrest, the roguish Army surgeon in Altman's 1970 antiwar comedy M*A*S*H, which was nominated for five Academy Awards. By decade's end he was Captain Dallas of the ill-fated Nostromo in Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror classic Alien, sitting beside John Hurt in the film's famous "chestburster" scene. In 1986 he played Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf, the flight instructor who first doubted and then mentored Tom Cruise's Maverick, in Top Gun, according to Reuters and CNN.
Other memorable credits reported by the outlets include The Turning Point (1977), The Dead Zone (1983), Steel Magnolias (1989), A River Runs Through It (1992) and Contact (1997). On television he found a defining role as Sheriff Jimmy Brock in CBS's Picket Fences (1992–1996), which won him the 1993 Primetime Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series, CNN reported. He also played Evan Drake on Cheers and, per The Sun, his final on-screen role came in 2025.
Service and legacy
Before acting, the Detroit native served in the U.S. Air Force, and he later became an advocate for veterans as a co-founder of The Red Badge Project, The Sun reported. Reuters described him as a versatile performer known for rugged good looks and the ability to shine in a variety of genres — a working actor who stayed close to the craft for more than sixty years.
Sources: Reuters; CNN; USA Today; Entertainment Weekly; TheWrap; The Sun.