Patrick Stewart has died (nytimes.com)
2933 points by j4mie 13 hours ago
halflife 13 hours ago
Watching him in Star Trek TNG made me reevaluate how management of people should be done, his character was assertive but compassionate. High morals coupled with grounded reason.
I also want to mention his hilarious role as bullock in American dad, the way he takes a role both so seriously and ridiculously makes him so fantastically hilarious.
I love him and will miss him.
stuxnet79 13 hours ago
Star Trek TNG as a whole was a masterclass on how to effectively manage a high performance team. It's a favorite watch in tech leadership circles for this reason. Every now and then I re-watch this clip of Data taking over the enterprise and the inevitable hiccups he runs into [1].
Really high quality writing for its time.
WalterBright 13 hours ago
Keep in mind that Star Trek is a fictional utopia. When writing a script, one can make anything work out well.
The original Star Trek was Roddenberry's vision of utopia. The benevolent dictator always makes the right decisions. He's surrounded by his loyal band of perfect lieutenants, who apparently have zero desire to advance, and have no flaws at all. Any and all of them are willing to sacrifice themselves for the others. None do anything bad (unless it's a plot device with an explanation that absolves them).
Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed watching ST very much. Just keep in mind that that it's a fiction.
solyin 12 hours ago
outworlder 9 hours ago
Lerc 12 hours ago
dap 10 hours ago
yoyohello13 12 hours ago
spauldo 11 hours ago
shagie 12 hours ago
rpmisms 13 hours ago
msabalau 10 hours ago
JojoFatsani 9 hours ago
entropie 11 hours ago
Melatonic 3 hours ago
hydrogen7800 11 hours ago
bpshaver 8 hours ago
sjdh76 10 hours ago
otikik 9 hours ago
lopsotronic 11 hours ago
DonHopkins 3 hours ago
krapp 10 hours ago
beloch 12 hours ago
TNG should be played 24/7 on every screen in the white house for the next two years.
Picard viewed the power of leadership as, foremost, a responsibility. Every action was careful, deliberate, and well advised. Some later Trek shows (e.g. Voyager) turned captains into geniuses who knew more about everything than all of their underlings. Picard was not an expert in most things and needed his staff to advise him. Once he knew the options and consequences, he shouldered the responsibility of the outcomes, but as a leader of a crew, not a genius with compatible lackeys and minions around him. It was a realistic take on leadership that simply doesn't appear often in television or movies.
Stewart, of course, was not Picard. It's too easy to conflate actors with their roles. However, actors do often help shape their characters, and Stewart's ability to give a thoughtful, diplomatic, and prudent character such incredible power and presence is likely what made Picard possible. The showrunners didn't need to strap a phaser to his thigh and drop him into every away mission to make him compelling because of what Stewart was able to accomplish as an actor sitting behind a desk.
TFNA 11 hours ago
Izkata 11 hours ago
halflife 11 hours ago
whycombilater 11 hours ago
WindyTree 12 hours ago
Who could have done that role but Stewart? Take the guy who played Riker or anyone else in that role and you would have lost the flavor. He will be missed.
hnlmorg 12 hours ago
pimeys 12 hours ago
somerandomqaguy 11 hours ago
thwarted 11 hours ago
There's a YouTube channel called "The Art of Storytelling"[0] that had a concentration on Star Trek, specifically TNG, that I've found entertaining and informative. One video covers that episode specifically.
sgt 3 hours ago
And moments that were philosophical and put things in perspective as humans [1].
burnte 6 hours ago
I have always used it as a model for my own leadership and it's worked out extraordinarily well almost always, and has been abused just once. I've had former employees who I've fired who would still work for me again, and I take great pride in treating peole with respect generates results like that. It works.
krunck 10 hours ago
> Really high quality writing for its time.
Really high quality writing.
LeoPanthera 11 hours ago
TNG is a fine example of "competency porn", where everyone knows what they're doing and usually makes the best available choices. In today's world, that's even more compelling than it used to be.
wolvoleo 10 hours ago
It's also because the world in TNG was not centered around amassing the biggest pile of money.
Extrapolate from that and it becomes a easier to make the right decisions.
loeg 10 hours ago
eatonphil 7 hours ago
Like West Wing. Makes it hard to watch. TNG a bit less so, thankfully.
kilroy123 9 hours ago
I mean, it was the flagship starship of the fleet. So yeah, it better be staffed with competent people like that.
olyjohn 5 hours ago
rapatel0 10 hours ago
Picard was a model of ethics, integrity, and competence especially when the moments are dire and there are no good answers.
Patrick Stewart modeled how a good man should behave and you could tell that he acted from a place of wisdom he understood through experience.
Wonderful contribution to humanity and truly saddened by this loss.
yibg 7 hours ago
Depicted the embodiment of bravery. Fighting when the odds are against you because it’s the right thing to do.
fouronnes3 13 hours ago
Back when Twitter was good there was an account called "Picard Management Tips" that shared such things and it was really golden.
chasil 13 hours ago
I think that I liked him most as Sejanus in I, Claudius. That was before any of his major sci-fi roles.
I see him in this episode:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xA6QbwPGlgk
I've read both Suetonius and Tacitus on the subject of Augustus and the Julio-Claudian dynasty:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio-Claudian_dynasty
Those who lack this family knowledge would want to start with the first episode of I, Claudius.
SubiculumCode 11 hours ago
I need to watch that again, its been too long (would be my 5th or sixth time, but would be worth it). Is the whole series available there?
chasil 9 hours ago
maqp 13 hours ago
Also his guest appearance as Alistair Burke in Frasier episode The Doctor is Out (S11E3) is nothing short of hilarious.
The episode is classic sitcom "wrong conclusion escalates out of hands" so I highly recommend watching it in full instead of the clips but if it's not on your streaming platform, Stewart's scenes are cut together in
talon8635 13 hours ago
His episode (the finale of season 1) of Extras is absolutely hilarious. I know he’s not primarily known for comedy, but he’s funny as hell.
alcomatt 12 hours ago
he's done a few comedy stints here and there. He played King Richard The LionHeart in Mel Brooks'es Robin Hood Men in Tights plus he was funny in quite a few STNG episodes and movies. He will be missed. That voice and clear diction.
chasd00 12 hours ago
He voiced Stan's boss at the CIA in American Dad. That character wouldn't be as near as funny without Patrick Stewart's competent and authoritative tone of voice.
exogenousdata 13 hours ago
Sir Patrick Stewart was hilarious when he wanted to be!
srean 11 hours ago
halflife 12 hours ago
Almost every episode of extras is awesome, but of course Patrick Stewart is just perfect for that show.
reddalo 11 hours ago
nickjj 12 hours ago
I only watched TNG end to end a few years ago and it was one of the best series I've seen on so many levels.
Ever since I watched it, I half jokingly suggested that it should be a mandatory watch before you're allowed to join the workforce.
razodactyl 10 hours ago
This comment reminds me of General Hammond from Stargate - it's refreshing when characters are written for competence and especially funny when they just do what a normal person would do.
Not to say they're comparable - both characters and actors are much loved.
eldenbishop 11 hours ago
Damn. You nailed it with your epilogue. Some actors you respect, some you like, but I love him too. I really do, never met him, but he's important to me and was a father figure for many years of my life and while I am not part of his family, he is part of mine.
scelerat 12 hours ago
"Competence porn," something I only heard relatively recently, is a great way to describe a significant component of my love for Star Trek. TNG was the top of the heap for that, and Patrick Stewart's Picard embodied it.
jasomill 11 hours ago
This perfectly describes his performance as a lecherous version of himself in Ricky Gervais' and Stephen Merchant's Extras:
matwood 12 hours ago
TNG is the Star Trek I grew up with. I rewatch the entire series every so often and it’s always good.
RandyRanderson 6 hours ago
I learnt the facts of life ... from watching The Facts of Life
savalione 12 hours ago
I didn't know that Patrick Stewart was the voice of Avery Bullock. Such an essential voice for the whole show. His voice will be missed.
jibalt 10 hours ago
Not to take anything away from his acting, but Patrick Stewart was not the author of his dialogue in TNG.
lo_zamoyski 13 hours ago
Leadership is service, not dominance. Today, some people throw around terms like "servant leadership" as if this is something new, as if something like the New Testament had never been compiled.
layoric 12 hours ago
Sadly the explicitness was needed cause it ceased being the default..
antonvs 12 hours ago
The problem is that to convince people to take the trouble to lead - or perhaps I should say “manage” - you need incentives. Money is one, but organizationally-backed dominance is irresistible for many people.
prox 4 minutes ago
roeles 3 hours ago
> Watching him in Star Trek TNG made me reevaluate how management of people should be done
Has it made you disappointed of how people are managed in real life?
whycome 12 hours ago
> the way he takes a role both so seriously and ridiculously makes him so fantastically hilarious.
