Film & TV
Tom Skerritt
born 1933 · actor, director
Emmy-winning actor of M*A*S*H, Alien, Top Gun and Picket Fences who grew up in Detroit, graduated from Mackenzie High School and studied at Wayne State.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 93- Birth name
- Thomas Roy Skerritt
- Detroit years
- 1933–1950s
- Field
- Film & TV
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Tom Skerritt was born in Detroit in 1933, the son of a homemaker and a businessman. He graduated from Mackenzie High School on Wyoming Avenue in 1951 and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, serving four years as a classification specialist. Back home he took classes at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn and at Wayne State University before transferring to UCLA, where acting took hold. His film breakthrough came as Duke Forrest in Robert Altman's M*A*S*H (1970), followed by a long run of memorable roles: Captain Dallas in Alien, the flight instructor Viper in Top Gun, the stern minister father in A River Runs Through It. On television he won an Emmy as Sheriff Jimmy Brock in Picket Fences (1992–1996). Mackenzie High School, where his path began, closed in 2007 and was demolished in 2012.
Highlights
- Duke Forrest in M*A*S*H (1970) and Captain Dallas in Alien (1979)
- Viper in Top Gun (1986) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
- Emmy Award for Picket Fences (1993)
- Mackenzie High School class of 1951
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · until 1951
Mackenzie High School (former building)
Demolished · 1928–2007
Skerritt graduated here in 1951. The school closed in 2007 and was demolished in 2012; a new Mackenzie Elementary-Middle School stands on the site.
Studied here · 1950s
Henry Ford College
Community college in Dearborn where Skerritt took classes after his Air Force service.
Studied here · 1950s
Wayne State University
Detroit's public research university in Midtown; Skerritt studied here before moving on to UCLA.