'Alien' and 'Top Gun' star Tom Skerritt has died at 93
The US actor was Captain Dallas in 'Alien' and Tom Cruise's instructor in 'Top Gun'. He won an Emmy for 'Picket Fences'. His family confirmed his death.
Archive image · Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
US actor Tom Skerritt has died. He died of natural causes on Wednesday at the age of 93, his family said. "We are heartbroken by his loss," the family said, adding that while the world knew him through his acting, they knew him for his humour, curiosity, wisdom and generosity. A memorial date will be announced later.
Born in Detroit in 1933, Skerritt made his film debut in the 1962 Korean War film 'War Hunt'. He became known as 'Duke' Forrest in Robert Altman's 'M*A*S*H', as Captain Dallas of the spaceship Nostromo in Ridley Scott's 'Alien' (1979) and as flight instructor 'Viper' in 'Top Gun' (1986). Other roles included 'Steel Magnolias', 'A River Runs Through It' and 'Contact'.
On television he played Sheriff Jimmy Brock in 'Picket Fences', winning the 1993 Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. In Seattle he co-founded a film school and the Red Badge Project, which supports veterans through writing.