Don't forget he voiced the Poop emoji in that movie. If only we could tell his younger, Shakespeare-acting, self.
AdrianB1 10 hours ago
As much as I like Patrick Stewart, the actor, I must remember that Captain Picard was a role in a script someone else wrote. Picard's management style is what you admire, not the actor's personal management style.
I have the same attitude with House MD lead actor Hugh Laurie: the actor played the role greatly, but the actor was not the fictional person of the role.
watwut 11 hours ago
Babylon 5 is equal or even better for that. More leadership styles, some more flawed, but ultimately showing various ways to be emphatetic while assertive.
holoduke 11 hours ago
Ah yes. Till you have to manage a real group of individuals with mixed qualities.
maxcan 13 hours ago
One thing that doesn't get enough attention - when COVID lockdowns started, he just made reels reading Shakespeare's sonnets. It was such a lovely break from everything else on social media. Really loved those.
shagie 11 hours ago
Remember the ice bucket challenges? https://youtu.be/Ty6-Ug1wk-0
Incidentally, this is one of those times when the comment section of YouTube becomes the most wholesome place on the net.
adzm 13 hours ago
He did all of the sonnets!
lopsotronic 11 hours ago
Stewart's 2010 Macbeth is one of my favorites ever put to the big screen, for "The Scottish Play" anyway.
Nothing, and I do mean nothing, touches McKellan's 1995 Richard III in my eyes, for Shakespeare in cinema. Although calling it Richard III is a bit of a stretch. How about Richard III: The Greatest Hits?
pge 9 hours ago
I had the pleasure of seeing mckellen play Richard III live, the show that became the film. Absolutely incredible!
Not in the same category of greatness, but apropos of this thread, I also saw Patrick Stewart playing Othello (in a reverse-race production), and that’s when I realized how good an actor he actually was.
nchmy 8 hours ago
a few years ago i watched all the versions of Macbeth that I could find. His was by far the best, with most of the others being awful (and Denzel's being by far the worst, though quite beautiful).
Everyone has to watch it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZnaXDRwu84
sergiotapia 13 hours ago
Incredible actor. Watch him Excalibur (1981), he's so good.
https://youtu.be/tSukMQHQLIs?t=172
To be an actor of that level, yet still have so much fun in American Dad! is so cool. He will be greatly missed.
CSSer 13 hours ago
Hey, anyone who has YouTube Premium can watch this! I hope this doesn't come across as an ad or anything. I just got excited by your clip and noticed, so I thought I'd share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBRQ-jBqk8I
morsch 13 hours ago
meta-level 13 hours ago
eecks 12 hours ago
system2 12 hours ago
colechristensen 12 hours ago
This was recently published as an audiobook (may have been re-recorded)
https://www.audible.com/pd/Patrick-Stewart-Performs-the-Comp...
GodelNumbering 13 hours ago
"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness, that is life." - Jean-Luc Picard
Good startup advice. Good life advice.
phtrivier an hour ago
Yes, that's how it works in science fiction show for teenagers from the 60s.
It's painfully hard to compare that to the real world.
But at least, sci fi viewers can graduate to more serious shows with increasingly complex narratives (B5, bsg, I hear good things about the expense, etc...) then discover the really dystopian shit when they realize they live in it - or decide to become tech entrepreneur to get rich building the dystopia themselves.
But you can't blame the storytellers from trying to tell a better story than the news...
May the kid inside you, who once believed in the "good folks", rear up his metaphorical heads once in a while.
Mali- 21 minutes ago
Do you disagree that the advice is true? Your comment is not relevant to the quote.
mewse-hn 13 hours ago
"The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth, whether it's scientific truth, or historical truth, or personal truth! It is the guiding principle upon which Starfleet is based! If you can't find it within yourself to stand up and tell the truth about what happened, you don't deserve to wear that uniform!"
malfist 13 hours ago
This is becoming a speech
You're the captain sir, you're entitled
Hmmm, I'm entitied to ramble on about something everyone knows
Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise
Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise
Make make make make it so
tfvlrue 7 hours ago
poopingatwork 9 hours ago
fennec-posix 11 hours ago
unethical_ban 13 hours ago
RobotToaster 13 hours ago
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."
card_zero 13 hours ago
Well now I just want The Picard Song ... ah, here it is. https://archive.org/details/darkmateria_picard
IncreasePosts 13 hours ago
"I've seen everything" - Patrick Stewart.
Good life advice as well
mgdm 13 hours ago
Amazing he managed to see the documentary so long before it was filmed
willis936 9 hours ago
"Why has everything become a something or a whatever?"
- Patrick Stewart breaking character
archimedes237 10 hours ago
I say this all the time since I got it from the show. RIP The GOAT.
Fricken 9 hours ago
Of course, for Captain Picard life was one of winning relentlessly against impossible odds on a weekly basis.
tempestn 13 hours ago
Like everyone else here, Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard was a foundational part of my childhood. As it happens, I'm currently on bag 27/30 of the Lego Enterprise D right now. I've actually had the thought a couple of times over the past few years that this day had to be coming, and that it'd likely hit me hard when it did, especially after my dad's passing in 2024. (They're not particularly alike, aside from the hairline, but there's still a strong association in my mind, as my dad also loved TNG and was the one who got me into it.)
Anyway, it's a sad day, but I do appreciate that both his work and the influence he's had on people like me live on.
pimeys 12 hours ago
It's interesting how he was part of everybody's childhood. I watched TNG for the first time when I was over 40. And that series became something really special in our family and we all love Stewart, Frakes, Spiner and the gang.
Some of the best television ever made if you ask me.
rbanffy 9 hours ago
> and we all love Stewart, Frakes, Spiner and the gang.
I think I’m at that point the characters and their actors feel like dear friends I have grown up with. Sir Patrick will be missed. I’m glad we had a chance to say goodbye to Picard on his own series.
To me, I’ll repeat to myself he was just recruited into Section 31.
thomassmith65 12 hours ago
People too young to remember the 1990's might not know that Patrick Stewart's Picard was a sex symbol.
I was surprised by how many of my friends considered the character 'hot'; on paper, one would expect young people to write him off as a balding goody-two-shoes.
To have a character whose main traits included compassion and reason was a good influence on my generation of men.
afavour 8 hours ago
> To have a character whose main traits included compassion and reason was a good influence on my generation of men.
I agree and although the prestige TV era has produced some wonderful TV it’s also been overflowing with antiheroes. I hope todays younger generation gets to see another character like Picard.
dummydummy1234 6 hours ago
bigstrat2003 3 hours ago
My wife and I met through OKCupid, and one of the things that most caught my eye on her profile was that she had a crush on Picard as a teenager. I knew then that she was a woman of impeccable taste.
Carrok 12 hours ago
I also lost my father in 2024, and have a similar link in my mind. Like Patrick, cancer did what cancer does.
My condolences.
Marsymars 12 hours ago
Similar, except my grandfather. He also went bald young, and was a space enthusiast. (Among various other nerdy hobbies.)
I've got fond memories of visiting in the summers as a kid and watching TNG episodes he'd taped on VHS.
tempestn 12 hours ago
Thanks, to you as well.
radicalbyte 12 hours ago
I watched TNG the first time around, every night, with my dad. It made me the man I am today in many ways.
racl101 6 hours ago
TNG was comfort food for many of us nerdier Xennials. And this man is in the Mount Rushmore of Sci Fi actors.
R.I.P. Captain.
alittlebee 10 hours ago
I'm sorry for your loss :(, wishing you healing
madrox 12 hours ago
Patrick Stewart's life had the odds against in him in many ways. Abusive father suffering from PTSD. A bald british man in Hollywood invites typecasting. Constant imposter syndrome from growing up poor while entering a profession where many came from more educated or affluent backgrounds.
Shakespeare effectively changed his life, and it's incredible to think that you could map everything he did and his success to his love of the bard.
If I had to take a lesson from his life, it's to have something you love, even if it isn't trendy (especially if it isn't) because most good things flow from that.
Godspeed, captain.
hermitcrab 11 hours ago
It is worth watching the BBC 'Who do you think you are' documentary about his genealogy. He talks movingly about his violent father's war trauma and how it affected the whole family.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mfw63
(not sure if it is regionally restricted) also:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZsy4Rj7uAiT2NL8RIgH0...
philjohn 2 hours ago
He was born the same year as my dad, and like my dad, was born after his dad was posted overseas in the war.
