This week, Star Trek fans (myself included) mourned the loss of two legends of the final frontier. Walter Koenig, who played Pavel Chekov in Star Trek: The Original Series, and Sir Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The beloved actors were aged 90 and 86, respectively.
Stewart's family took to social media to announce his death following a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia.
His spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, said in a post on Instagram: “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,” the post continued.
All good things.
Stewart's love of drama came at school when one of his teachers introduced him to Shakespeare and encouraged him to perform.
I've long admired Stewart since seeing Excalibur with my late mum and always take great pleasure in doing impressions of that unmistakable baritone voice. And there's a family connection. A late relative was friends with Stewart. A few years ago, we arranged to meet up for a pub lunch, but the pandemic happened.
Make it so.
As I've written before, Star Trek: Picard's third and final season was a poignant send-off for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Series showrunner Terry Matalas (VisionQuest) understood the assignment and gave fans one of the greatest Star Trek seasons of all time.
This December, Marvel fans (myself included) can see Stewart's final performance in Avengers: Doomsday, where he reprises Professor Charles Xavier opposite Sir Ian McKellen's Magneto.
Marvel Studios posted a tribute on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after the announcement of his death, saying: “All of us at Marvel Studios are deeply saddened by the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart. Sir Patrick brought Professor Charles Xavier to life with extraordinary grace, intelligence, and humanity, defining the character for generations of fans, from X-Men to Logan to Avengers: Doomsday.
“He was a singular talent, a generous collaborator, and a true gentleman. Our hearts go out to his wife Sunny, his children, his friends, and the countless fans around the world whose lives he touched with his art.”
Tea, Earl Grey, hot!
Farewell, Mon Capitaine.
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