Tom Skerritt, Alien And Top Gun Actor, Dead At 93

Tom Skerritt, a dashingly handsome actor who smoothly moved between leading roles and supporting parts, and whose surprise exit in Ridley Scott’s “Alien” still has moviegoers gasping, has died at the age of 93. His “heartbroken” family announced that the “M*A*S*H,” “Top Gun,” and “A River Runs Through It” actor died of natural causes. 

In a statement released to the press, they 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.”

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Skerritt served four years in the United States Air Force before finding his passion for theater at UCLA. He initially leaned toward directing, but demonstrated acting skills that eventually caught the attention of Robert Altman, who cast him as the troublemaking Duke Forrest in the New Hollywood classic “M*A*S*H.” Duke was the third wheel to the caddish antics of Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and Trapper John McIntyre (Elliott Gould), and while Skerritt enjoyed playing fun-loving doofuses (he was wonderful as Strawberry in the Cheech and Chong vehicle “Up in Smoke”), he began to gravitate toward characters imbued with sincerity and gravitas. That’s when the Skerritt that most moviegoers know emerged: calm, avuncular, and dead sexy.

“Alien” was a formative film for most Gen X-ers. Released two years after “Star Wars,” there was a sense that the crew of the Nostromo would band together to eliminate the H.R. Geiger-designed xenomorph. Space was the place for heroism, not horror. So it was striking that Skerritt’s Dallas is hesitant, leery and, before he’s dispatched, defeated as he stalks the acid-blooded beast. He goes into the bowels of the Nostromo with some degree of expertise, but every step of the way you know he’s overmatched.

Skerritt tried his hand at Charles Bronson vigilantism with “Fighting Back,” but he was better suited to mentor roles in “SpaceCamp” and “Top Gun.” One major exception was his portrayal of wealthy mark Darryl Cooper, who gets seduced by Drew Barrymore’s title character in Katt Shea’s sex-infused thriller “Poison Ivy.” This coincided with his run as a Guess jeans model, so it wasn’t bizarre to see Skerritt cavorting with a young screen partner. At least Shea made the coupling feel icky, and made it clear that Barrymore’s character was in control.

Still, Skerritt’s Everest was “A River Runs Through It,” where he played a patient Presbyterian minister who lets his children become the men they were destined to be. It’s lighthearted at times, then brutally tragic. I often think of Skerritt modestly walking off with his fly-fishing haul, and then his anguished sermon in the wake of his son’s death. The final line of that film is “I am haunted by waters.” I’m haunted by Tom Skerritt.