Skerritt was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Helen, a homemaker, and Roy Skerritt, a businessman. He is the youngest of three children. A 1951 graduate of Detroit\'s Mackenzie High School, Skerritt attended Wayne State University and the University of California, Los Angeles. Skerritt served a tour of duty in the United States Air Force.\n', '

Skerritt made his film debut in War Hunt, produced by Terry Sanders and released in 1962. Skerritt\'s notable film appearances include M*A*S*H (1970), Harold and Maude (credited as "M. Borman", 1971), Big Bad Mama, Cheech & Chong\'s Up in Smoke (1978), Ice Castles (1978), as Captain Dallas in Alien (1979), as a would-be astronaut in Contact (1997) and SpaceCamp (1986), and in Top Gun (1986) as Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf. In 1988, he starred with Nancy Allen and Lara Flynn Boyle in Poltergeist III. In 1989, he played the role of Thomas Drummond "Drum" Eatenton in Steel Magnolias. In 1992, he appeared in the critically acclaimed Robert Redford-directed film A River Runs Through It, playing a fly-fish loving minister and father of the two protagonist brothers in the film.\n', '

Skerritt guest-starred in the television series The Real McCoys (1963), as a letter carrier in the episode "Aunt Win Steps In". He was cast in Bonanza in 1964 and on Death Valley Days in 1965, as a young gambler, Patrick Hogan, who meets a tragic fate after winning a small fortune in a saloon. In another Death Valley Days episode, "A Sense of Justice" (1966), he played a young Roy Bean with his older brother, Joshua Bean, played by Tris Coffin. In a later Death Valley Days role, Skerritt played Mark Twain in the 1968 episode "Ten Day Millionaires", with Dabney Coleman as Twain\'s mining partner, Calvin H. Higby. The two lose a fortune in gold, but Twain learns his future is in writing.\n', '

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