Tom Skerritt, Emmy-winning actor from Alien and Top Gun, dies at 93

Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor whose long career made him a familiar presence in films including Alien and Top Gun and on television in Picket Fences, died Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 93, his family said. He died of natural causes, according to the family statement reported by The Associated Press.

The death was publicly acknowledged Thursday. In a statement published by AP, his family said: “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.” SAG-AFTRA, the performers union, also paid tribute in a social media post Thursday and described Skerritt as a SAG Award nominee.

Skerritt was one of those actors whose work carried across generations and formats. Movie audiences knew him as Captain Dallas in Ridley Scott’s 1979 science-fiction horror film Alien and as Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf in the 1986 hit Top Gun. Earlier in his career, he had an early film credit in Robert Altman’s 1970 war comedy MASH*.

On television, he became especially well known as Sheriff Jimmy Brock on the CBS drama Picket Fences, which aired from 1992 to 1996. The role brought him the 1993 Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. Records from the Screen Actors Guild show he also received SAG Award nominations tied to the series in the mid-1990s.

Thomas Roy Skerritt was born in Detroit in 1933. Before his screen career, he served four years in the U.S. Air Force. He attended Wayne State University and later UCLA, where he studied filmmaking. His first film role came in 1962 in War Hunt, a part that followed a Los Angeles theater performance that helped lead to the casting.

That start launched a screen career that stretched from the early 1960s into the 2020s. Though he was best known for a relatively compact group of signature roles, he also appeared in films including The Turning Point, The Dead Zone, Steel Magnolias and A River Runs Through It.

For many viewers, Skerritt’s career reflected an uncommon range within mainstream American entertainment. He moved from notable studio films to prestige network television and remained recognizable in both. Alien and Top Gun made him widely familiar to moviegoers, while Picket Fences brought him one of television’s top acting honors.

Multiple outlets, citing the family statement, reported that he is survived by his wife, Julie Tokashiki; children Andy, Erin, Matt, Collin and Emiko; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.