Let’s remember beloved actor Tom Skerritt, born on this day in 1933 (August 25)
Everyone who has spent at least a week in the Pacific Northwest has a story of seeing beloved actor Tom Skerritt somewhere: the post office, on a ferry, happy hour at Vermillion, that one diner in Snohomish County that everyone likes. He’s the ultimate PNW man-about-town, and today’s his birthday.
With 168 acting credits on imdb, if you haven’t seen him at, say, the Home Depot in Everett, you’ve certainly seen him in a TV show or movie. As Wikipedia sums up his career:
Skerritt made his film debut in War Hunt, produced by Terry Sanders and released in 1962. Skerritt’s notable film appearances include M*A*S*H (1970), Harold and Maude (credited as “M. Borman”, 1971), Big Bad Mama, Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke (1978), Ice Castles (1978), as Captain Dallas in Alien (1979),[6] as a would-be astronaut in Contact (1997) and SpaceCamp (1986), and in Top Gun (1986) as Commander Mike “Viper” Metcalf. In 1988, he starred with Nancy Allen and Lara Flynn Boyle in Poltergeist III. In 1989, he played the role of Thomas Drummond “Drum” Eatenton in Steel Magnolias. In 1992, he appeared in the critically acclaimed Robert Redford-directed film A River Runs Through It, playing a fly-fish loving minister and father of the two protagonist brothers in the film.
Skerritt played a guest part in Ray Walston’s show My Favorite Martian (1963) in the 1963 episode “Mrs. Jekyll and Hyde” (Walston was a regular cast member 30 years later in Skerritt’s show, Picket Fences (1992)). He also guest-starred in the television series The Real McCoys (1963), as a letter carrier in the episode “Aunt Win Steps In”. He was cast in Bonanza in 1964 and on Death Valley Days in 1965, as a young gambler, Patrick Hogan, who meets a tragic fate after winning a small fortune in a saloon. In another Death Valley Days episode, “A Sense of Justice” (1966), he played a young Roy Bean with his older brother, Joshua Bean, played by Tris Coffin.[7] In a later Death Valley Days role, Skerritt played Mark Twain in the 1968 episode “Ten Day Millionaires”, with Dabney Coleman as Twain’s mining partner, Calvin H. Higby. The two lose a fortune in gold, but Twain learns his future is in writing.[8]
Skerritt appeared in the ABC series Twelve O’Clock High (1964–1967), five episodes; Gunsmoke (1965–1972), also five episodes), and as Evan Drake on Cheers. He then appeared in CBS’s Picket Fences (1992–1996), in the role of Sheriff Jimmy Brock, for which he won an Emmy Award. More recently, he has starred in Homeland Security and The Grid.
He portrayed the deceased William Walker on Brothers and Sisters, having appeared in the pilot as well as in several flashbacks scenes. This was his second time playing the husband of Sally Field, the first having been in Steel Magnolias.
He played the role of Ezekiel on ABC Family’s miniseries Fallen. He also appeared as the guide on the showcase website for Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system. He lent his voice in the video game Gun (2005), where he voices Clay Allison.
He guest-starred in seasons three and four of Leverage as Nate Ford’s father.[9]
In February 2012, Skerritt played the title role in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s production of Don Quixote.[10]
In 2014, Skerritt was reunited with ex-Picket Fences co-star, Lauren Holly, to star with her in Field of Lost Shoes.[11]
Lucky, the final film, and big screen title role, of Harry Dean Stanton was with his co-cast star Skerritt, from 38 years before in Alien.
Now, he spends his time with his production company called Heyou Media, which the Seattle Times has said of:
Heyou captures much of what Skerritt has been working on — and fretting about — over the last several years. The company will allow him to create and deliver content outside of the Hollywood system, tap into the Northwest’s vast pool of creative talent, and bring to life the kinds of stories he nurtured as founder and instructor at The Film School — all while lifting audiences above the current political divide.
Awesome, now let’s watch his TED Talk:
