Tom Skerritt, known for roles in "Alien," "Picket Fences," dies at 93

Tom Skerritt died of natural causes, his family said in a statement.

Tom Skerritt, the actor known for his roles in "Alien," "Top Gun" and TV's "Picket Fences," has died, his publicist confirmed to CBS News on Thursday. He was 93.Skerritt died Wednesday of natural causes, his family said in a statement."We are heartbroken by his loss," the family said. "While the world knew Tom through his remarkable acting career, we knew him for his humor, curiosity, wisdom, generosity, and the love he brought into our lives."Skerritt was twice nominated for an Emmy — both for CBS' "Picket Fences," winning outstanding lead actor in a drama series in 1993. Other career highlights include playing the patient husband of Shirley MacLaine in "The Turning Point," Sally Field's husband in "Steel Magnolias" and a scheming opportunist who stands in the way of Jodie Foster's attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial life in "Contact.""A writer once described me as a character actor locked in a leading man's body, and I've always loved that.

It's a nice compliment. I've been able to walk the line between television and features," he told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1997.Onstage, he was the narrator in "Our Town" at Seattle's Intiman Theatre in 2004 and made his Broadway debut in 2013 in an adaptation of John Grisham's "A Time to Kill," in which The Associated Press wrote he "nicely pulls off a