Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor whose career stretched from “M*A*S*H” in 1970 to a Broadway debut in 2013, died Wednesday of natural causes at 93. It’s a face most of us know, even if the name doesn’t come right away. He was Viper in “Top Gun,” Dallas in “Alien,” the doctor at the center of “Picket Fences,” and part of the ensemble in “Steel Magnolias” and “Contact.”
Born in Detroit in 1933, Skerritt served four years in the U.S. Air Force before studying at UCLA and turning to acting full time. He won the 1993 Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for “Picket Fences,” a role that earned him two nominations. His family said in a statement that while the world knew Tom through his acting career, they knew him for his humor, curiosity, wisdom, generosity and love. In 2013, at 80, he made his Broadway debut in an adaptation of “A Time to Kill.”
So much of his work is easy to find right now, from an “Alien” night on the couch to a spring training trip that ends with a “Top Gun” rerun. What’s a film or role you’ll always connect with him? Tell us in the comments.
