Make it so, one last time. Sir Patrick Stewart, the stage giant who turned Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier into pop-culture royalty, has died. He was 86.
What happened
Stewart died Wednesday, Oct. 28, at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from his longtime spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, as reported by AP, Deadline and The Guardian. The statement said he died "in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia."
The family's statement added that he was "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."
Hugh Jackman leads the tributes
His X-Men co-star and friend Hugh Jackman posted on Instagram: "We lost one of the greats of stage and screen today. And, in my book, a tremendous friend and man. I learned so much from him. I will miss you, Patrick Stewart, all of my days."
According to Variety, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige called Stewart "brilliant, charming, warm, generous, with a quiet strength and gravitas." William Shatner, a fellow Enterprise captain, also paid tribute.
Shakespeare first, starships second
Before he ever took the captain's chair, Stewart was a classically trained stage actor known for Shakespeare, including Macbeth and Hamlet. Then Star Trek: The Next Generation made him a household name, and he returned to the role years later in Star Trek: Picard.
Marvel fans knew him as Professor X across the X-Men films. That run included 2017's Logan, which he told Variety in 2020 was "the best 'X-Men' experience" he and Jackman ever had. He also joined Ian McKellen, his on-screen Magneto, in a West End production of Waiting for Godot.
He had a funny side too. He did voice work on The Simpsons and Family Guy, and played CIA boss Avery Bullock on American Dad!, as Bounding Into Comics noted via Yahoo.
One more on the way
It isn't quite goodbye yet. Variety reports that Stewart is set to return as Professor X in "Avengers: Doomsday" this December, alongside McKellen.
Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