I remember my father saying how strange it was to meet HIS father for the first time when he was 5 - suddenly there was this stranger in the house.
My grandfather fortunately wasn't violent, or a drinker, but I never saw the same closeness between him and dad that I did between my mother and her parents.
philjohn 2 hours ago
Also shows that government funding of the arts can be a force for good. It was his local council that gave him a grant, which enabled him to attend acting school. That single grant probably created a huge amount of downstream value.
voidnullvalue 13 hours ago
Growing up without a good male role model, I am eternally grateful to Patrick Stewart's performance of Picard.
His performance (as well as how the character was written) still today illustrate what I view as an ideal male archetype. Fair, honest, in control of his emotions yet passionate. Thank you for the gift your performance has given me Mr Stewart. My life would likely have turned out a lot worse without a solid example of that a good man could be
layoric 11 hours ago
Totally agree, but also deeply flawed human being that he played so well. My favorite writing of Picard and Stewart's performance was those times that showed the toll of always being that man. But despite those personal costs, to always try to take the compassionate view, and fiercely reject those that try to oppress others.
mturmon 10 hours ago
You may be aware that, IRL, Patrick Stewart grew up in a household with a violent father? He has spoken candidly about how that has affected his roles.
CalRobert 13 hours ago
Patrick Stewart portrayed the sort of characters we desperately need more of. A modern day Atticus Finch, in a sense. To boldly speak truth, even when inconvenient, and argue, eloquently, for humanity, even after becoming machine.
I hope our current environment is one that can elevate someone of similar talents to an equivalent stature, but I worry our media is not up to the task.
When I think of our civilization, the Ressikan Flute often comes to mind.
Pour one out. https://picard.ytmnd.com/
rbanffy 9 hours ago
> the Ressikan Flute often comes to mind.
What an episode, and what a beautiful, terrible, gift!
martinpw 13 hours ago
This hits hard.
He was host at an academy awards event for technical achievement a few years back. Usually they send some random actor who jokes about how nerdy everything is. Having Patrick Stewart there was very popular he was 'one of us' even though he said himself he knew very little about tech. Had a chance to talk to him a bit afterwards and got to tell him how well appreciated he was by that audience. Gracious and funny, exactly how you might imagine he would be.
A sad loss.
qingcharles 13 hours ago
I've never met anyone who worked with him who had a single bad word to say about him. We should all strive to be Patricks.
whycome 13 hours ago
> Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia
Lewy body dementia was what Robin Williams had but they didn't discover until after his death and I guess he was misdiagnosed during life.
https://lewybodyresourcecenter.org/robin-williams-lewy-body-...
criddell 13 hours ago
My dad had Lewy body dementia when he died and it was awful. I'm really sorry to hear that Stewart and his family had to deal with that.
That page talks about what to do if somebody with LBD is thinking about suicide. After seeing what that disease does, interfering with those plans seems inhumane to me.
louislouis2 12 hours ago
> That page talks about what to do if somebody with LBD is thinking about suicide. After seeing what that disease does, interfering with those plans seems inhumane to me.
I watched a parent die of LBD.
After that experience, I'd also be inclined to go with "let them" as the most-correct solution to that particular dilemma.
pimeys 13 hours ago
It must've spread so fast. I watched his interview in the Conan podcast only three years ago and he was smart and sharp and such a wonderful listen. It was a total surprise for me that he had Alzheimer's...
Rest in peace captain :(
tarsierscripter 9 hours ago
I have had 2 uncles (one passed, one in advanced stage) diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. It’s a cruel disease that affects both the mind and the motor functions, making it difficult to walk or stand up straight. It caused my uncle a lot of pain when he couldn’t hold his head up straight, his shoulders and neck scrunched up and hunched forward all the time.
It’s also very trying for family and caregivers, as the person regresses until they’re as helpless as an infant trapped in an adult body.
aidenn0 7 hours ago
I was told about 10 years ago that Lewy body dementia can only be diagnosed post-mortem (my grandfather was diagnosed post-mortem).
jorisw 2 hours ago
This has to be incorrect as I know of several alive people that have been diagnosed as such.
BeetleB 13 hours ago
Having both is just plain terrible, although I suspect the latter dominated before the former really had an impact.
And to think he was filming Picard just a few years ago.
jamesfinlayson 3 hours ago
Yes I was surprised to hear this as I thought Picard was reasonably recent.
Verdex 13 hours ago
Patrick Stewart was the first actor that I noticed who always seemed to bring his A game. Even for productions where clearly everyone else was phoning it in. It was a good lesson to observe when I was young. Just because you find yourself in a dumb situation doesn't mean you can't do a good job.
This was a person who from a relatively young age looked old, but more importantly behaved with a sort of dignity and thoughtfulness that projected way beyond his years. I'm not really sure how to assimilate the news because on the one hand obviously this was going to be happening sooner or later. He has always just felt old. But on the other, he's felt old for my whole life, so why shouldn't he just continue on that way without bound.
Rebelgecko 3 hours ago
I discovered Star Trek:TNG pretty late in life. The first exposure to Patrick Stewart that I remember was coming home with a new video game, getting hyped up on the car ride while reading the manual, and finally getting a chance to play Oblivion. I was in awe hearing his stentorian intro with the camera sweeping over the countryside and the spires of the imperial city
rbanffy 9 hours ago
> Just because you find yourself in a dumb situation doesn't mean you can't do a good job.
If you love what you do, you do it well because you’re doing it for yourself.
baron3dl 13 hours ago
I'm so saddened by this news, I still watch TNG regularly. Separately, I'm also kind of blown away that Captain Kirk outlived Captain Picard.
pimlottc 13 hours ago
Same, although there is only 9 years between them despite the 20+ years between their respective series.
Shatner is doing remarkably well for 95 years of age, I saw him performing with a band at a rock show just this summer!
WalterBright 13 hours ago
I suspect the key thing about Shatner's longevity is his obvious enjoyment of life. For example, he's currently recording a bunch of heavy metal albums. Of course he is not a good singer, but he couldn't care less, and has a great time doing it. He's always up for doing fun things, like getting blasted into space on a rocket.
LogicFailsMe 12 hours ago
Good genes and he's always been a swimmer. He also apparently didn't carry any copies of the apoe4 gene.
rootbear 12 hours ago
IshKebab 12 hours ago
And Patrick Steward didn't enjoy life?
It's really enticing to think that there's some nice controllable reason why some people live longer (assuming you don't smoke, do drugs to excess, etc.) but really it's mostly genetics and chance.
WalterBright 12 hours ago
andsoitis 12 hours ago
phainopepla2 12 hours ago
The causative arrow could point in the other direction, here. Or both directions at once
freediver 12 hours ago
> For example, he's currently recording a bunch of heavy metal albums.
Oh, any links?
modeless 12 hours ago
soneil 8 hours ago
WalterBright 12 hours ago
RickJWagner 13 hours ago
At this point, it is a marathon between Bill Shatner and Keith Richards.
We may not live long enough to know who wins.
hanziguru 13 hours ago
so sad. I enjoyed so many hours watching TNG and the newer movies.
softwaredoug 13 hours ago
In the early 90s, I didn't get along with my Dad. I was a nerdy kid that didn't seem to fit in.
Star Trek TNG + Captain Picard acted as a male role model, a different moral philosophy, and a celebration of nerdy people as competent and important in the world
kilroy123 8 hours ago
Same here.
thesuitonym 13 hours ago
If you haven't read his memoir you definitely should, it's a well written piece where he reflects on his life, what he did wrong, what he did right, and the joy and pain that followed him through it all. He was a flawed man, but he was a good man. He will be deeply missed.
Edit: Oh man, I can't believe I'm crying at work over an actor.
kayodelycaon 13 hours ago
I highly recommend the audio book, he reads it himself.
msabalau 11 hours ago
The memoir is fascinating, the audiobook is enthralling.
Of course, he could probably make reading the tax code sound pretty interesting.
aduwah 12 hours ago
Thanks for the tip!
davesque 11 hours ago
I did too! I don't think I've cried over a Hollywood death until now. Maybe Robin Williams but can't remember.
