E!News
Tom Skerritt dies at 93: the Alien, Top Gun and Picket Fences star
Tom Skerritt, the veteran actor who spent decades as one of Hollywood’s most reliable character players, has died. He was 93. His family said in a statement that he died Wednesday at his home in Seattle of natural causes, and the news was confirmed Thursday by his publicist, who told Variety the same thing. If you grew up on Top Gun or watched Alien on a rainy night, this one hits close to home.
Skerritt never needed to be the lead to leave a mark. He had a gruff, grounded presence that made every scene feel more real, and that is why directors kept calling him back for decades. The Seattle Times described him as an acclaimed character actor who brought a gruff yet graceful gravitas to a career that stretched across movies, television and theater. That description fits the roles people remember most.
For a lot of fans, the first role that comes to mind is Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun. Opposite Tom Cruise, Skerritt played the seasoned flight officer whose scenes gave the film some of its most grounded moments. ABC News pointed to that role in its report of his death, and it remains the one most people quote when they talk about his career.
He also appeared in Alien, the sci-fi horror film that still comes up whenever people talk about the genre’s classics. Coverage from the Guardian, NBC News and the Seattle Times all listed Alien among his best-known films. That run of work across very different genres is a big part of why his name keeps popping up in conversations about movies from the 1970s and 80s.
On the warmer side of his résumé, Skerritt played Drum Eatenton in the 1989 comedy-drama Steel Magnolias, alongside Sally Field, Julia Roberts and Dolly Parton, according to ABC News. He also appeared in Contact, which the Seattle Times listed among his notable films. Those roles show how easily he moved between tense thrillers and tender family stories without losing his footing.
Television gave him what may be his biggest award. He played Sheriff Jimmy Brock on the CBS series Picket Fences, and the Los Angeles Times reports that performance won him an Emmy in 1993. The show kept a loyal audience for years, and that Emmy is the one many TV fans associate with his name.
The family’s statement, shared with the Los Angeles Times, remembered him for his “humor, curiosity, wisdom, generosity” and love. Those words frame him as much as a family man as a performer, and they are the part of the announcement most people will hold onto. The statement itself was short, but it made clear that the people closest to him saw a side of him that the screen only hinted at.
The Seattle Times also noted that he was a familiar face at the Seattle International Film Festival, and that he died at home in Seattle. For local film fans, that connection matters. Many of them knew him less as a movie star and more as a neighbor who showed up for the festival year after year.
Here is what has not been announced. The coverage we checked from the BBC, NBC News, CBS News, the Guardian, the Los Angeles Times and ABC News did not include funeral or memorial plans, so there is nothing to report on that yet. Tributes from co-stars and fans will likely keep coming in the days ahead, and any specific quote from them should be checked against its source before it is shared.
If you want to revisit his work, Top Gun and Alien are the obvious starts. Steel Magnolias is the one to pick if you want the warmth, and Picket Fences is the place to go for his Emmy-winning TV work. Skerritt’s career was wide enough that there is something in it for almost every kind of movie fan, and that is a good way to remember him.
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