Tom Skerritt Bio, Movies and TV Shows, Net Worth, Wife and Children

Quick Facts

Tom Skerritt is one of Hollywood’s longest-serving actors still in the business today. He might have come of age but he is still very well known for his handsome appearance and his rugged and outdoorsy nature. Having been active in the film industry for close to six decades, Tom Skerritt does not look like he is willing to quit his dream job anytime soon. Although throughout his over half a century long career in acting, he still hasn’t won an Oscar or a Golden Globe Award, he has, however, been a recipient of the Primetime Emmy Award as well as some other awards too.

Tom Skerritt – Biography

He was born as Thomas Roy Skerritt to Roy and Helen Skerritt on August 25, 1933, in Detroit, Michigan. His father was a businessman while his mother was a homemaker. His parents gave birth to three kids with Tom as the last born.

Tom Skerritt grew up in Detroit and attended high school in Michigan city. He attended Mackenzie High School in Detroit and graduated from there 1951. He went on to attend Wayne State University, where he got his bachelor’s degree. Skerrit furthered his education by obtaining his master’s degree from the University of California. It was at the university that Tom’s acting ability was first noticed but before he began his acting career, he served in the United States Air Force for four years.

Movies and TV Shows

Tom began his acting career in 1962 when he was cast as Sergeant Stan Showalter in the war film War Hunt. In the same year, he starred in his first TV show, Combat!, where he played different roles in all six episodes he starred in between 1962 and 1967.

Tom Skerritt has appeared in over a hundred TV shows. He was cast in six episodes of Virginian, playing different roles in all six episodes of the show from 1962 to 1971. In Death Valley Days, he featured in five episodes between 1963 and 1968. Tom continued to feature in several TV shows playing multiple characters, such as in Twelve O’clock High, where he was cast in different roles in all five episodes. In Bonanza, he was cast as Neely Hollister and Pete Edwards in the two episodes he starred in; In Gunsmoke, Tom appeared in five episodes, starring as five different characters; similarly, in F.B.I, he was cast as five characters in all five episodes he starred in. Tom also made several guest appearances in other TV shows such as in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Category 7: The End of the World and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.

Tom Skerritt has starred in 63 films so far and some of his most prominent works came from films like MASH, Big Bad Mama, Ice Castles, Top Gun, Alien, Contact, TED, Lucky, and SpaceCamp.

In MASH, Skerritt was cast as Captain Augustus Bedford “Duke” Forrest. The film tells of three army doctors, adapted from the novel written by Richard Hooker titled MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors.

Tom played the lead character in the 1979 science fiction horror film Alien. Tom portrayed Dallas in the film. When he was first approached to feature in the film, he initially rejected the role because the film had a low budget and it also did not have a director as at then. But after the budget was doubled and was appointed as the director, Tom then accepted the role of Dallas.

Net Worth

Over the course of his 57 years in the acting business, Tom has been able to gather a good amount of wealth for himself. He has a house at Lake Washington and one at Lopez Island, where he spends his free time. As at when his net worth was last reviewed, it was said to amount to about $8 million.

Wife and Children

Tom Skerritt married three times. His first marriage was to Charlotte Shanks in 1957, with whom he had three kids, Andy (b. 1962), Erin (b. 1964) and Matt (b. 1969). He and Shanks divorced in 1972. Five years later, he got married to Sue Oran. He and Oran had a child named Colin (b. 1978). Their marriage ended in 1992. The renowned actor is currently married to Julie Tokashiki. The couple wedded in 1988 and they have an adopted daughter named Emi.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.