Tom Skerritt, whose six-decade acting career included prominent roles in M*A*S*H, Alien, Top Gun and the CBS drama Picket Fences, has died at 93.

Skerritt died Wednesday of natural causes, his family announced.

“We are heartbroken by his loss,” the family said. “While the world knew Tom through his remarkable acting career, we knew him for his humor, curiosity, wisdom, generosity and the love he brought into our lives.” They also highlighted his commitment to storytelling, service, veterans, the natural world and helping others share their voices.

From an Unexpected Start to M*A*S*H

Thomas Roy Skerritt was born Aug. 25, 1933, in Detroit. After graduating from Mackenzie High School in 1951, he enlisted in the Air Force with hopes of seeing the world. Unable to become a pilot, he spent much of his service in Austin as a classification specialist before returning to Detroit to study English at Wayne State University.

Skerritt later transferred to UCLA while considering a future as a writer or director. He also acted as a way to overcome his shyness and viewed performing as practical preparation for filmmaking.

His first film was the low-budget Korean War drama War Hunt (1962). Producers Terry and Denis Sanders offered him the job after seeing him in a community stage production. The cast also included John Saxon, Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford and Gavin MacLeod.

Television work followed throughout the 1960s, with appearances on shows including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, My Three Sons, Wagon Train, Mannix, Gunsmoke, The Fugitive, Bonanza and The Virginian.

His breakthrough arrived with Robert Altman’s 1970 film M*A*S*H. Skerritt played Southern surgeon Duke Forrest, who joins Hawkeye Pierce, played by Donald Sutherland, and Trapper John McIntyre, played by Elliott Gould, at a mobile hospital treating injured U.S. soldiers during the Korean War.

The comedy became one of that year’s most popular films and inspired the long-running CBS series, although Duke was among the movie characters not carried into the television adaptation. Skerritt later credited Altman with giving him the freedom to take risks as an actor.

A Career Built Across Film and Television

After M*A*S*H, Skerritt appeared in films including Wild Rovers, Fuzz, Big Bad Mama and Ice Castles. He reunited with Altman for Thieves Like Us and played Strawberry, a shell-shocked Vietnam veteran who deals marijuana, in Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke.

Skerritt initially rejected the part of Captain Dallas aboard the doomed spacecraft Nostromo in 1979’s Alien, concerned that special effects would consume the movie’s budget. He changed his mind after learning Ridley Scott would direct and watching Scott’s 1977 feature debut, The Duellists, which Skerritt later described as “a masterpiece.”

Other major film roles included Shirley MacLaine’s husband in the 11-time Oscar nominee The Turning Point (1977), instructor Mike “Viper” Metcalf opposite Tom Cruise in Top Gun (1986), and the minister and MacLean family patriarch in Robert Redford’s A River Runs Through It (1992). He also portrayed lawman Will Kane in TBS’ 2000 remake of High Noon.

His extensive film credits further included The Dead Zone, SpaceCamp, Steel Magnolias, The Rookie, Contact, The Other Sister, Tears of the Sun, A Hologram for the King and Day of Days.

On television, Skerritt found one of his defining roles in David E. Kelley’s Picket Fences. Beginning in 1992, he spent four seasons playing Jimmy Brock, sheriff of the fictional Rome, Wisconsin, as well as the husband of the town doctor, played by Kathy Baker, and a father of three. Skerritt won the 1993 Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series and received another nomination the following year.

He also played Rebecca Howe’s former boss Evan Drake during the sixth season of Cheers, portrayed Sally Field’s deceased husband William on Brothers and Sisters, and appeared as himself in the 2012 comedy Ted. His later television credits included Chicago Hope, Will & Grace, The West Wing, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Good Wife and Madam Secretary.

In 2021, Skerritt took a rare feature leading role in East of the Mountains, playing a retired heart surgeon and recent widower who learns he has terminal cancer.

Service Beyond the Screen

Skerritt helped launch TheFilmSchool in Seattle to support emerging filmmakers and storytellers. He also co-founded the Red Badge Project, which helps veterans address PTSD, anxiety and depression by writing and sharing their experiences.

Inspired in part by A River Runs Through It, he helped create and champion Reflections of the River, a documentary series about the health and protection of America’s rivers. He also supported conservation through the Wildlands Festival, American Rivers and the Gallatin River Task Force.

His survivors include his third wife, Julie Tokashiki, whom he married in 1998; children Andy, Erin, Matt, Collin and Emiko; grandchildren Sara, Maddison, Sunny, Louisa and Georgia; and great-grandchildren Marigold and Ravi.

ShowBiz Take

Skerritt’s career was distinguished by its range and longevity: he could anchor an ensemble, project authority in a supporting role or carry a network drama as its steady center. His Emmy-winning work on Picket Fences, enduring film roles and commitments to filmmakers, veterans and conservation together reflect the breadth of the life his family described—one shaped by creativity, service and storytelling.