Screen legend Patrick Stewart StarCraft Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men The franchise, is dead. He is 86 years old.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that Sir Patrick Stewart passed away yesterday at his home in Los Angeles under the loving care of his beloved wife, Sunny, after a short and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,” Stewart’s rep said in a statement. “He was warmly embraced by family and friends, surrounded by live music, devotion, and laughter that could only inspire a lifetime of tears.”
“We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection in his face, a permanent reminder of his invincible grace,” the statement concluded.
Stewart, a Shakespearean stage actor who trained at the Bristol Old Vic drama school, was nominated for a Tony Award for his 2008 production of “Macbeth.” He won the 1992 Drama Desk Award for “A Christmas Carol” and Olivier Awards for “Carol,” “Antony and Cleopatra” and “Hamlet.”
In the 1980s, Stewart acted in the film adaptations of Excalibur and Dune. In 1987, he began playing the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Wars: The Next Generation, which he continued until the final season of Star Wars: Picard in 2023.
He also stars in the X-Men franchise as Professor Charles Xavier, who was last seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Other film roles include “Jeffrey,” “Conspiracy Theory,” “Green Room,” “The Kid Who Would Be King” and a cameo in “L.A. Story.”
As a voice actor, he has voice roles in The Prince of Egypt, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Chicken Little, The Sheep Detective, the TV movie Animal Farm, two episodes of The Simpsons, and a recurring role on American Dad! Narrator for TED movies since 2005.
Stewart won a Grammy for his reading of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.
On television, he has also starred in “Blunt Talk,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “The Hollow Crown,” “Frasier,” and the “Moby Dick” miniseries.
Stewart published his memoir “Making It So” in 2023. He also advocates for Amnesty International, Survivors of Domestic Violence, Combat Stress and other charities.
Stewart’s social media account requested donations to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund and the Alzheimer’s Caregiver Resource Foundation of America.
UPI contributed to this article.