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Tom Skerritt

Tom Skerritt, a Best Actor Emmy Award winner for his role in Picket Fences, is currently starring in a recurring role on the ABC series Brothers & Sisters. Among his most recent projects are the CBS miniseries The Trojan Horse and the telefilm Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the feature comedy Beer for My Horses and the comedy drama Bonneville, opposite Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates. Earlier this year, he lent his voice to the animated family feature The Velveteen Rabbit, alongside Jane Seymour and Ellen Burstyn.

He will next be seen in the thriller For Sale by Owner, and is currently developing several scripts that he has written or adapted.

Born in Detroit, Skerritt studied at Wayne State University and UCLA. Though originally interested in directing, a performance in a UCLA theatrical production led to his being cast in his first film, War Hunt, in 1961. His subsequent film credits span every genre and include numerous classic and acclaimed titles, including M*A*S*H, The Turning Point, Alien, Top Gun, Steel Magnolias, A River Runs Through It and Contact.

Skerritt's extensive television work includes a recent role as General Westmoreland in the HBO drama Path to War; a new version of High Noon for TBS, in which he reprised the Gary Cooper role as the conflicted sheriff; and a turn as Joseph Kennedy in the CBS miniseries Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Life. Among his additional television credits are Lifetime's American Daughter, the CBS miniseries Aftershock, the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation What the Deaf Man Heard, and the USA Network's Divided by Hate, which he also directed. Skerritt's directorial debut was the ABC Afterschool Special A Question of Sex. He has also starred in the telefilms The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer, Miles to Go, Poker Alice, Child in the Night, Getting Up and Going Home, Two for Texas, The China Lake Murders, The Heist and Red King White King, and he has appeared in guest-starring roles in series such as The Dead Zone, Huff, The Grid, Law & Order: SVU, The West Wing, Will & Grace, and Cheers.

After appearing with Lee Remick in a Los Angeles theatrical production of Love Letters, he re-teamed with Picket Fences co-star Kathy Baker for several charity performances of the play, including one to benefit the Laguna Art Museum. Skerritt is one of the founders of The Film School in Seattle, where he now lives. Additionally, he devotes his time to such interests as painting and running a restaurant and microbrewery, the proceeds from which, in part, benefit Crested Butte's Adaptive Sports Center in Colorado, aiding spinal trauma rehabilitation and research.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2009.
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Tom Skerritt Facts

OccupationDirector
BirthdayAugust 25, 1933 (90)
SignVirgo
BirthplaceDetroit, Michigan, USA
Height5' 9" (1m75)  How tall is Tom Skerritt compared to you?

Selected Filmography

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
Divided by Hate
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