RIP: Tom Skerritt

Tom Skerritt died yesterday from natural causes.  Mr. Skerritt was 93.

After high school Tom Skerritt enlisted in the Air Force for a four year tour of duty.  After his service was complete, Mr. Skerritt aattended the University of California, Los Angeles with thoughts of majoring in English or becoming a film director.  After a role in a stage production of The Rainmaker, and good reviews, Tom Skerritt got the acting bug.

Roles on television and in feature films quickly followed.  Tom Skerritt’s career lasted over 50 years with 176 roles on his resume.

Some of Tom Skerritt’s television performances include: Laramie; The Real McCoys; The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; My Three Sons; Wagon Train; My Favorite Martian; Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; The Magical World of Disney; The Fugitive (2 episodes); The Time Tunnel; 12 O’Clock High (5 episodes); Combat! (6 episodes); Mannix; Cimarron Strip; Run for Your Life; Felony Squad; Death Valley Days (5 episodes); Lancer;  Hawaii 5-0; Medical Center; The Name of the Game; Bracken’s World; The Virginian (6 episodes); Nichols; The FBI (4 episodes); Gunsmoke (5 episodes); Bonanza (2 episodes); Get Christie Love!; Kolchak: The Night Stalker; Cannon (3 episodes); Barnaby Jones; SWAT; Baretta; Ryan’s Four (5 episodes); The Parent Trap II; The Twilight Zone; Danger Bay; Cheers (6 episodes); The China Lake Murders; ABC Afterschool Specials; Picket Fences (88 episodes); Chicago Hope; Into the Wild Blue; Aftershock: Earthquake in New York (2 episodes); High Noon; Path to War; Will & Grace; The West Wing; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; The Grid (6 episodes); Category Seven: The End of the World (2 episodes); Huff (3 episodes); Fallen (2 episodes); The Dead Zone; Brothers & Sisters (7 episodes); The Closer; Leverage (2 episodes); White Collar; The Good Wife (2 episodes); Madam Secretary and Journey Back to Christmas.

Some of Tom Skerritt’s feature film appearances include: War Hunt; MASH; Wild Rovers; Harold & Maude; Fuzz; Big Bad Mama; The Devil’s Rain; The Turning Point; Up in Smoke; Ice Castles; Alien; The Dead Zone; Top Gun; Space Camp; Steel Magnolias; Singles; A River Runs Through It; Contact; Smoke Signals; Tears of the Sun; Ted; Lucky and Broke.

I don’t know the first time I saw Tom Skerritt act.  He was in so many of my favorite shows when I was young.  My favorite Tom Skerrit roles are in Alien and The Dead Zone.  He was so good in both (and everything he did).

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tom Skerritt’s family, friends and fans.