Patrick Stewart’s Family Announces His Death at 86 in Los Angeles

Patrick Stewart’s family announced on October 29 that the actor had died the previous day at his home in Los Angeles, aged 86. The family said he had been living with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia and was cared for by his wife, Sunny. “We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart,” the family said in a statement posted on his official account. It described relatives and friends gathering around him in his final hours. The statement traced his career from Mirfield in Yorkshire through the Royal Shakespeare Company to work on Broadway, in films and on television over six decades. It also recalled his support for domestic-violence survivors, refugees, veterans’ mental-health services and animal welfare. Tributes came from organizations and fellow actors. Marvel Studios remembered his portrayal of Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films and Logan, saying his performance shaped the character for generations of viewers. George Takei paid tribute to Stewart’s role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, saying he had inspired a further generation to imagine a brighter future. Humanists UK, which counted Stewart among its patrons, said he was born in Mirfield on July 13, 1940, joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966 and was knighted for services to drama in 2010. The family’s official post asked those wishing to honor him to support the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund or the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s caregiver resources.