American actor Tom Skerritt [AP via Yonhap]
American actor Tom Skerritt [AP via Yonhap]

Tom Skerritt, the American actor known for "Top Gun" and "Alien," died Wednesday (local time) at 93.

According to The New York Times and the Associated Press, his family said that day he had died of natural causes.

"The world knew him through his remarkable acting career, but to us he was a man of humor, curiosity, wisdom and generosity — someone who brought love to life," his family said in a tribute.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1933, Skerritt enlisted in the Air Force immediately after high school and served for four years.

He enrolled at Wayne State University but transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles after seeing "Citizen Kane" and becoming captivated by filmmaking.

In his final semester, he was cast in "War Hunt," a film set during the Korean War, launching his acting career in 1962. He went on to deliver familiar yet varied performances on screen for six decades.

After years of taking only minor roles, Skerritt won the National Society of Film Critics Award for best supporting actor for "The Turning Point" in 1977. He gained wider public recognition playing the spaceship captain in "Alien" and the flight instructor in "Top Gun."

He also made his mark on television, winning the Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for the CBS series "Picket Fences" in 1993.

Skerritt was known for playing authoritative, quintessentially American figures — law enforcement officers, military men and confident father figures. In 1997, he took on double duty in "Divided by Hate," serving as both director and lead actor.

In a past interview with Film Comment, he said he was "drawn to work that encompasses every element of visual storytelling" and expressed interest in directing and screenwriting.

Skerritt married Charlotte Shanks in 1957 and had three children with her before they divorced in 1972.

He had one child with his second wife, Susan Ellen Arant, and another with his third wife, Julie Tokashiki, whom he married in 1998.


husn7@heraldcorp.com