The actor who once turned down “Alien,” then took top billing as the doomed captain of the Nostromo, has died in Seattle.
Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor known for “Top Gun,” “M*A*S*H” and the CBS drama “Picket Fences,” died of natural causes on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, at 93. His publicist confirmed the death.
“We are heartbroken by his loss,” his family said in a statement that described an actor his relatives knew for his humor, curiosity, wisdom and generosity. The family said information about a memorial will be shared at a later date.
“Tom will be remembered not only for the characters he brought to life, but also for his belief that stories can help people heal, find purpose, and create change,” the family said. The statement added, “His talent, integrity, curiosity, and compassion made a lasting impact on his family, his profession, and the many communities he worked to support.”
The Role He Refused the First Time
Skerritt initially turned down “Alien,” then a $2 million project with no director attached. He later accepted, and took top billing in Ridley Scott’s 1979 film as Capt. Dallas of the Nostromo, ahead of Sigourney Weaver. The movie drew two Oscar nominations and spawned a franchise of sequels, prequels and spin-offs.
Seven years later, Tony Scott cast him as Cmdr. Mike “Viper” Metcalf, chief instructor at Miramar Naval Air Station’s top gun school. The 1986 blockbuster “Top Gun” sent Tom Cruise’s Maverick through that school as a trainee.
He Served Before He Acted
Skerritt was born Aug. 25, 1933, in Detroit, and served a four-year tour of duty in the U.S. Air Force before pursuing acting work. He made his film debut in the 1962 war drama “War Hunt,” alongside Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack, and went on to a career spanning more than six decades and more than 170 big- and small-screen credits.
His breakthrough came in Robert Altman’s 1970 satire “M*A*S*H,” where he played Capt. Augustus “Duke” Forrest, one of the insubordinate Army surgeons. He was billed third, after Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould and ahead of Sally Kellerman and Robert Duvall. The film drew five Academy Award nominations, including best picture, and was adapted for television two years later.
Two Wins on One Emmy Night
Skerritt played Sheriff Jimmy Brock on the David E. Kelley series “Picket Fences” for four seasons, from 1992 to 1996. He won the Primetime Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series at the 45th annual ceremony on Sept. 19, 1993, in Pasadena, Calif. His co-star Kathy Baker won for lead actress the same night.
He was nominated again in 1994, shared Screen Actors Guild ensemble nominations in 1995 and 1996, and picked up a SAG nomination for male actor in a drama series in 1995.
Television kept him busy for decades. He did a six-episode stint on “Cheers” as Evan Drake, Rebecca Howe’s boss, guest-starred as a senator on “The West Wing” and played a biased judge on “Law & Order: SVU.” He took over for Robert Forster on HBO’s “Huff” as the father of Hank Azaria’s title character, appeared on “Will & Grace” in the 2000s and had a recurring role on ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” as the patriarch William Walker. He turned up on “The Good Wife” in 2014 and “Madam Secretary” in 2015.
Skerritt won the National Board of Review’s best supporting actor award for Herbert Ross’ 1977 ballet drama “The Turning Point,” in which he played Shirley MacLaine’s husband. He was Sally Field’s husband in 1989’s “Steel Magnolias,” opposite Julia Roberts and Dolly Parton, and the Presbyterian minister father to Brad Pitt and Craig Sheffer in Redford’s 1992 film “A River Runs Through It.” In “Contact,” he played David Drumlin, the scheming opportunist blocking Jodie Foster.
His other credits included an uncredited motorcycle cop in “Harold and Maude,” Altman’s “Thieves Like Us,” “Big Bad Mama,” “The Devil’s Rain” with Ernest Borgnine and William Shatner, Strawberry in “Up in Smoke,” David Cronenberg’s “The Dead Zone,” “SpaceCamp,” “Poltergeist III,” “Poison Ivy” and “Tears of the Sun.” He played himself in Seth MacFarlane’s 2012 comedy “Ted.”
He made his Broadway debut in 2013, in an adaptation of John Grisham’s “A Time to Kill.” Nine years earlier, he narrated “Our Town” at Seattle’s Intiman Theatre. His last film role came in the 2025 western drama “Broke,” opposite Dennis Quaid.
Helping Veterans Write It Down
Seattle was the base for his off-camera work. “Tom believed deeply in the power of storytelling. He helped found TheFilmSchool in Seattle to support the next generation of filmmakers and storytellers,” the family said, adding, “That commitment later extended to the Red Badge Project, which he co-founded to help veterans work through PTSD, anxiety, and depression by writing and sharing their experiences.”
Skerritt also created the documentary series “Reflections of the River” and championed river conservation, an interest sparked in part by filming “A River Runs Through It.” The family statement said of him, “He cared deeply about imagination, creativity, storytelling, service, veterans, the natural world and helping others find and share their own voices.”
His third wife, Julie Tokashiki, survives him, along with his children, Andy, Erin, Matt, Colin and Emiko. He also leaves five grandchildren, Sara, Maddison, Sunny, Louisa and Georgia, and two great-grandchildren, Marigold and Ravi.
“A writer once described me as a character actor locked in a leading man’s body, and I’ve always loved that,” Skerritt told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1997.