Tom Skerritt, Emmy-winning actor with roles in 'Top Gun' and 'Alien,' dies

Tom Skerritt, the Emmy-winning actor known for steady, wry authority roles—including a flight instructor in “Top Gun,” a tough-but-fair sheriff on “Picket Fences,” and the doomed captain in “Alien”—has died at 93. Skerritt died Wednesday of natural causes, his family said. He was nominated twice for an Emmy, winning in 1993 for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for “Picket Fences.” His filmography included “Turning Point,” “Steel Magnolias,” and “Contact,” where he played a scheming opportunist opposing Jodie Foster’s character. Earlier, he spent four years in the Air Force, studied at Wayne State University, then moved to UCLA to study filmmaking.