Sargos 12 hours ago
As someone who grew up without a father, Patrick Stewart as Picard served as my father figure and shapes my personality and standards. it's hard to live up to those high bars of integrity, honor, and principles communication but I've found that just trying leads to positive outcomes. I owe a lot to this great man and will miss him dearly.
gyulai 3 hours ago
It's ironic how many people here mention him as a substitute father figure, seeing as it's the kind of father-son pair that cannot be. Never being a father is one of Picard's life regrets, and Stewart himself expressed in an interview he carries "significant grief" because his relationship with his children is "practically non-existent".
alittlebee 10 hours ago
Thats a lovely anecdote, thank you for sharing it. Wishing you a good life.
ionwake 12 hours ago
I went to a small theater production he was in with my gf. I hadnt realised all the seats would be taken and for some reason I was the only person standing with my girlfriend. We stood at teh back in the dark but I couldnt help but feel he was looking straight at me and my girlfriend for the duration of the play while he was onstage.
It might of been Im not sure, not the case? But perhaps against a white wall it was clear we were the only ones standing for the performance and in turn it felt he was performing for us. It just felt like that.
I ofcourse have no idea if he was just looking in our general direction but it weirdly felt like it and I thought it was kind.
Ive never had such a "he was doing it for us" self centered view of any other performance Ive ever been to, but I always remembered this, and like to believe it was true.
The play itself was about him being an old dying forgetful man. It was so convincing I somehow left thinking that surely he was but ofcourse it was just excellent acting.
eszed 6 hours ago
Not to burst your bubble, but the usual eye-line is the back wall of the theatre - or higher, if you're playing a auditorium with a balcony. It's to make sure everyone can see your face. I can promise that he saw you, though, and would have noticed, and been sad, if you'd left. Keeping an audience engaged is the whole deal, and if standing-room patrons stick around you know you're getting it done.
fadesibert 5 hours ago
Patrick Stewart was a legendary actor, and a pleasure to watch both within and without the Star Trek franchise (Hamlet, Macbeth, the Hollow Crown).
The NY times editorial board seems to have become even more performatively egalitarian. Stewart (like Ian McKellen) was (IMNSHO quite rightly) recognized with a knighthood for his services to drama. They call him "Mr Stewart" - technically there is no such person.
The correct way to refer to him is Sir Patrick Stewart, or Sir Patrick thereafter. Ditto McKellen.
And yes, the US doesn't issue its own knighthoods, peerages &c - but the US constitution is fairly clear on what is disallowed - but that doesn't affect a non-US Citizen
The foreign emoluments clause [0] applies to "holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them" and the section also prevents the US from creating any title of Nobility, but editorial courtesy usually grants foreigners their titles [1]
It's perfectly correct to ignore honorary knighthoods - like that conferred on Bill Gates. It's discourteous to ignore them for those rightly conferred, and inconsistent. [2]
[0] https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S9-C8-1/...
[1] https://archive.nytimes.com/afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/...
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/1929/10/27/archives/the-unshackling-...
genldd 13 hours ago
Oh man, Patrick Stewart is a base rock part of my personality. Star Trek The Next Generation was formative for me ages 7-12. Sad to see him go.
radicalbyte 12 hours ago
I'm surprised that we don't have the black banner. Sir Patrick Stewart played a formative part in the live of many of us in the industry.
frogcoder 6 hours ago
I get that the black banner is often for paying tribute to people who contribute significantly to science and technologies. But I feel he touched so many scientists and engineers that he deserve a black banner here. I am sad.
calf 11 hours ago
Mods obviously Star Wars people
rbanffy 9 hours ago
Star Wars is fine, but us Trekkies prefer science fiction.
arjie 13 hours ago
He was technically my landlord in London, haha. Never met him, though. Only found out because the council sent me mail addressed to him regarding the property. From the visible window on the letter, I was able to find that it was to pay for extra sound insulation on the apartment I was residing in because the council was building some structure nearby.
Really enjoyed his stuff. Always enjoyed that he could do both the grand and the silly with equal aplomb.
_fw 12 hours ago
The tribute that springs to mind best first is Pogo’s Data and Picard: a beautiful track made from Stewart performing as Picard.
Now cheer up me lads, t’is better to have loved and lost, than never have loved at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZn6c4CeJCc [The one on Pogo’s channel doesn’t include clips of Stewart, just his voice. This is a reupload of the original]
SugarReflex 8 hours ago
Great mention. That song has seriously cheered me up many times.
shrubble 13 hours ago
His eyes wet…
(I looked up the original script, it’s “Kiazi’s children. Their faces wet.” But I’m gratified that you knew what I meant.)
notapenny 10 hours ago
Just watched the ending of that because of your comment. Really hits.
stmonty 13 hours ago
I remember watching Star Trek: The Next Generation with my aunt and uncle as a kid. I was always more of a Star Wars fan, but they gave me a huge appreciation for Star Trek. My uncle still has a miniature replica of the USS Enterprise. Rest in peace and thanks for the fond memories.
Andrew_nenakhov 13 hours ago
My favorite scene with Patrick Stewart is him leading the defence of the Atreides palace while being armed with an adorable puppy in Lynch's "Dune". RIP.
woodson 12 hours ago
For reference: https://i.imgur.com/1EilY.gif
colechristensen 12 hours ago
There's a funny story in his memoir where he got cast as Gurney Halleck when Lynch saw Patrick in old man makeup in a theater production and had no idea who he was when he showed up for the part.
salsa_catsup 12 hours ago
The TNG episode "The Inner Light" is profound. I didn't expect it in Star Trek.
danparsonson 10 hours ago
A really beautiful episode and apparently one of his favourites. That moment at the end where he realises what's happening - "Oh, it's me! I'm the one it finds!" - so touching and such a wonderful performance.
shadowgovt 6 hours ago
I think, with this many decades of hindsight, it is not unfair to claim The Inner Light is TNG's City on the Edge of Forever.
It's every performer in the episode hitting on all cylinders on a script that is doing what science fiction is for.
ETA: Having poked at it a bit, I have just learned that Morgan Gendel and Peter Allen Fields shared a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation for that script... The first time a Star Trek script won a Hugo since the previous award to Harlan Ellison for the script for City on the Edge of Forever. Nice to know there's a semi-objective metric by which the episodes are already rated as equivalently impactful.
mixmastamyk 6 hours ago
Richard Riehle, the friend in that episode passed on quite recently as well. Was also in Office Space and a fantastic satire about scope creep in projects for the military, of all things.
wolvoleo 10 hours ago
Yes it's my favourite too. For some reason I had set the VCR when it first aired and I'm really happy I did.
nullc 12 hours ago
I learned today that the son in that episode is Patrick Stewart's son.
_doctor_love 4 hours ago
It's a wonderful episode, always in the Top 10.
I thought it was a lovely version of an ancient idea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuangzi_(book)#%22The_Butterf...
m12k 12 hours ago
I think “tea, Earl Grey, hot” also qualifies him as the first prompt engineer
AJ007 13 hours ago
Very sad to hear. I was just listening to the latest episode of Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes' podcast last night, Rick Berman was the guest. They shared some stories about Patrick Stewart.
William Shatner was just on earlier this month, incredible he's still going strong at 95.
pimeys 13 hours ago
This podcast is so good. I could listen to Spiner and Frakes talk about things for hours...
acobster 2 hours ago
> He was given no middle name but later invented one, Hewes, when he joined a union that already had a member named Patrick Stewart.
I never knew that. I wonder if, in the "I, Borg" episode, they chose the name "Hugh" as a reference to this when coming up with a name for the newly individuated Borg. It's a stretch, but I'd like to think so.
RIP Mr. Stewart.
morphle 13 hours ago
One of his most memorable performances (for his girlfriend?) or a pickup line? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFMrBldVk0s
You might also have missed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptfmAY6M6aA
I met Patrick when we organized a Star Trek convention. He was even kinder and gentler in person than in his role as Picard.
toddmorey 13 hours ago
Always exuded so much authority & confidence. What a legend.
But he start losing his hair at 17 and really struggled with it. A turning point came when a friend (a Hungarian judo black belt) and his wife wrestled him down and physically cut off his toupée with scissors.
His agent even had him do the Star Trek audition in a wig, but luckily the crew had better ideas.
InsideOutSanta 13 hours ago
I found this clip of him talking about his teens and his hair, sadly on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/teamcoco/videos/sir-patrick-stewart...
jjcm 12 hours ago
The trial for Data's sentience will always be one of my favorite scenes in television. Such a showcase of his stage background, and a scene that's especially relevant today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFNbTnFHruI
_doctor_love 12 hours ago
That episode was the first one where they began to cross over into true greatness.
techteach00 13 hours ago
It absolutely sucks to be a millennial (me) because literally everyone I love in music and culture came of age in the 70s-90s and they're all dying. Ozzy was awful for me. But over the next decade, it's only going to get worse.
