Book Tom Skerritt

Tom Skerritt was an American actor and director whose career spanned over 170 film and television productions from 1962 to 2025. He made his film debut in War Hunt (1962) and worked steadily in TV westerns and dramas such as Gunsmoke and Twelve O'Clock High before breaking out in Robert Altman's M*A*S*H (1970), playing Duke Forrest. A familiar face of the New Hollywood era and beyond, he appeared in Harold and Maude (1971), The Turning Point (1977), Up in Smoke and Ice Castles (both 1978), and as Captain Dallas in Alien (1979). He went on to The Dead Zone (1983), Top Gun and SpaceCamp (both 1986), Steel Magnolias (1989) and A River Runs Through It (1992). On television he played Evan Drake on Cheers and starred as Sheriff Jimmy Brock on Picket Fences (1992-1996), winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He also won Saturn and Western Heritage Awards, and in 2022 received the Mary Pickford Award from the International Press Academy. Skerritt died in October 2026, leaving a legacy of rugged, dependable screen performances.