Tom Skerritt, the American actor with over 170 credits to his name but who sci-fi fans best know as Dallas from the original Alien, has died. brings word his passing, with Skerritt’s family confirming the news and revealing he died of natural causes on Wednesday, October 21. He was 93.
Skerritt got his start in acting on the stage, but quickly transitioned to film and TV in the early days. After making his debut in the 1962 Robert Redford movie, War Hunt, he would go on to appear in other war stories as well, including TV shows like Combat!, The Virginian, 12 O’Clock High,plus classics likeGunsmoke and The Fugitive. His most famous role in the genre, though, and the one that would propel him to stardom, is as “Duke” in Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H. Having served in the United States Air Force, Skerritt likely brought a thing or two to the production that gave it a hint of authenticity. Though his character didn’t appear in the TV Series follow-up to the film, references to Skerritt’s Duke were made later in its run.
Iconic Film Star Tom Skerritt Dead
In Alien, Skerritt’s Dallas is the captain of the Nostromo and is perhaps has the second most amount of screen time in the film to Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley. His stalwart determination proves to be the kind of authority needed by the crew when it becomes clear that they’re dealing with deadly consequences, especially after the reveal of Ash as a synthetic. Skerritt’s performance is one of the best in the movie, and his character’s end is also one if its most iconic scares. Thirty-five years after first playing the role, Skerritt would reprise the part of Dallas for the Alien: Isolation DLC campaign, which allowed fans to play as Dallas in an alternate version of the original movie’s events.
Speaking with RogerEbert.com in an interview for the 40th anniversary of Alien a few years ago, Skerritt reflected on his casting in the film. Skerritt revealed that when he learned the film was a $2 million movie about an alien, he was worried it might become something like an Ed Wood picture. He revealed that before he signed on, though, he saw a film that blew him away called The Duelists, the first feature from Ridley Scott.
“I just thought that I needed to remember this guy’s name because he was so good and this was just his first film,” Skerritt said. “I didn’t know who he was except that he was one hell of a director. A couple of weeks later, after I kinda told them that I was sure if I wanted to do this, I got a call from the producers telling me that it now had a $10 million dollar budget and it had this director named Ridley Scott and I agreed on that basis.”
Even though Alien marked the seventeenth movie that Skerritt had to his name (including the likes of Harold and Muade and Up in Smoke) it was far from his last. In the years that followed, he would go on to appear in the Stephen King adaptation The Dead Zone, plus take on the role of “Viper” in the original Top Gun, the instructor who was close to Maverick’s father. Skerritt’s final credit is the 2025 western film Broke, where he shared the screen with Wyatt Russell and Dennis Quaid.
More Movies
<img src="https://comicvibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Ryan-Gosling-on-Star-Wars-Starfighter.jpg" alt="Star Wars: Starfighter Budget Officially Revealed, And It’s Higher Than The Force Awakens”>Image Courtesy of Lucasfilm
Movies
14 hours ago
Star Wars: Starfighter Budget Officially Revealed, And It’s Higher Than The Force Awakens
AMC Shudder
Movies
14 hours ago
The Cycle: Deborah Ann Woll & Jeffrey Donovan on Getting Into Character for Shudder’s Twisted New Creature Feature Horror Flicknocture
Image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
Movies
15 hours ago
Disney Confirms New Sequel for a Major ’90s Franchise Is Happening, 20 Years After the Last One
<img src="https://comicvibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/clayface-movie-ending-explained.jpg" alt="How Clayface Sets Up His Next DCU Appearance, But When Will He Meet Batman?”>
Movies
16 hours ago
How Clayface Sets Up His Next DCU Appearance, But When Will He Meet Batman?
Movies
18 hours ago
Clayface Just Broke a Comic Book Movie Record & Beat An Academy Award Winner
Marvel
Movies
19 hours ago
New Avengers: Doomsday Preview Officially Confirmed for This Week by Marvel; Here’s Where to Watch
1 Comment
Pingback: Bollywood classics, new-age hits and Tamil favourites: NH Studioz brings five channels to LG TV - Comic Vibe