I was more of a Shatner movies Star Trek kid but I remember watching The Next Generation when it first came out and liked it. RIP to a legend.
rootusrootus 13 hours ago
Huh, I would have said Star Trek TNG (and the movies, frankly) was more of a Gen X thing, if we have to pick generations. TNG started when I was 12.
jjkaczor 12 hours ago
As a "Gen X" kid - basically sooo many channels had the original series on, that it was a constant background absorption.
So - when TNG began airing, I would have been about 15 - right squarely in the perfect formative timeframe - it was "ours" more so than the original series ever was.
rootusrootus 11 hours ago
n42 13 hours ago
I mean, I get it, but there's nothing unique to millennials about your role model generation dying off
Foobar8568 13 hours ago
The 70s-90s was basically the boom of international stars, with a highly limited media ventures, so everyone with a TV would be aware of them, at least in the western world.
From 2000s, culture has been more diluted across the medias.
hdgvhicv 10 hours ago
scottyah 13 hours ago
Just that it is mostly uniquely millennials right now... Sure every generation gets their time, but their comment is about whose time it is now
techteach00 13 hours ago
I happen to think Western music and culture peaked through those 3 decades though. I'm talking more film, TV and music not literature.
So it's the passing of real talent without replacement. I think we live in a pretty dead culture now. Just my opinion of course.
kakacik 13 hours ago
dualvariable 12 hours ago
TIL that GenX never watched Star Trek or listened to Ozzy...
psadri 13 hours ago
I was dreading this moment. RIP.
I’ll be re-watching The Inner Light in his honor tonight.
anotherhue 13 hours ago
jandrese 12 hours ago
Not to mention Walter Koenig.
rbanffy 9 hours ago
paisawalla 12 hours ago
À propos of nothing, my favorite Picard episodes:
1. The Drumhead
2. Tapestry
3. The Inner Light
4. Chain of Command
5. Darmok
I know a lot of people would put "Family" on that list, I just can't say I enjoy that one too much. I also like his dialogue in "Yesterday's Enterprise", but I wouldn't call it a Picard-focused one.
1potato 10 hours ago
Darmok was wildly creative, I thought. It's one of the only times I've ever felt just utterly amazed by the quality of the storytelling on a television show.
rbanffy 9 hours ago
kakacik 13 hours ago
What an episode. Are we in a variant of this? Sometimes I feel like humans would deserve it, sometimes there is some light
pavel_lishin 12 hours ago
I don't typically read non-fiction, but his autobiography ("Making It So", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_It_So) was very, very good.
One of the things I particularly liked is that he admits to the mistakes he made, and the times when he wasn't the human being he strived to be.
nosrepa 8 hours ago
As said elsewhere in this thread, he narrates the audiobook himself, and I can wholly recommend it.
danso 13 hours ago
It’s been awhile since I’ve watched something he’s been in but now learning that he’s gone, it feels similar to having a good childhood friend pass into the night
dustfinger 11 hours ago
I know Patrick Stewart wasn't in STEM, but his influence in sci-fi is clearly highly regarded. I am sure there are people out there making a difference in STEM right now that were in some significant way inspired by Patrick Stewart. Any chance we could get a black banner up for him?
WrtCdEvrydy 11 hours ago
Seconded, can someone ask /u/dang if this acceptable?
rbanffy 9 hours ago
Previously he used to respond to messages with @dang.
rsyring 7 hours ago
rsyring 7 hours ago
Emailed with an ask
dustfinger 7 hours ago
smurda 13 hours ago
I have very few holiday traditions, but one is I listen to his one man show reading of a Christmas Carol. It's a great 1 hr and 45 min spent during the holidays: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JCE3CU
kailden 12 hours ago
Agree, so well done.
card_zero 13 hours ago
Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov) died too, a few days ago.
calf 11 hours ago
and Bester in Babylon 5, what a performance.
rbanffy 9 hours ago
Bester was a much more fleshed out character than Chekov, which gave Koenig a lot more to work with.
calf 5 hours ago
kleiba2 12 hours ago
What? I hadn't heard... :( What a sad week.
This must have gone largely unnoticed... all but 35 comments here on HN spread out of 11 articles reporting on his passing. Sad.
trashface 4 hours ago
In my youth I wanted to be Picard but now in middle age I'm definitely more of a Barclay.
ETA: Steward also voiced Picard in robot chicken's "night crew": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4ApQrbhQp8
daoboy 13 hours ago
I'm not usually invested in celebrity deaths, but this one is heartbreaking. TNG was a formative show in my life.
He was a wonderful actor and by all accounts a wonderful person.
robimoller 9 hours ago
I often see my wife uncontrollably sad when she hears about the passing of someone she only (barely) knows from watching them on TV; Today she told me the news about the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart, and was immediately embarrassed for how I felt. I knew all along, but I'm super glad to know how cherished this show was for so many. My favorite episode was the 'Inner Light'.
purple_ferret 13 hours ago
Most people focus on his television/movie stuff but I always found his Shakespeare most endearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwRj8B1dXfk
He really was able to translate the literature to acting relevance for me (as a lit person)
hackertux 11 hours ago
Patrick Stewart didn’t just play a captain. He helped make kindness, reason and curiosity look genuinely cool. Fly safe Sir Patrick.
bigmattystyles 13 hours ago
As campy as TNG can be, there are so many moral themes and dillemas and Stewart's Picard always grounded them with his dedication to his craft. RIP.
hasley 2 hours ago
When I was a child, my dad used to bring me to school by car. During the ride, I played "Star Trek" and we always had a technical issue like a phase variance in an induction coil. Usually it ended such that the warp core had to be ejected...
Sir Patrick Stewart inspired me since my childhood. Thank you captain!
nuclearsugar 11 hours ago
His portrayal of Picard helped me to understand what real maturity could look like. He will be greatly missed. Pour one out for Patrick.
martin82 24 minutes ago
Another huge piece of my childhood dies. Very sad, indeed. :(
I think all of us growing up in the 80s and 90s just don't realize that we probably lived in the most awesome time period in human history. Everything was just peak. Vibes, music, film, art, travel.
Now the OGs all die... and I look around and see nothing and no one to step into their humongous foot steps...
makerofthings 12 hours ago
Whenever I run into a moral or political or similar dilemma I always ask myself, if this was an episode of TNG, which side would be the baddies and who would Picard side with? Never steered me wrong. RIP Patrick Stewart.
bayindirh 13 hours ago
They formed an invincible duo on stage with Ian McKellen.
mikestew 12 hours ago
One of my few brushes with fame was when I was in Nevada City, CA for a job interview some twenty years ago. Coming from Seattle, we got there a few days early. Came from the airport, parked and got some coffee, started walking around. Walking down the sidewalk, I see a middle-aged bald guy in a $COLLEGE sweatshirt talking to some folks. Sure enough it is Patrick Stewart, just hanging out. Apparently there was a film festival in town, and he was there to do $SOMETHING I've since forgotten.
I didn't bother him, as much as we both wanted to (he looked busy), what struck me was how casual Sir Patrick Stewart was in his faded sweatshirt talking to some awestruck kid and his mom.
dmayle 13 hours ago
There are four lights, my friends
natas 13 hours ago
Patrick was and always will be one of the brightest stars.
geoffeg 13 hours ago
This hits pretty hard. TNG and Picard's character was a huge part of my childhood.
qingcharles 13 hours ago
Not only one of the nicest celebrities I've ever met, but one of the nicest people. His memory for people he met and minor details about them was fantastic. As absolutely as charming in real life as you could imagine.
billfor 8 hours ago
Also Checkov died a few days ago: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/star-trek-ac...
Now it's just Sulu and Captain Kirk....
bemtevi 9 hours ago
Ah I have fond memories of The Next Generation. And Patrick Stewart introduced me to earl grey tea. I should have a cup tomorrow morning!
edb_123 11 hours ago
I have so many fond childhood memories from TNG together with a persisting, strong feeling of hope for a bright version of the future. Something which gave me a spark of hope and optimism that brought me through the tough teen years and up and through adulthood. And which still to this day gives me a hope for a better future in our world even on days when things feel tough, and even though the current outlooks are dim.
Thank you, Patrick. Rest in peace.
