Tributes continue to pour in for the late Patrick Stewart, the beloved star of the Star Trek and X-Men film and television series, who passed away earlier this week after the age of 86 after a brief battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
William Shatner, Star Trek’s original captain (and Stewart’s co-star in the film Star Trek Generations) wrote on Instagram: “What a heartbreaking week it has been. Sir Patrick Stewart was a friend, a colleague, and a magnificent actor. 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. I was filled with affection and admiration for him and his work.”
Shatner’s Star Trek colleague George Takei shared “As Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart took the starship Enterprise to places it had never gone before, and he inspired a whole next generation of star-gazers who looked longingly ahead to a brighter future for all humanity. Our hearts are heavy, indeed. Rest in the heavens, Captain.”
Ian McKellen, who shared the screen with Stewart in the X-Men film as the Magneto to his Professor Xavier, posted a beautiful tribute to his late friend on his own Instagram account. He wrote, in part:
We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions. My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk—getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”. Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
McKellen’s fellow X-Men alumnus Hugh Jackman wrote “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.”
The Next Generation’s Doctor Crusher, Gates McFadden, wrote on Instagram “great memories, unforgettable man. Rest in Peace.”
The Next Generation’s Commander Riker, Jonathan Frakes, posted a simple “Rest in peace my friend” to his Instagram story, while LeVar Burton — who played Geordi La Forge on the series, wrote “He was family … I am lucky to have known and loved so many of the facets of a soul so rich in talent and generous of heart. Of all the Dames and Knights I’ve known he was deep down-the silliest.”
Stewart’s Star Trek: The Next Generation co-star Wil Wheaton might have summed it up best when he simply posted a photo of the two together with a single emoji: “💔”
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Gallery Credit: Emma Stefansky
