Tom Skerritt, ‘Alien’ and ‘M*A*S*H’ Star, Dies at 93

The late screen actor's credits also include "Top Gun," "Contact," "A River Runs Through It" and "Steel Magnolias."

Tom Skerritt, the American screen actor who was first billed in Ridley Scott’s horror classic “Alien” (1979) and sustained a career spanning more than seven decades, died Wednesday of natural causes, according to media reports. He was 93.

Skerritt first rose to prominence with a breakout turn in Robert Altman’s Korean War comedy “M*A*S*H,” playing the surgeon Duke Forrest. He was third-billed in the feature, after then-more-established stars Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould. The role launched him to a prolific Hollywood career that saw him garner more than 100 screen credits. He kept acting through the final years of his life, with his most recent project being a supporting role in the 2025 Western “Broke” starring Wyatt Russell.

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