Tom Skerritt died on Wednesday, October 21, of natural causes. He was 93. His family confirmed the death to People on Thursday: “Our family is deeply saddened to share that Tom Skerritt passed away on October 21, 2026, from natural causes.” The statement continued: “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.” The family asked for privacy and said information about a memorial will be shared later.
He is survived by his wife, Julie Tokashiki — a film and television executive he met on the set of Picket Fences — and by five children, Andy, Erin, Matt, Colin and Emiko; five grandchildren, Sara, Maddison, Sunny, Louisa and Georgia; and two great-grandchildren, Marigold and Ravi.
Thomas Roy Skerritt was born in Detroit on August 25, 1933, the youngest of three children. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1955, then studied at Wayne State and UCLA, where he was spotted in a stage production of The Rainmaker. His film debut came in War Hunt in 1962; through the 1960s he worked steadily in television, playing five different characters on Gunsmoke alone.
The breakthrough was Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H (1970), where he played Duke Forrest. Then came the run that fixed him in the culture: The Turning Point (1977), Captain Dallas, the calm center of the Nostromo, in Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979), The Dead Zone (1983), Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf in Top Gun (1986), and Drum Eatenton in Steel Magnolias (1989). In A River Runs Through It (1992) he played the Reverend John Maclean — the role he said moved him most.
Television gave him his signature late role: Sheriff Jimmy Brock on David E. Kelley’s Picket Fences (CBS, 1992–1996), 88 episodes, some of which he also directed. He won the 1993 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
He kept working into his nineties — Contact (1997), Tears of the Sun (2003), Lucky (2017), a leading role in East of the Mountains (2021), and a final feature, Broke, in 2025 — more than 150 credits in all. An Air Force veteran himself, he co-founded the Red Badge Project in 2012, which helps veterans tell their own stories. He received the Mary Pickford Award in 2022.
The Facts
- Thomas Roy Skerritt: born August 25, 1933, Detroit; died Wednesday, October 21, 2026, of natural causes, his family told People.
- Survivors: his wife Julie Tokashiki; five children — Andy, Erin, Matt, Colin and Emiko; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
- Signature roles: Duke Forrest in M*A*S*H (1970); Captain Dallas in Alien (1979); Cmdr. Mike “Viper” Metcalf in Top Gun (1986); Drum Eatenton in Steel Magnolias (1989); the Rev. John Maclean in A River Runs Through It (1992).
- Picket Fences (CBS, 1992–1996): Sheriff Jimmy Brock, 88 episodes; he won the 1993 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
- More than 150 screen credits across six decades; his final feature was Broke (2025).
Sources: People (family statement); Page Six; Deadline; Reuters.
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