Patrick Stewart dies at 86
The actor who made Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier enduring figures died at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28.
Ian McKellen once urged Patrick Stewart not to take Star Trek, warning that Hollywood could derail his British stage career. Stewart took the job anyway, then spent the next four decades proving that Shakespeare, spaceships and superhero movies were not competing lives.
Stewart died Oct. 28 at his Los Angeles home at 86. His longtime spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, said he had been on a “brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. He died in the care of his wife, singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell, after time surrounded by family and friends, live music, prayer, tears and laughter.
Why he mattered: Stewart became Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which ran for seven seasons from 1987 to 1994. He returned as Picard in four films and, decades later, in Star Trek: Picard. His captain was firm without being cruel, intellectual without being distant, and one of television's clearest arguments that authority can include compassion.
He brought the same gravity to Charles Xavier, first playing Professor X in 2000's X-Men. The role made him central to another giant franchise, alongside McKellen's Magneto and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. His work also ranged from the Royal Shakespeare Company, which he joined in 1966, to Broadway and the West End, plus voice roles in American Dad! and Family Guy, films including Dune and Green Room, and a 2023 memoir, Making It So.
What they're saying: McKellen remembered Stewart as someone who “wore his heart on his sleeve,” calling him a man to rely on, admire and love. William Shatner said Picard “stood for the best of us,” while Jackman called Stewart “one of the greats of stage and screen” and “a tremendous friend and man.” Marvel Studios praised the grace, intelligence and humanity he brought to Xavier.
Stewart was born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, in 1940 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010 for services to drama. He is survived by Ozell and his two children, Daniel and Sophie. His family suggested memorial gifts to Alzheimer's research and caregiver-support organizations.
The final role: Stewart will appear posthumously as Charles Xavier in Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for release Dec. 18.
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