PS. Something that's really sad (at least here in my Scandinavian country) is that it's currently completely impossible to stream TNG anywhere at all. No idea of the situation is the same elsewhere in Europe and the rest of the world. Thank goodness I found the complete DVD collection in a thrift store earlier this year. But the saddest thing of all is that the current generation of young people miss out on experiencing the feeling of hope that Jean-Luc Picard and the rest of the TNG crew gave us through their story. And miss out an important vision showing the possibility of a positive and bright version of the future, where humankind has grown into a mature and competent version of itself. Especially now in these dark and uncertain times.
solyin 10 hours ago
There is absolutely some sort of Swedish mechanism that will allow you to watch TNG.
edb_123 8 hours ago
Yes, but my point is that it's a pity that culturally important and formative series like TNG become buried and hard to find for the current generation of kids and young adults, who might not have discovered it yet. It kind of feels like an important cultural exchange might now become lost between the generations.
All because of Paramount's unfortunate corporate choices (at least here in Europe).
dwb 12 hours ago
RIP to a legend. Picard is an obvious highlight, but I had the pleasure of seeing him on stage in Waiting for Godot too, which was delightful (well, maybe not the best word for the play, but you know).
fearless1ron 12 hours ago
Many have said it already, and it's also true for me: Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard was my role model as a young teenager. The world is a little less bright without him.
yibg 6 hours ago
Probably like a lot of people here, I grew up watching TNG in the 90s. There are so many nuggets of wisdom for life, morality, leadership in there. Some episodes makes you think, others sad, others hopeful. It's still my most re-watched series.
The cast also seem like a group of genuinely nice people. It's so nice to see the real world friendship there. A group of people I'd want to be friends with. Sir Patrick Stewart was the perfect Captain Picard. Someone many of us looked up to even though he's a fictional character.
whycome 12 hours ago
He had many lives. It's cool to note that he didn't take on the Picard role until he was 47.
Never too late to do the other thing. Keep going.
hilariously 13 hours ago
Don't ever stop boldly going wherever you are.
satisfice 33 minutes ago
Make it so.
WalterBright 13 hours ago
I recall recognizing him as a Roman soldier in "I, Claudius".
uolmir 13 hours ago
I was scanning the comments for someone to mention this. I, Claudius is a great show and for the many people who mainly know Stewart from Star Trek, his character is a very fun contrast from Picard.
JKCalhoun 12 hours ago
"I, Claudius" (1976) had a number of excellent actors in it—many of them no longer with us. Most (if not all) of the 12 parts are on YouTube and/or archive.org.
(Highly recommended.)
jandrese 12 hours ago
Or with his battle pug in Dune.
drannex 13 hours ago
Oh. This is going to affect me more than or nearly as hard as George Carlin passing back in '08 did. This is a horrible year.
rcarmo 12 hours ago
Damn. And me here typing "make it so" to AI agents instead of re-watching TNG.
Let me go and fix that.
ivankelly 13 hours ago
He’s finally seen everything
moishe_syzslak 12 hours ago
He got on his bike and rode off...
izolate 13 hours ago
The post title alone elevated my cortisol levels. As a fan of TNG, I was dreading this one. RIP.
voy 12 hours ago
I am with you, it was the same for me and still when it happened, it made me cry. And I don't cry for celebrities, ever.
morphle 7 hours ago
Early Enobarbus https://youtu.be/2hulHTH-3bc?t=60
A wonderful human being with charisma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWdUlFCESeY
dada216 12 hours ago
I grew up without a father. As it happens children choose father figures when that's the case. Capt. Jean-luc Picard was mine. I can't be the only one who did that, that's how powerful that character was.
Eji1700 10 hours ago
It's such a shame how few things in media have even attempted to carry the torch TNG lit. There's been enough written about how Trek itself wasn't, but I always hope something else takes up the mantle.
Closest i've seen is The Orville which I found best described as McFarlen using his money to pay for his Larping (in a good way), but was pretty much just copy pasting.
It was such a fascinating show and handled issues with a tact and nuance you're lucky to get today.
krylon 12 hours ago
Star Trek TNG was a very big influence on my younger self, so this news hits rather hard. Rest in Peace, Sir Stewart, you will be fondly remembered by the many people whose lives you have touched.
tosti an hour ago
Picard out.
karlfrohlich 5 hours ago
RIP. I will never forget your roll in X-Men. Watched when I was young and my dad even dressed up as him (i.e. shaved his head) and I thought it was sick
alittlebee 10 hours ago
Gosh this is heartbreaking.
I was fortunate enough to get to chat with him and some of the lead crew of ST:TNG while at a local convention. He was exactly how I imagined he would be in "real life", such a clever and well-spoken class act. RIP <3
A little off topic, but are there any modern utopian/positive sci-fi shows still being released? I feel like ST:TNG was the last of its kind?
choult 13 hours ago
Both myself and my wife were in floods of tears at the news. Walter Koenig's passing earlier this week was sad, but this is a whole other level.
Sir Patrick, my captain, you will be sorely missed.
ale 13 hours ago
Time to cue the Extras outtakes with Gervais. Stewart was effing funny
joshstrange 12 hours ago
I'm finishing up my Voyager watch right now and was already considering TNG next, this seals the deal. TNG is such a cornerstone to my youth and growing up. Everyday after school I'd come home and watch TNG reruns (Tivo). Call it whatever you will but Star Trek and the ethos in it will always hold a very special place in my heart, I've always held it up as the model to aim for. He will be missed.
lz400 9 hours ago
I loved Star Trek when I was little and he was a big part of that. I loved him in Dune (the one from 1984, one of my favorite movies). He was also in Excalibur, another early obsession of mine. These are very early movies, he already had no hair, he looked pretty much the same way for 50 years. Of course he was great as professor Xavier too. Even the recent Picard series was decent even though he wasn't in his prime anymore.
I grew up with this guy. I will always remember him, his work. I will always smile when he comes on screen. And I will always keep using his facepalm meme with a smirk. Thanks Patrick Stewart.
theletterf 12 hours ago
My first memory of his incredible voice is King Richard (and the narrator's voice) from Lands of Lore. He added something unique to every project he touched.
davesque 11 hours ago
Black stripe would be good for this one I think.
davesque 10 hours ago
Man I've cried twice today over this. I guess I really thought of Patrick Stewart as almost like a respected family member in my mind. The state of leadership in the world today is pretty bad, so I guess I'll just have to continue rewatching TNG front to back every couple of years to have an example to live by.
jamesgill 12 hours ago
He's not really dead, as long as we remember him.
rbanffy 9 hours ago
Since nobody mentioned it, let me introduce my friends here to a Christmas special.
Google “Dear Satan”.
ChrisMarshallNY 12 hours ago
One of my favorite CDs, is Arnie Roth's The Compleat Four Seasons, narrated by Sir Patrick[0].
Vivaldi's poetry ... left something to be desired (think Vogon), but Patrick Stewart made it noble.
hinkley 12 hours ago
His voice work in Nausicaa was perhaps the first time I’d heard of him.
zuInnp 12 hours ago
He will always be "my" captain. The one I grew up with watching re-runs on television with my mother. Rest in peace.
corvad 12 hours ago
Seize the time… Live now! Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again. - Jean-Luc Picard may he rest in peace.
kuberwastaken 13 hours ago
This is actually so sad, I watched Star Trek to get out of the covid blues in lockdown and was genuinely amazed how much of it held up, RIP.
jacobgold 11 hours ago
Can't complain too much about 86 years but I'll miss him. I worry how it'll feel to watch him now.
astral_drama 13 hours ago
Thanks for entertaining us and bringing stories to life for all these years Patrick. May you boldly go where no man has gone before.
2600 11 hours ago
One to beam up.
tumdum_ 13 hours ago
So sad, TNG was very big part of my childhood.
obahareth 12 hours ago
He was so influential and his performances truly changed my life for the better. He will be sorely missed.
ryeguy_24 9 hours ago
Very sad. I will always remember my first exposure to Patrick Stewart - Comptons Interactive Encyclopedia. Such a fun time at the beginning of my computer adventures in the 90s.
darepublic 7 hours ago
nchmy 8 hours ago
The greatest Macbeth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZnaXDRwu84
thewileyone 8 hours ago
Had the privilege of attending his one-man show of A Christmas Carol in 1992-93. Amazing actor who very obviously loved his craft and his audience.
RIP Sir Patrick
nntwozz 10 hours ago
"When I was young, I remember watching my grandfather deteriorate from a powerful, intelligent figure to a frail wisp of a man, who could barely make his own way home."
— Picard in TNG episode Night Terrors
drumhead 13 hours ago
Sir Patricks portrayal of Picard created one of the great characters in fiction. How many of us were influenced by his decency, values and morality, Picard will always be an all time classic. Very sad to hear of his death, a genuinely great actor and all round good person.
yurimo 7 hours ago
RIP to the legend. Thank you for making my childhood and making me believe in the possibility of the better future.
