Top Gun’s Viper Is Gone. Tom Skerritt Dies at 93.
Some faces you just grow up with. You don’t even realize it until they’re gone.
Tom Skerritt died Wednesday. He was 93. His family said it was natural causes, and asked for privacy while they grieve.
If the name doesn’t hit you right away, the roles will. He was Viper in Top Gun, the calm instructor standing in front of Maverick and Goose. He was Captain Dallas in Alien, the one who went into the vents and never came back. He was Drum Eatenton in Steel Magnolias, Sally Field’s husband. And on TV he was Sheriff Jimmy Brock in Picket Fences, the role that won him an Emmy in 1993.
Six decades in this business. From MAS*H in 1970 all the way to a movie last year. He served in the Air Force before Hollywood ever found him, and he never really played the star. He played the steady guy. The authority you trusted. The dad, the captain, the sheriff.
That’s a rare thing. Most actors chase the spotlight. Skerritt just showed up, did the job better than almost anyone, and went home.
Which role did you know him from first? Mine was Viper. I bet for a lot of you it was too.
