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

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Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor who appeared in films Top Gun and Alien, and TV series Picket Fences and Cheers, has died. He was 93.

Skerritt died Wednesday of natural causes, his family said in a statement, adding they are “heartbroken” by the loss.

The Hollywood veteran was “a loving husband to Julie; father to Andy, Erin, Matt, Collin, and Emiko; grandfather to Sara, Maddison, Sunny, Louisa, and Georgia; and great-grandfather to Marigold and Ravi,” the statement said, per People.

“While the world knew Tom through his remarkable acting career, we knew him for his humour, curiosity, wisdom, generosity and the love he brought into our lives,” the family noted.

“We are incredibly grateful for the love and support being shown by his friends, colleagues, and fans.”

His early years

Skerritt was born in Detroit in 1933, and spent four years in the Air Force after graduating high school.

He attended Wayne State University, then transferred to UCLA before leaving the school to pursue acting.

His performance in a Los Angeles theatre production of The Rainmaker landed him his first film role — a supporting part as a sergeant in 1962’s War Hunt, which also marked the debuts of Robert Redford, Sydney Pollack and Francis Ford Coppola.

Skerritt also appeared that same year in episodes of the series Combat, and garnered him more TV work in shows like Gunsmoke, Death Valley Days and 12 O’Clock High.

He also reunited with his Combat director Robert Altman in M.A.S.H. and Thieves Like Us, which led to more supporting roles in Harold and Maude, Up in Smoke and The Turning Point before Alien came along.

Skerritt played Dallas, the captain of the doomed spaceship Nostromo, who is ambushed and killed by the titular creature.

Flying high with Top Gun

The actor was best known for playing Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf in 1986’s Top Gun, the senior flight instructor and mentor to Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

“I think we had a rapport, right from the beginning,” Skerritt said in a 2022 interview with KSWB, reflecting on how his and Cruise’s offscreen relationship translated in the film.

“This is a father-and-a-son situation, is really what it comes down to. And that’s really the way I thought about it.”

After Top Gun, his most notable ‘80s film was arguably Steel Magnolias, in which he played Drum, the husband of Sally Field’s M’Lynn and dad of Julia Roberts’ Shelby.

But an argument could also be made for his roles in The Dead Zone, SpaceCamp, and Poltergeist III.

Slow and steady

His career continued to flourish in the ‘90s, thanks to A River Runs Through It, The Rookie, Singles and Contact, but it was his return to the small screen — four years after he recurred on Cheers’ sixth season as Kirstie Alley’s Rebecca’s boss, Evan Drake — where he truly made his mark.

Skerritt’s turn as Sheriff Jimmy Brock on the CBS hit Picket Fences won him an Emmy in 1993. He was also nominated the following year for the show that ran from 1992 to 1996.

The actor reunited with Field on Brothers & Sisters, and also appeared in episodes of The West Wing, Will & Grace, The Good Wife and Madam Secretary.

Skerritt’s final screen appearance was in 2025’s Broke, which starred Wyatt Russell and Dennis Quaid.

He told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1997 that he was always “been able to walk the line between television and features.”

Skerritt added: “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.”

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