Tom Skerritt, the rugged, mustachioed actor best remembered as Captain Dallas in Alien and Commander “Viper” Metcalf in Top Gun, has died from natural causes at the age of 93. He passed away on Wednesday, with his family confirming the news in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Tom Skerritt (Credits: IGN)
“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. He cared deeply about imagination, creativity, storytelling, service, veterans, the natural world and helping others find and share their own voices.”
Tom Skerritt’s Alien Role as Captain Dallas
Skerritt first gained acclaim in Robert Altman’s 1970 comedy M*A*S*H, where he played surgeon Duke Forrest, and went on to appear in films like Harold and Maude, The Turning Point, and Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke. But his defining role came in 1979, when — after initially turning it down — he played Captain Arthur Dallas in Ridley Scott’s Alien, leading an ensemble that included Sigourney Weaver, Yaphet Kotto, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton, and Veronica Cartwright.
Seven years later, Skerritt cemented his pop-culture status as Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf in Top Gun (1986), the commanding officer of the Navy’s fighter-weapons school tasked with keeping hotshots like Tom Cruise’s Maverick and Val Kilmer’s Iceman in check. In the 1990s, he took on one of his most acclaimed dramatic roles as the father of Brad Pitt’s character in Robert Redford’s A River Runs Through It (1992).
Tom Skerritt, Alien and Top Gun Star, Dies at 93
Across a career spanning more than six decades, Skerritt remained a steady, commanding presence on screen — equally at home in sci-fi horror, blockbuster action, and quiet drama. His Dallas remains one of the most remembered figures in the Alien franchise, the calm captain whose fate set the template for the series’ terror.
He is survived by his family, who asked for privacy as they mourn “the love he brought into our lives.” Tributes from across Hollywood have already begun to pour in for an actor whose roles will outlive him by generations.
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Source: IGN — read the full story there.
