Tom Skerritt, star of ‘Alien’ and ‘Top Gun,’ dies at 93

Tom Skerritt, a prolific actor who won an Emmy playing a hard-working sheriff in “Picket Fences” and also appeared in hit Hollywood movies like “Top Gun” and “Alien,” has died, his family confirmed Thursday. He was 93. Skerritt died Wednesday of natural causes, his family said in a statement provided to NBC News. “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,” the family said. “He cared deeply about imagination, creativity, storytelling, service, veterans, the natural world, and helping others find and share their own voices.” Born Aug. 25, 1933, in Detroit, Skerritt landed in Hollywood after serving four years in the U.S. Air Force intending to become a director. But with his lean frame and weather-beaten good looks, Skerritt quickly found his place in front of the camera. His breakthrough role was playing Captain Duke Forrest in Robert Altman’s 1970 satirical war movie “M*A*S*H.” That led to starring roles in a string of successful movies like “The Turning Point,” “Up in Smoke,” “The Dead Zone” and “Steel Magnolias.” But Skerritt was best known to moviegoers as Tom Cruise’s no-nonsense flight instructor in the 1986 blockbuster “Top Gun” and the doomed Captain Dallas in the 1979 science-fiction classic “Alien.” Skerritt was also widely praised for his role as a stern minister in the 1992 Robert Redford movie “A River Runs Through It,” which won an Oscar for best cinematography. Later, Skerritt made his mark on the small screen playing Sheriff Jimmy Brock on the family dramedy “Picket Fences” from 1992 to 1996. In later years, Skerritt branched out and started Heyou Media in 2016, a digital entertainment and content-aggregation company based in Seattle. He was 84 at the time. “This is a new era and we’re positioning ourselves to bring some light to new media and digital entertainment,” the actor told The Seattle Times. “My frame of reference is as big as this room.” Skerritt is survived by his wife Julie, five children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. “We are heartbroken by his loss,” the family said in their statement.