A death announced from Los Angeles
A family statement announced that Sir Patrick Stewart passed away on Wednesday at his Los Angeles residence; he was 86. According to the statement, he died surrounded by the devoted care of his wife, and the calm and thoughtful look on his face remained a lasting sign of his unshakeable dignity. The family disclosed that he had been coping with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy Body Dementia, which they characterized as a short and deeply moving experience. He leaves behind his wife, Sunny Ozell, along with two grown children, Daniel and Sophie Stewart, from his first marriage.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6]
McKellen leads the tributes
Sir Ian McKellen, a close friend of Stewart's and his fellow X-Men performer, headed the tributes, describing him as the most admired and cherished actor of his era. McKellen, who married Stewart and his wife in 2013, remarked that his friend showed his feelings openly, making him someone dependable, worthy of respect and, for McKellen himself, easy to love. He remembered their first encounter as young Royal Shakespeare Company actors and his caution about accepting the Star Trek part, noting that Stewart went ahead anyway and that everyone benefited.[S1][S7]
William Shatner, another actor who captained the Enterprise in Star Trek, praised Stewart for bringing wisdom, elegance and profound compassion to all his work, adding that Captain Picard embodied the finest qualities in people, just as the actor behind him did. George Takei, who portrayed Hikaru Sulu, credited Stewart with inspiring a new generation of people who gaze at the stars and dream of a better future for humankind. Hugh Jackman, his X-Men colleague, remembered him as an extraordinary friend and person, and lamented the loss of a stage and screen great.[S1]
Dame Harriet Walter, who met Stewart over four decades ago while he was working in theatre, told BBC Newsnight that losing him felt comparable to an enormous ancient tree crashing down in a forest. She spoke of a spark in his eyes and an aura that commanded any room, and said she never once heard anyone speak ill of him. Marvel Studios remembered him as a one-of-a-kind talent, a giving collaborator and a genuine gentleman, noting that his last screen role will be Professor X in the forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday.[S1]
From Yorkshire to the Enterprise
Born in Mirfield in 1940, Stewart discovered his passion for drama while at school, where he was first exposed to Shakespeare; his earliest public appearance came in a church staging of Cinderella in his local area. He could recite Shakespeare from memory and immersed himself in the busy local theatre world. Upon receiving his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2010, he credited his former English teacher, who had first urged him to act, with giving him essentially everything.[S1]
He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 and went on to play King John, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Henry IV. The RSC remembered him as a colossus of both stage and screen and one of the finest classical Shakespearean actors of his generation, saying his contribution to the company was beyond measure. McKellen noted that although the United States became Stewart's adopted home, he never forsook his Yorkshire origins, and that his proudest achievement was his appointment as chancellor of Huddersfield University.[S1]
Stewart portrayed Jean-Luc Picard in more than 170 episodes of Star Trek between 1987 and 1994 and in four feature films, returning to the role for Star Trek: Picard in 2020. He was also celebrated for playing Charles Xavier across the X-Men franchise. His other screen work included Safe House, Robin Hood: Men in Tights and the original Dune, along with guest appearances on Frasier, Futurama and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.[S1]
Colleagues and a football club mourn
Seth MacFarlane, a Stewart admirer since childhood, said working alongside him on Family Guy, American Dad! and Ted gave him the good fortune of becoming both a colleague and a friend. He praised Stewart as an uncommon performer able to lift any line of dialogue, making decent writing seem excellent and excellent writing seem brilliant. Ricky Gervais, who brought Stewart on as a guest for his BBC show Extras, hailed him as a legend and posted a blooper clip of them laughing together, saying he remained amazed that Stewart consented to the scene and stayed good-humored as each take fell apart.[S1]
Huddersfield Town, the English Football League club Stewart supported all his life, called him a titan of his craft. The club said he was fiercely proud of his Yorkshire roots, a Terrier in every sense, and that it was proud to count him as one of its own. Tributes also came from outlets across Britain and the United States, which reported the death of the Star Trek and X-Men legend and the wave of reaction from his colleagues.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7]
