Tom Skerritt, the rough-hewn actor whose six-decade career ranged from Robert Altman's 'M*A*S*H' to the bridge of the Nostromo, died Wednesday in Seattle of natural causes, his family announced. He was 93.

In a statement carried by The Hollywood Reporter, the family said: 'We are heartbroken by his loss. 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.'

For the Film reader, Skerritt's death closes a direct line to 1970s New Hollywood.

As The Hollywood Reporter tells it, his breakthrough as Duke Forrest in the 1970 'M*A*S*H' — the freewheeling Altman comedy that led to the long-running CBS series — proved the Detroit native had genuine star power, even though his character never made it to the small-screen adaptation.

The Hollywood Reporter also recounts the detail fans love: Skerritt initially turned down Captain Dallas in 'Alien,' fearing the budget would be devoured by special effects, then reversed course after screening Ridley Scott's 'The Duellists,' which he called 'a painting from beginning to end.'

Across outlets, the through-line is Skerritt's knack for embodying quiet authority: as BBC put it, whether as flight instructor Mike 'Viper' Metcalf opposite Tom Cruise in 1986's 'Top Gun,' or the doomed captain of the Nostromo in 1979's 'Alien' alongside Sigourney Weaver.

NBC News highlights his stern minister in Robert Redford's 1992 'A River Runs Through It,' which won the Oscar for best cinematography. In a 1997 Seattle Post-Intelligencer interview quoted by ABC7, he called himself 'a character actor locked in a leading man's body.'

Television, per TVLine's account, is where Skerritt won his defining honor: four seasons as Sheriff Jimmy Brock on David E. Kelley's quirky CBS drama 'Picket Fences,' beginning in 1992 — 'the voice of calm amid insanity,' as The Hollywood Reporter describes it.

TVLine also recalls his season-six 'Cheers' turn as Evan Drake, the suave boss Kirstie Alley's Rebecca Howe pined for.

The family statements published by BBC, ABC News and mynewsla.com all stress that Skerritt's 'legacy reaches far beyond the screen.'

They note he helped found TheFilmSchool in Seattle to support the next generation of filmmakers, and co-founded the Red Badge Project to help veterans work through PTSD, anxiety and depression by writing and sharing their experiences.

The Hollywood Reporter adds that, inspired partly by 'A River Runs Through It,' he created the documentary series 'Reflections of the River' and supported conservation through American Rivers and the Gallatin River Task Force.

Picket Fences co-star Lauren Holly, in a tribute BBC cites, called him 'our leader.'

The family, according to mynewsla.com, said funeral services were pending as of Thursday and that memorial information will be shared at a later date, asking for privacy as they grieve.

Skerritt is survived by his third wife Julie Tokashiki, whom The Hollywood Reporter says he married in 1998, his five children Andy, Erin, Matt, Collin and Emiko, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.