Parka2574 12 hours ago
Captain Jean Luc Picard was a father-like figure to me. Patrick Stewart will be missed.
onemoresoop 13 hours ago
:( Rip Patrick Steward. I grew up watching TNG and Captain Picard has imprinted in my memory.
aliasxneo 13 hours ago
Still remember being a small kid running around the house as my dad had TNG playing on the TV. Patrick was pretty formative in the early years for me.
I also really liked him in a Christmas Carrol (1999). I thought he played the role really well.
guybedo 6 hours ago
We're losing both Jean-Luc Picard and Dr Charles Xavier at the same time.
Quite a sad day.
disparate_dan 12 hours ago
So many dimensions to his class and talents. I've been lucky enough to see him twice, performing live on stage - as Macbeth, and in Ibsen's The Master Builder. Unforgettable.
eska 13 hours ago
I often referred to him as an example of a humble Gentleman. Rest in peace sir
gausswho 11 hours ago
May I treat you to a timeless classic: https://picard.ytmnd.com/
rsyring 7 hours ago
Audio auto play alert
alexandre_m 12 hours ago
Very talented actor.
Extremely sad day for the geeks in us. Good bye professor X.
bluegatty 11 hours ago
Picard has become a moral example, I don't think anyone but Patrick Stewart could have been the embodiement of a character we could nary live up to.
R1D3R 8 hours ago
This news has me so emotionally compromised that I actually signed up for Paramount Plus.
zacman85 12 hours ago
I genuinely wish Apple could figure out a way to respectfully license and preserve his voice to make it the defacto voice of Siri so that my kids would grow up in a world where the intelligent, compassionate voice of Patrick Stewart would be actively associated with seeking, reaching, and exploring knowledge. I know everything nowadays is painfully, annoyingly AI slopped, but I mean this as a long-standing way to preserve his legacy and celebrate what he meant to all of us. That's why it could only be a steward like Apple and not some random-co.ai.
amiga-workbench 10 hours ago
I always wanted Majel Barrett's voice. Apparently she did record phonemes before she died, but that's not suitable to properly train a modern TTS system.
The original incarnation of Android's voice assistant was codenamed after her.
Smilliam 11 hours ago
I think that his storied career in media arts is already a great preservation of his legacy and impact. There doesn't need to be more than that; we can be satisfied with what we have.
sim04ful 13 hours ago
His performance in TNG was so great it left such an impression on adult me. So much so I tend to end my AI agent approvals with "Make it so number 1"
game_the0ry 12 hours ago
Star Trek: First Contact is one of my favorite movies of all time. Probably on my top 5. That generation of Start Trek (pun intended) was so under rated.
Veelox 11 hours ago
I for one feel a black banner would be appropriate for his contributions to the soul of this place.
scosman 13 hours ago
O captain, my captain
drybjed 12 hours ago
O Captain, My Captain!
taurath 11 hours ago
Patrick was basically my dad - the characters he played were absolutely instrumental in developing my own values. What a sad day.
MPSimmons 13 hours ago
<3
It was inevitable, though you always hope for an exception. I don't think I've ever seen any work of his I didn't deeply appreciate.
liuliu 13 hours ago
I enjoyed the first two seasons of Star Trek: Picard. Always knew this might happen some day, but always wished it can keep going.
UltraSane 13 hours ago
Really? I consider the second season of Star Trek: Picard to be one of the worst seasons of TV ever made.
liuliu 13 hours ago
Might be the first then? I cannot remember. I disliked the last part of the story line, but not sure if that is the season 3 or season 2 + 3.
unethical_ban 12 hours ago
altairprime 13 hours ago
Here is not the time and place. Find something nice or mean to say about Picard’s actor or don’t, but don’t be That Guy who picks a fight with someone’s eulogy over a difference of subjective opinion.
Grimeton 12 hours ago
#!/usr/bin/env bash
echo $'\U1F596'
calf 13 hours ago
Progressive neurological diseases suck. I would like to understand though since Stewart was filming up until this year? What was the time frame like, was it a more sudden onset or was he able to manage somewhat while continuing to film and work?
georgemcbay 13 hours ago
> Progressive neurological diseases suck.
Absolutely.
> I would like to understand though since Stewart was filming up until this year? What was the time frame like, was it a more sudden onset or was he able to manage somewhat while continuing to film and work?
AFAIK, his last role as a film actor was in Doomsday, which comes out in December 2026 but filmed late last year. The timeline does seem incredibly quick for a natural death from Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia if he wasn't somehow secretly and very effectively hiding it for the past near-decade.
I suspect (but obviously don't know) that he may have checked out on his own terms rather than literally dying due to the disease progression. I understand why people don't like to talk about it, especially given legal issues faced by anyone who may have assisted in many jurisdictions.
In California it can be legal to assist but technically only if a doctor decides you will live less than 6 months, which IMO is an awfully narrow requirement. I wish people could be more open about it (and that the laws weren't so stupid).
In any case, shocking and sad news. I never would have guessed we'd lose Patrick Stewart before William Shatner. 86 isn't exactly young or anything, but he seemed to still be incredibly vibrant in very recent productions.
hsuduebc2 13 hours ago
"All good things must come to an end". Loved the Next Generation, loved Picard. RIP captain.
I can still hear the voice: "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."
tomrod 8 hours ago
I feel this is black-titlebar worthy. RIP, you inspiring man.
boyander 12 hours ago
Rest in peace, i've enjoyed so much his acting. He will always be attached to my childhood memories.
corvad 12 hours ago
"And that is what it is to be human. To make yourself more than you are." - Jean-Luc Picard
MetaverseClub 10 hours ago
I think he looks like DAVID PATTERSON, the Turing award winner.
V__ 13 hours ago
I don't knwo why but I was sure he would live to be much older... He will be missed.
alansaber 13 hours ago
Wow, RIP. Had no idea he was sick.
thisisthenewme 12 hours ago
Damn, made me unexpectedly sad. RIP. Loved the philosophy and his acting in Star Trek.
alrtd82 7 hours ago
I wanted him to live forever, so sad
sholladay 6 hours ago
He lived long and prospered.
zabriel_goss 11 hours ago
Tremendous loss. A thespian's thespian, through and through.
ExMachina73 13 hours ago
Pour one out for Leondegrance.
danaris 12 hours ago
"Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I’d rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and allows us to cherish every moment...because they’ll never come again."
~ Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: Generations
narrator 13 hours ago
My favorite episode of TNG was the one where Q shows him what his life would be like if he had just been a mild mannered scientist and not taken risks and never ended up in command. “Tapestry” — Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 6, Episode 15, originally aired February 15, 1993.
drewbitt 9 hours ago
What an incredible actor. He will be missed.
cobbzilla 13 hours ago
Make it NOT so
RIP a legend
ktallett 13 hours ago
That's terribly sad news. From his brilliant performances in TNG to his hilarious performance in Extras he was such an amazing actor who brought kindness and warmth to me whenever I watched him in anything. He introduced me to the magic of Shakespeare and also to the magic of being authentic and kind no matter how successful you are. A real British legend!
rampida_com 3 hours ago
That's so sad :(
stetrain 13 hours ago
I have been meaning to start a rewatch of TNG, I guess now is the time.
petervandijck 13 hours ago
I remember his Covid time videos in prospect park those made me happy
t1234s 12 hours ago
I enjoyed his character in the Showtime series Blunt Talk
monksy 2 hours ago
Same even though that wasn't a high performing show. It was great to see him in a comedy role.
karmicthreat 12 hours ago
I will always remember him for his role in gun men
bitwize 8 hours ago
Lewy Body Dementia? I suppose Captain Picard will be sharing drinks and swapping stories with a certain Orkan in that celestial watering hole, Seven Forward.
Stewart was rather like Alan Rickman's Galaxy Quest character in real life: when he first joined the TNG cast he was rather arrogant and thought he was demeaning himself, a Shakespearean actor slumming it as a spaceman on terrestrial American television. As a consequence, the rest of the season one cast started pranking him pretty hard on set. In a textbook example of what the British mean when they say they're "taking the piss out of someone", Stewart was humbled and developed a good sense of humor about it all, and would go on to embrace Star Trek and the Picard role, and not take himself so seriously in general. Which to me, is worthy of the absolute highest respect for a performer. He brought the same professionalism and enthusiasm to Picard, Charles Xavier, and Yaotl from TMNT (2007) that he did to any of his Shakespearean roles.
andromaton 12 hours ago
proud we collectively deem this site-relevant
_doctor_love 4 hours ago
Mirab, his sails unfurled.
throwitaway222 10 hours ago
Not unexpected but still hit hard.
catalinjrj 12 hours ago
He will be missed. Rest in peace, Captain.
freecodeio 13 hours ago
the man who got me into star trek which then got me into computers which got me where I am today, that's extremely sad
__xor_eax_eax 13 hours ago
Lost a great one.
pseudosavant 11 hours ago
RIP to one of the truly great ones
blueSky1989 11 hours ago
I never met him. I'm crying.
teekert 13 hours ago
Profound shock.
