Erica Siaulnski, Staff Writer
American actor and film director, Tom Skerritt, who had appeared in over 170 different films and television shows, dies at age 93. Best known for his roles in iconic movies like Top Gun, and Alien, alongside his very popular role in the 1990’s series, Picket Fences. He no doubt left a huge mark on the entertainment industry.
Skerritt was born on August 25, 1933, in Detroit Michigan. At the age of 18, in 1951, he enlisted in the military, serving in the Air Force as a classified specialist. He served until 1955 when he was honorably discharged at the age of 22, and from there he used the GI Bill to pursue a college education. He attended Henry Ford College, and Wayne State University before enrolling in the University of California, Los Angeles. While studying English, he began to find himself more and more interested in the directing and acting world. He left college, without a degree, in the early 1960s when he was offered his first role in the production The Rainmaker.
Following this he would make a handful of small appearances in countless shows before his first appearance in a film. The War Hunt in 1962, produced by Terry Sanders, would become Skerritt’s first appearance on the big screen. The same year, his first son, Andy Skerritt was born, with his first wife, Charlotte. Skerritt would go on to have a total of five children.
This appearance in The War Hunt started a pattern of Skerritt appearing in multiple small roles throughout the 60’s, in all different types of television shows and movies.
Skerritt appeared in a number of multiple films throughout the 1970s as well, including M*A*S*H*, which appeared before the popular slapstick television shows, Big Bad Mama, Poltergeist III, Steel Magnolias, along with countless other beloved movies and television shows.
In 1977 Skerritt won his first award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the movie, The Turning Point. Skerritt would go on to win seven awards throughout his career including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and the Career Achievement Award. Throughout his career, in total, Skerritt was nominated for sixteen awards.
Skerritt continued to act throughout the 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s. He continued to act for years after that and played his final role in the movie Broke in 2025, at the age of 92.
Skerritt died on October 21, 2026 in his home in Seattle due to natural causes at the age of 93.
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