US actor Tom Skerritt, star of 'Top Gun' and 'Picket Fences', dies aged 93
Tom Skerritt, the American actor who won an Emmy for the TV series 'Picket Fences', has died of natural causes at 93, his family said. He was also known for roles in 'Alien' and 'Top Gun'.
American actor Tom Skerritt, who won an Emmy Award for the television series "Picket Fences", died on Wednesday at the age of 93, his family announced. The cause was natural. Skerritt built a career playing steady, wryly humorous authority figures, including a flight instructor in "Top Gun", a sheriff in "Picket Fences" and the captain of the spaceship in "Alien".
In a statement, his family said the world knew him through his acting, while they remembered his humour, curiosity, wisdom and generosity. They said he cared deeply about imagination, creativity, storytelling, service, veterans, the natural world and helping others find their own voices.
Career
Skerritt grew up in a middle-class Detroit family, spent four years in the Air Force, attended Wayne State University and then studied filmmaking at the University of California, Los Angeles. His first film role came in 1962 in the independent Korean War movie "War Hunt", which also marked the debuts of Robert Redford, Sydney Pollack and Francis Ford Coppola. Redford became a lifelong friend and, as a director, later gave Skerritt a major part in "A River Runs Through It".
His breakthrough came with "The Turning Point", which earned him a National Board of Review award. He went on to play the doomed captain of the Nostromo in "Alien" and the instructor of Tom Cruise's character in "Top Gun". Other roles included parts in "Steel Magnolias" and "Contact".
In "Picket Fences", created by David E. Kelley and aired from 1992 to 1996, Skerritt played a kindly sheriff in the small community of Rome, Wisconsin. The series won 14 Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe, and Skerritt himself took the 1993 Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series, one of two nominations for the show. He made his Broadway debut in 2013.
Skerritt is survived by his third wife, Julie Tokashiki, and five children.
