Tom Skerritt, Star of 'Alien' and 'Top Gun,' Dies at 93: Manager Confirms He Died Wednesday of Natural Causes
Los Angeles: Tom Skerritt, the versatile American actor who starred in the sci-fi classic 'Alien' and the action drama 'Top Gun,' has died at the age of 93. According to Reuters, his manager confirmed the death, and his family said in a statement that he died on Wednesday of natural causes.
Born on August 25, 1933, in Detroit, Skerritt served in the U.S. Air Force before making his film debut in 1962 in 'War Hunt' alongside a young Robert Redford. His breakthrough came in Robert Altman's 1970 Korean War black comedy 'M*A*S*H,' where he played Army surgeon Duke Forrest; the film earned five Academy Award nominations.
In Ridley Scott's 1979 'Alien,' Skerritt played Dallas, captain of the ill-fated spacecraft, alongside Sigourney Weaver and Ian Holm, in a film now regarded as a landmark of sci-fi horror. He once said that what he liked most on reading the script was that 'the woman becomes the hero.' In 1986 he played naval aviation instructor Viper Metcalf in 'Top Gun,' the blockbuster that helped make Tom Cruise a superstar.
His other notable films include 'Steel Magnolias' (1989) with Sally Field, 'A River Runs Through It' (1992) with Brad Pitt, 'Harold and Maude' (1971) and 'Contact' (1997). On television he starred from 1992 to 1996 in the CBS series 'Picket Fences' as a Wisconsin town sheriff, winning the 1993 Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. Skerritt was married three times and was the father of five children.
After Skerritt's death on Wednesday, Oct. 21, his family shared a statement through publicist Susan Madore: the family said they were heartbroken by his loss, and that while the world knew him through his remarkable acting career, they knew him for his humor, curiosity, wisdom and generosity, and for how deeply he cared about imagination, creativity, storytelling, service, veterans, the natural world and helping others find and share their own voices. Born Thomas Roy Skerritt, he served four years in the U.S. Air Force and went on to study at Wayne State University and UCLA; his Picket Fences character was Sheriff Jimmy Brock. His career spanned more than six decades, from the 1960s into the 2020s. He is survived by his wife, Julie, and his children Andy, Erin, Matt, Collin and Emiko.
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Photo: 图：汤姆·斯克里特2014年出席公开活动时发言（资料图）。Gage Skidmore摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经维基共享资源。Photo: Tom Skerritt speaking at a public event in 2014 (file photo), by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
