Sir Patrick Stewart, the Star Trek and X-Men actor, has died aged 86, prompting tributes from Sir Ian McKellen and from his home town of Mirfield, West Yorkshire.
His spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, said he died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday night, CNN reported. A family statement released on Thursday described a short illness with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. He died with his wife, the musician Sunny Ozell, at his side.
He also leaves two adult children, Daniel and Sophie, from his first marriage, the BBC reported.
‘Beloved’ by colleagues
Sir Ian, his friend of many decades and his X-Men co-star, called him “the most respected and beloved actor of his generation”. He said Stewart’s Yorkshire upbringing shaped him, and could be heard in his voice and his plain speaking.
Sir Ian recalled that Stewart had been wary of taking the Captain Picard role in Star Trek, but went ahead anyway. Stewart played the starship commander in more than 170 episodes between 1987 and 1994, and in four films.
William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, said Stewart brought intelligence, grace and humanity to all his work. George Takei, who played Sulu, said he had inspired a generation to look to a better future.
Hugh Jackman said: “We lost one of the greats of stage and screen,” ABC News in Australia reported.
Dame Judi Dench said the news had left her stunned and saddened. She praised an actor who gave every performance his full commitment, the BBC reported.
Dame Harriet Walter said his death felt like the fall of a great tree. She told BBC Newsnight that he was utterly present on stage and that she had never heard anyone speak ill of him.
Marvel Studios said Stewart is due to appear as Professor X in Avengers: Doomsday. The Royal Shakespeare Company, which he joined in 1966, called him a colossus of stage and screen.
‘Mirfield’s finest’
In Mirfield, the mood was one of personal loss. Spen Valley MP Kim Leadbeater called him “Mirfield’s finest”, according to BBC News Yorkshire.
Stewart was born in the town in 1940 and went to Crowlees Church of England Junior and Infant School, then Mirfield Secondary Modern. His mother, Gladys, was a textile worker active in amateur dramatics, who encouraged her three sons to perform.
His first public role was in a church production of Cinderella. He later said he owed “literally everything” to the English teacher who first pushed him to act.
Hundreds of people posted messages on YorkshireLive’s Facebook page. One wrote of “a good Yorkshire man who never forgot where he came from”.
Huddersfield Town, whom he supported all his life, called him a “Terrier in every sense”. The club’s chief operating officer, David Threlfall-Sykes, said Stewart was as star-struck by the players as fans were by him. Stewart celebrated the club’s promotion to the Premier League at Wembley in 2017.
The University of Huddersfield said he served as chancellor from 2004 to 2015 and stayed on as emeritus chancellor, the Yorkshire Evening Post reported.
Outside the entertainment world, the Alzheimer’s Society and the domestic abuse charity Refuge also paid tribute. Stewart became a Refuge ambassador in 2007, after seeing his mother suffer violence from his father.
Theatres in London’s West End will dim their lights for two minutes on Tuesday 3 November in his honour.
Sources: BBC News Yorkshire (via Yahoo), CNN, ABC News (Australia), Yorkshire Evening Post, YorkshireLive, BBC News
This story was compiled by the MDW Newsdesk with AI-assisted tools, using the reporting credited above.
