Image Source: IMDb
The longtime actor Tom Skerritt, known for a great many roles across TV and film, has passed away at the age of 93 due to natural causes. In a statement to PEOPLE, the actor’s family confirmed this news, while also commenting on the now deceased man’s many positive qualities such as humor, generosity, and imagination, and thanking those who had already paid their respects.
Skerritt’s career began far from the stage, as a member of the United States Air Force right out of high school, though his education after his four years of service brought him into the world of theatre and film. Discovered while performing in a college play, he debuted in 1962’s War Hunt, featuring notable actors Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack.
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Director Robert Altman was a mentor to Skerritt in the following years, and while Skerritt booked a range of roles (he played five different characters five separate times on the Western show Gunsmoke), it was his turn as Dallas, the Nostromo’s captain in the original Alien, that raised his profile yet further. While TV roles continued into the 80s, one of his major film roles was his appearance in Top Gun as Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf.
Skerritt continued to appear in film and television over the following decades, right up until 2025, but he also founded a charity to assist veterans with PTSD in 2012, and created a film company in 2020. He is survived by his third wife, Julie Tokashiki, five children from his different marriages, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
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Source(s): PEOPLE
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