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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.”
Star Trek actor Johnathan 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.
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 Ian McKellen.
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.
