Tom Skerritt, the 'Top Gun' and 'Alien' star who also won an Emmy for 'Picket Fences', dies aged 93

Tom Skerritt died of natural causes on 21 October, and his family said they were 'heartbroken by his loss'. The Detroit native played doomed Nostromo captain Dallas in 'Alien' and Commander Mike 'Viper' Metcalf in 'Top Gun'. He broke through as surgeon Duke Forrest in Robert Altman's 'MASH' in 1970. His family asked for privacy and said details of a memorial would be shared later.

He turned down the 'MASH' TV spin-off, doubting it could work in half-hour episodes.

Skerritt credited Altman with his career: 'He was not a Hollywood guy.'

His other big films included 'Steel Magnolias', 'A River Runs Through It' and 'Contact'.