Tom Skerritt(I)
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Lean, ruggedly handsome leading man and supporting actor whose "outdoor" looks have improved with age, Tom Skerritt attended Wayne State University and UCLA. He was first noticed in a UCLA production of "The Rainmaker" before making his movie debut inWar Hunt (1962).However, he spent most of the next decade in television, regularly appearing inCombat! (1962),The Virginian (1962),Gunsmoke (1955)and12 O'Clock High (1964).Skerritt's next big break was appearing alongsideDonald SutherlandandElliott GouldinRobert Altman's biting satireMASH (1970).Several other film roles quickly followed, before he landed the plum role of Capt. Dallas of the ill-fated commercial towing vehicle Nostromo in the creepy sci-fi epicAlien (1979).
Skerritt turned up again in another thriller playing a cop hunting a serial killer in the eerieThe Dead Zone (1983),as a Navy Officer Flight instructor inTop Gun (1986),in the six-chick flickSteel Magnolias (1989),and then as the poster boy for a "Guess" Jeans ad campaign utilizing his mature, weather-beaten features. Skerritt didn't neglect his TV background and reappeared on the small screen inCheers (1982),The China Lake Murders (1990)and picked up an Emmy in 1994 for his performance as Sheriff Brock in the superb seriesPicket Fences (1992).
Skerritt has remained continually busy for the past decade, contributing natural, entertaining and reliable performances in TV series, made-for-TV movies and major theatrical releases. He recreated the role of Will Kane in the TV production ofHigh Noon (2000),and appeared alongsideBruce Willisin the mercenary war dramaTears of the Sun (2003).
Skerritt turned up again in another thriller playing a cop hunting a serial killer in the eerieThe Dead Zone (1983),as a Navy Officer Flight instructor inTop Gun (1986),in the six-chick flickSteel Magnolias (1989),and then as the poster boy for a "Guess" Jeans ad campaign utilizing his mature, weather-beaten features. Skerritt didn't neglect his TV background and reappeared on the small screen inCheers (1982),The China Lake Murders (1990)and picked up an Emmy in 1994 for his performance as Sheriff Brock in the superb seriesPicket Fences (1992).
Skerritt has remained continually busy for the past decade, contributing natural, entertaining and reliable performances in TV series, made-for-TV movies and major theatrical releases. He recreated the role of Will Kane in the TV production ofHigh Noon (2000),and appeared alongsideBruce Willisin the mercenary war dramaTears of the Sun (2003).
