Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Picard in Star Trek, dies

British actor Patrick Stewart died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, surrounded by his family. The family announced his death the following day. According to family spokeswoman Kelly Bush Novak, the actor died “after a brief and touching journey with Alzheimer’s disease.”

“He was surrounded by family and friends, with live music, prayers, tears, laughter and the deep emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime devoted to all of us,” her statement reads.

Captain Picard and Professor X

Stewart became famous above all for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the starship Enterprise, as well as Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, in the “X-Men” comic-book saga. Picard was the role of his life, as the actor himself admitted: he played the charismatic captain in 170 episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” from 1987 to 1994, in four films, and later in the series “Picard” from 2020 to 2023.

In the film adaptations of “X-Men” he played Xavier. He is still due to appear in that role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film “Avengers: Doomsday”, which is set to reach cinemas in December this year.

Stage career

A native of Mirfield in England, he was also an acclaimed stage actor. In 1966 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, and in the 1980s he became a member of the Royal National Theatre. “As one of the most versatile actors in the world, he handled comedy and tragedy, science fiction and historical drama alike — in defiance of the entertainment industry’s traditional prejudice against brilliant bald heads,” the BBC wrote.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz