What is Tom Skerritt's Net Worth?
Tom Skerritt is an American actor who has a net worth of $12 million. Tom Skerritt has appeared in numerous films and television series over a career spanning seven decades. His notable film credits include "M*A*S*H," "Alien," "Top Gun," and "A River Runs Through It," while his notable television credits include "Cheers," "Picket Fences," and the miniseries "The Grid." For his work on "Picket Fences," Skerritt won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Early Life and Education
Tom Skerritt was born on August 25, 1933 in Detroit, Michigan as the youngest of three children of Helen and Roy. He went to Mackenzie High School as an adolescent, and attended Wayne State University and UCLA for his higher education. Before college, Skerritt served a four-year tour of duty in the US Air Force as a classifications specialist.
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Film Career
Skerritt made his film debut in the 1962 war film "War Hunt," directed by Denis Sanders. He reunited with Sanders the following year for the director's drama "One Man's Way." Skerritt was in one more film in the 1960s, the 1964 Disney family drama "Those Calloways." He returned to the big screen in 1970 to play Captain Augustus Bedford 'Duke' Forrest in Robert Altman's acclaimed war comedy "M*A*S*H." The year after that, Skerritt appeared in Blake Edwards's "Wild Rovers" and Hal Ashby's "Harold and Maude." His subsequent credits were the action comedy "Fuzz," Altman's "Thieves Like Us," the Italian comedy "Run, Run, Joe!," the sexploitation film "Big Bad Mama," and the supernatural horror film "The Devil's Rain." In the latter half of the '70s, Skerritt had notable roles in "The Turning Point," "Up in Smoke," "Ice Castles," and Ridley Scott's science-fiction horror film "Alien." Early the next decade, he appeared in such films as "A Dangerous Summer," "Savage Harvest," "Fighting Back," and "The Dead Zone." Skerritt's other major credits in the '80s include "Top Gun," "Wisdom," "Poltergeist III," and "Steel Magnolias."
Skerritt began the '90s with a supporting role in Clint Eastwood's buddy cop action thriller "The Rookie." His biggest year of the decade was 1992, when he appeared in five films, including the thrillers "Poison Ivy" and "Knight Moves" and the drama "A River Runs Through It." After that year, Skerritt wasn't in another theatrical film until 1997's "Contact." He subsequently appeared in "Smoke Signals" in 1998 and "The Other Sister" in 1999. Skerritt's first film of the new millennium was the Western action film "Texas Rangers," released in 2001. He followed that with such films as "Tears of the Sun," "Swing," and "Bonneville." Skerritt finished the decade with roles in "Beer for My Horses," "Whiteout," and "For Sale by Owner." In 2010, he played Santa in Mario Van Peebles's "Redemption Road." Over the subsequent years, Skerritt appeared in "Ted," "Soda Springs," "Redwood Highway," and "Field of Lost Shoes," portraying Ulysses S. Grant in the lattermost film. His other notable credits include "A Hologram for the King," "Lucky," "Day of Days," and "East of the Mountains."
Television Career
In 1962, the same year he made his film debut, Skerritt debuted on television with guest roles on "Combat!" and "The Virginian." He appeared in numerous episodes of both shows during their runs. Also in the '60s, Skerritt had substantial guest roles on "Death Valley Days," "12 O'Clock High," "Gunsmoke," and "The F.B.I.," among other shows. In the '70s, he made appearances on such shows as "Medical Center," "Cannon," "The Manhunter," "Barnaby Jones," and "Baretta." Skerritt had his first main role on a regular series in 1983, when he starred as Dr. Thomas Ryan on the short-lived ABC medical drama series "Ryan's Four." He appeared in a string of television films after that, including "Calendar Girl Murders," "A Touch of Scandal," "The Parent Trap II," and "Poker Alice." From 1987 to 1988, Skerritt played the recurring role of Evan Drake in the sixth season of the sitcom "Cheers." He mostly appeared in television films over the next few years, including "Moving Target," "Nightmare at Bittercreek," "The Heist," "The China Lake Murders," and "She'll Take Romance."
(Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Skerritt began his longest-running role in 1992, as Sheriff Jimmy Brock on the CBS family drama series "Picket Fences." He starred alongside Kathy Baker, Lauren Holly, Costas Mandylor, Holly Marie Combs, Justin Shenkarow, and Adam Wylie, among others. "Picket Fences" ran for four seasons through 1996, and earned Skerritt an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. After the show ended, Skerritt appeared in the television films "What the Deaf Man Heard" and "Two for Texas." In 1999, he was in the miniseries "The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer" and "Aftershock: Earthquake in New York." Skerritt kicked off the new millennium with roles in the television films "An American Daughter" and "High Noon." He continued to appear in numerous television films throughout the '00s and beyond, including "Path to War," "Homeland Security," "Mammoth," "Stephen King's Desperation," and "Journey Back to Christmas." Skerritt also appeared in many miniseries, such as "The Grid," "Category 7: The End of the World," "Fallen," "Killer Wave," and "The Trojan Horse." Among his other notable credits, he played the deceased husband of Sally Field's character in the first three seasons of "Brothers & Sisters."
Personal Life & Real Estate
Skerritt married his first wife, Charlotte Shanks, in 1957. They had three children named Andy, Erin, and Matt before they divorced in 1972. Skerritt wed his second wife, Susan "Sue" Oran, in 1977; they had a son named Colin, and divorced in 1992. With his third wife, Julie Tokashiki, whom he married in 1998, Skerritt has a daughter named Emi.
Since the late 1980s, Tom has lived in Washington. He first began visiting Washington upon dating Sue Oran, whose brother lived in Kirkland, Washington. In 1980 Tom and Sue bought a property on Lopez Island. By 1989 they completed construction on a home that they turned into a bed and breakfast called Edenwild which still operates today, under different owners. Today Tom divides his time between a home along the shores of Lake Washington, a home in Seattle and a different property on Lopez Island. Tom paid $760,000 for the Seattle home in 1998. Today the home is likely worth $4 million.
