Tom Skerritt, the Top Gun and Alien actor who won an Emmy for Picket Fences, dies aged 93
Julia Roberts, whose on-screen father he played in Steel Magnolias, led the tributes, calling him 'a shining light of a gentle man'. Skerritt died of natural causes on Wednesday, his family said. Picket Fences co-star Kathy Baker said her 'heart is broken' over losing her 'TV husband'. He played Viper Metcalf opposite Tom Cruise and Dallas, captain of the Nostromo, in Ridley Scott's 1979 film.
He served four years in the US Air Force before debuting alongside Robert Redford.
His breakthrough came as surgeon Duke Forrest in Robert Altman's 1970 film M*A*S*H.
He first turned down Alien, saying its budget meant 'Ed Wood' could have directed it.
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