Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter:
Patrick Stewart, the sophisticated actor who brought a Shakespearean touch to Star Trek and X-Men as he made an otherworldly transformation from British stage veteran to sci-fi icon, has died. He was 86.
Stewart died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles following “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,” longtime spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak announced.
This anecdote from THR made me chuckle:
The Los Angeles Times referred to him as an “unknown British Shakespearean actor” in a story announcing his casting. Brent Spiner, who played the android Data on the show, fashioned a sign to go above Stewart’s dressing room that read in bright red, “WARNING: Unknown British Shakespearean Actor.”
And The New York Times (Anita Gates and William McDonald) offers a hilariously Times-ian description of the show:
Old and new fans embraced the balding, graying Picard and the members of his 24th-century crew, among them a pale-skinned android with deadpan comic timing; an intense, half-alien mind-reader; a gruff Klingon; and a blind human engineer wearing a vision visor.
Stewart’s Picard provided the world with hundreds of memorable (and memeable) moments, so I was, of course, culturally aware of him and the show, but I’d never actually seen him in his iconic role until I watched The Next Generation for the first time last year. Yes, this geek and techie had somehow avoided this classic sci-fi show for over 30 years. It was worth the wait. I fell immediately in love with the show, and in particular with Stewart, who managed to stand out even among a terrific cast. Captain Picard led with empathy, displayed unwavering confidence in his crew, and knew enough to know what he didn’t know. Would that every leader followed his style—it should be taught to every junior executive and business school freshman. (They can start with the Picard Tips Mastodon account.)
Along with ST:TNG, X-Men, and everything else, Stewart also had a memorable turn in Frasier as a gay suitor to Kelsey Grammer’s very straight (and straight-laced) title character. It’s one of my favorite episodes (and apparently one of Stewart’s favorite guest spots). “The view—breathtaking, the art—perfect, the chair—hilarious.”
Raising a tea. Earl Grey. Hot.