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Patrick Stewart, British stage actor who found fame as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek, has died. He was 86 years old.
His death was announced in a statement on his official social media account which said he died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles after “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.”
Stewart’s career spanned six decades, from the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon to Broadway to film and television.
He was best known as Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men and Captain Jean-Luc Picard from the Star Trek: The Next Generation series and films.
Marvel Studios is remembering Stewart as an actor who brought his X-Men character to life with “extraordinary grace, intelligence and humanity.” It calls him a “singular talent, generous collaborator and true gentleman.”
Hugh Jackman, who starred as Wolverine in the X-Men films, also paid tribute to Stewart on Instagram, calling him “a tremendous friend and man.”
Star Trek actor Jonathan Frakes, who played Picard’s No. 1, Commander William Riker, was among the first of Stewart’s colleagues to post a tribute to him online, simply saying, “Rest in peace my friend,” on his Instagram stories.
William Shatner, who played Picard’s predecessor aboard the USS Enterprise, Captain Kirk, called this a heartbreaking week, making reference to the death of his co-star Walter Koenig on Monday. Shatner said he was filled with admiration for Stewart.
“From the stage to the bridge of the Enterprise, he brought intelligence, grace, and a deep sense of humanity to everything he did. Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him,” said Shatner on social media.
Stewart spent more of his career onstage than in the X-Mansion or on the USS Enterprise.
Besides playing everyone from Claudius to Macbeth, he often performed a one-man rendition of A Christmas Carol and did West End and Broadway runs of Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in repertoire with long-time friend and X-Men costar Ian McKellen.
Early years and advocacy
Stewart was raised in Mirfield in Yorkshire, a working class corner of northern England, and grew up without a bathroom in his house.
At age 12, he joined an amateur drama group and memorized Shakespeare for fun as a teen. He won a scholarship to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, launching a career as a character actor.
He was bald since he was 19 — alopecia runs in his family.
WATCH | Patrick Stewart dead at 86:
Star Trek, X-Men actor Patrick Stewart dead at 86
Patrick Stewart, the British stage actor who famously played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men, has died. The 86-year-old died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles after ‘a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia,’ according to a statement on his social media page.
His father, a former regimental sergeant major in the British Army, was prone to outbursts of “repeated violence against my mother,” as Stewart wrote in The Guardian.
“Violence is always a choice a man makes and he alone is responsible for it.”
Stewart would later became a patron for Refuge, an organization that provides shelter for domestic abuse victims.
Sonnets to lift spirits
In 2013, Stewart married Brooklyn songwriter and singer Sunny Ozell, with McKellen officiating.
He said it was his wife’s idea to start sharing his love of Shakespeare with the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When people were locked down at home, he posted one sonnet a day on his social media accounts, to help lift spirits.
Sonnet 154. The final one. Here’s to everyone who has been so kindly watching and listening to these sonnets. We never expected anything like this and we appreciate it enormously. Thank you! #ASonnetADay https://t.co/K2l1UAa3a0
Stewart is also survived by two children, a daughter, Sophia, and a son, Daniel.
The statement on Stewart’s social media said “he has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all.
“We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”
In lieu of flowers, the statement requests donations be made to Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund or Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources.