The Only 3 Actors Still Alive From The Cast Of 1979's Alien
As the decades pass, the number of cast members from classic films and TV shows still alive sadly dwindles. For example, there are only three actors still alive from the main cast of "Star Trek," namely William Shatner, George Takei, and Walter Koenig.
Like the remaining crew of the Starship Enterprise, there are only three cast members from director Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror classic "Alien" who are still alive as of this writing. The core cast members who have passed on include John Hurt, who played Kane, the crew member who succumbs to the Xenomorph chest-burster. Hurt died at age 77 in 2017. Other departed "Alien" performers who played Nostromo crew members include Parker actor Yaphet Kotto, who was 81 when he died in 2021, Harry Dean Stanton, who played Brett and passed away in 2017 at age 91, and Ian Holm, who played the android Ash and died in 2020 at age 88. Holm, of course, had the distinction of starring in another blockbuster movie franchise, having played the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in director Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy.
Apart from Scott — who is busier than ever, having directed "Napoleon" in 2023 — only three actors are still alive from the cast of "Alien." Here's a rundown of who they are and what they've been doing since the release of the landmark film.
Sigourney Weaver: Lt. Ellen Ripley
With a mere handful of credits to her name before 1979 — including a short turn in director Woody Allen's best picture Oscar winner "Annie Hall" in 1977 — "Alien" marked Sigourney Weaver's breakthrough role in Hollywood. Weaver was 29 when "Alien" debuted in theaters on May 25, 1979, and her indelible performance in the film led her to reprise the character in 1986's "Aliens," 1992's "Alien 3," and 1997's "Alien: Resurrection."
"Aliens" turned out to be Weaver's most significant turn as the character as the film earned her a best actress Oscar nomination. In 1989, Weaver was nominated for two more Oscars, one for best actress for "Gorillas in the Mist" and another for best supporting actress for "Working Girl."
While Weaver has acted in a variety of genres since "Alien," including comedy in the "Ghostbusters" films and "Dave," and drama in "The Ice Storm," she has never strayed too far from her roots in sci-fi. Not only did Weaver travel back to outer space in "Galaxy Quest," but she also reunited with her "Aliens" director James Cameron for an intergalactic trip to the Earth-like planet of Pandora for "Avatar" and its first sequel, "Avatar: The Way of Water."
Tom Skerritt: Captain Arthur Dallas
Tom Skerritt was already a seasoned acting veteran when he got the call to play Arthur Dallas, the captain of the Nostromo, in "Alien." Skerritt, who was born in 1933, was 46 years old when "Alien" debuted in theaters. His career kicked off in the 1962 film "War Hunt," which was followed by several guest and recurring roles in such TV series as "Combat!" "The Fugitive," "Gunsmoke," and "Bonanza."
While Skerritt also appeared in films, including the Cheech and Chong comedy classic "Up in Smoke" in 1978 and the Robby Benson romantic drama "Ice Castles" in 1979, "Alien" — like it did for Weaver — served as a big-screen breakthrough for the actor. From there, Skerritt starred in such high-profile films as 1982's "The Dead Zone" opposite Christopher Walken, and played the pivotal role of Maverick's (Tom Cruise) flight instructor Viper in the 1986 blockbuster "Top Gun."
In addition to his film success, Skerritt found major success in television, playing Rebecca Howe's (Kirstie Alley) handsome boss, Evan Drake, in a recurring role on "Cheers." The actor has also made high-profile guest turns in such TV hits as "Will & Grace," "The West Wing," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," and "The Good Wife." In 2014, Skerritt returned to his "Alien" roots to voice Captain Dallas for the video game "Alien: Isolation" — a welcome return given the character was taken by a Xenomorph and placed in a cocoon before his demise in the movie.
Veronica Cartwright: Joan Lambert
Veronica Cartwright was 30 years old when "Alien" was released in 1979. In the film, she played Joan Lambert, a crew member of the Nostromo who, like most of her colleagues, was killed by a Xenomorph alien. The Cartwright surname was already a familiar one in Hollywood by the time "Alien" came along, given that Veronica is the older sister of Angela Cartwright — who as a child starred as Brigitta von Trapp in the classic 1965 movie musical "The Sound of Music," as well as the classic sci-fi TV series "Lost in Space" from 1965 to 1968.
Before Veronica Cartwright took her trip to the far reaches of outer space in "Alien," she appeared in several screen projects, including four episodes of "Leave It to Beaver," a pair of episodes in the series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," and reteamed with Hitchcock for his classic movie thriller "The Birds" in 1963. Before playing Lambert in 1979, Cartright alternated her career between TV and movies, guest-starring in such shows as "Serpico" and playing a major role opposite Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum in the 1978 remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
Cartwright worked non-stop after "Aliens," with several high-profile projects including the movies "The Right Stuff" and "The Witches of Eastwick," as well as guest turns in such TV hits as "Supernatural," "Bosch" and "The Good Doctor." In 2023, she appeared in two episodes of the series "Gotham Knights." Like Tom Skerritt, Cartwright reprised Lambert with a voice role in the 2014 video game "Alien: Isolation."