I often think of Picard looking down at us, through a force field in the Enterprise D, sees our wars, our inequalities and slowly shakes his head: "Savages". In his role as Picard he was a bit of a teacher to me.
shevy-java 11 hours ago
I used to watch Star Trek TNG back in the 1990s. Patrick was great as Captain Picard.
I did notice that in the latest Wolverine he seemed to be doing not so well with his physical status, looking quite frail and his voice was also no longer strong as it used to be (that was in Logan 2017, so already 10 years ago). Dementia is kind of eating away at the neurons.
puppycodes 11 hours ago
He was a gift to the world.
selimthegrim 11 hours ago
I remember him as Gurney Halleck and his brief non-speaking turn as Karla in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
paulbjensen 24 minutes ago
I had no idea he played Karla in TTSS, but very familiar with TNG, the X-Men films and his turn as Gurney Halleck in David Lynch's Dune.
RIP
cellsstudio 6 hours ago
I usually don't follow this kind of celebrity news. This is the first time, maybe in my life, that I felt the news of a celebrity passing in my gut.
Patrick Stewart's role in TNG was iconic and left a big mark on me as a kid. I felt like TNG really envisioned a society that would be utopic, and I was always inspired by his code, his faith in himself and his morals, and his deep curiosity and compassion for the people around him and the strangers out in the universe.
The world of TNG still lives in a tiny corner of my brain, as a place of both comfort and inspiration.
soulofmischief 12 hours ago
What can you not say about a man like this. Beloved by all and someone to look up to on and off the screen. Many of us grew up learning from and laughing with Sir Patrick Stewart and his characters. He was an actor's actor, committed to his roles.
No being is so important that he can usurp the rights of another, but yesterday we lost someone very important.
glouwbug 12 hours ago
Was great in Oblivion. RIP
ColinWright 10 hours ago
He was in Oblivion? The film with Tom Cruise?
I've found no evidence of this ... can you confirm?
maxnoe an hour ago
amiga-workbench 10 hours ago
The Elder Scrolls - Oblivion, he voiced Uriel Septim.
ColinWright an hour ago
glouwbug 9 hours ago
glennfiedler 11 hours ago
He saw everything
motohagiography 12 hours ago
He played one of the most exemplary men of the last century, and brought life to an ideal of what humanity could aspire to be. The fiction was a vehicle, and through it he represented our best.
I didn't know anything about him other than his work, which is perhaps as fine an epitaph as any man could have.
gspr 13 hours ago
There dies part of my childhood. RIP, you gave the world so much!
orionblastar 13 hours ago
RIP Patrick Stewart, he will always be Picard and Xavier to me.
ashton314 13 hours ago
I commend you to the stars
teddyh 13 hours ago
Plays a melancholy melody on a flute
system2 8 hours ago
I am going to watch TNG once again for him starting now. I am sad.
parenthesis 12 hours ago
He is The Picard.
xvxvx 12 hours ago
‘Damage report!’
digitalsushi 13 hours ago
a thing isn't beautiful because it lasts
card_zero 12 hours ago
There are also many other irrelevant parameters. A thing isn't beautiful because it's pressurized, biodegradable, scheduled, dusty, reversed, volatile, modular, or rubber. However, beautiful things should last, because that would be better.
Wait, was that a Picard quote, in fact? It has the right tone. (Nope, looks like it's from Age of Ultron.)
r0b05 13 hours ago
RIP Professor X
tkdb 12 hours ago
THERE. ARE. FOUR. LIGHTS.
I'll never forget this line, and what it means. I think of it often.
throwaway29303 12 hours ago
Godspeed. ;~;7
moebrowne 12 hours ago
Make it not so
j45 10 hours ago
RIP
platevoltage 12 hours ago
Just as I'm in the middle of watching Picard Season 1.
semperos 12 hours ago
Engage.
elpocko 12 hours ago
But it was too late. I've seen everything.
michaelsbradley 12 hours ago
In our hearts, you will always live long and prosper, Captain.
Watching Star Trek TNG episodes when they first aired in the late 80s had a powerful effect on my imagination as a child. It would not, and could not, have been the same show without Patrick Stewart. RIP.
louwrentius 12 hours ago
I have (re)watched Star Trek TNG more times than I can remember. I got a shock when I saw the title of this post.
teaearlgraycold 12 hours ago
One of the celebrity deaths I actually care about. Rest in peace.
MrBuddyCasino 12 hours ago
In Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979), Patrick Stewart has a short appearance near the very end as soviet KGB mastermind Karla.
Never have I seen such presence and charisma squeezed into so short a scene.
nurettin 12 hours ago
Honorable mention: thanks to red letter media for keeping the memory alive. And for being dorky and entertaining.
browningstreet 13 hours ago
RIP.
prossercj 12 hours ago
Am I the only one who regularly tells Claude to "make it so"?
RIP
pavlov 13 hours ago
I would watch some TNG tonight in his honor… but since the Ellisons bought Paramount, it’s not available on streaming in my country anymore. (Billionaires really will spoil everything.)
Instead I’ll go find my old DVD box set of “I, Claudius” where he had a memorable role too.
testing22321 13 hours ago
Damn. Doomsday may be his last appearance. I wonder if they filmed anything for secret wars.
Wow, what a loss. So many iconic characters, so much inspirational
groestl 13 hours ago
:(
pluc 13 hours ago
Paywall for an obituary is something else
obi_khan 10 hours ago
i sense a great disturbance in the force...
jh00ker 12 hours ago
*Sir Patrick Stewart
samgranieri 12 hours ago
I grew up watching this show. I watched it with my dad. I'm bereft right now.
stuartd 13 hours ago
make it not so
alienbaby 11 hours ago
o7
gigatexal 12 hours ago
noooooooooo sad day
more of us men should be like him and who he was and what he stood for
sirmike_ 13 hours ago
[Flagged]
minraws 13 hours ago
sigh.. damn I just started star trek.
nurettin 12 hours ago
I rewatched tng 4 times and I was skeptical of strange new worlds but I just watched s2e3 and mind = blown. I couldn't believe that was an episode from a series. Recommended.
potato66 11 hours ago
Gasp
ChrisArchitect 13 hours ago
tetrisgm 9 hours ago
I don’t think I can properly explain what he meant to me, but I will try.
Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of people around me who could show me what a good person was supposed to be like. So I found those elsewhere. In games and in Star Trek. To me, Jean-Luc Picard was probably the closest thing I had to a proper father figure.
He embodied everything I felt a person should aspire to be. Intelligent, thoughtful, but also compassionate, principled.
He taught me that you could exercise authority without cruelty, resolve conflict without violence, understood that strength wasn’t about dominating others, but about having the wisdom and restraint not to.
He taught me that you could be rational without being cold, that you could lead without humiliating others, and that kindness and competence weren’t opposites.
These weren’t just qualities I simply admired in a fictional character in a silly science fiction show. They were things I tried to build into myself. They were what I had.
I’m having a really hard time with this. I never know how to articulate how this feels, because I grew up with these role models and most of the people I know haven’t and it feels awkward.
You were a positive force. RIP
tomhow 13 hours ago
[stub for offtopicness]
ChrisArchitect 13 hours ago
https://twitter.com/sirpatstew/status/2115891266131300517
non-x Alt text:
We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia. He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all. We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.
A son of Mirfield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, he travelled from the Royal Shakespeare Company to an equally acclaimed career spanning six decades on Broadway, the silver screen and television.
His sonorous voice and singular talent will forever be synonymous with indelible performances in every genre. He explored the human condition in all its poetic complexity and brought hope not only to the far reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but into science fiction's most iconic final frontier aboard the Starship Enterprise.
His professional accomplishments were humbly matched by his philanthropy and activism on behalf of human rights, survivors of domestic violence, global refugees, veterans' mental health services, and animal welfare, particularly his cherished foster pitties. He was a Knight, Chancellor, motor sport enthusiast, and lifelong Huddersfield Football fan. He will be remembered for the dignity, compassion and humanity he brought to every role - in his art and life.
"Like me, Jean-Luc has lived an unusual life that has taken him far beyond the bounds of normal human experience. But he is also someone who has remained true to his earthbound roots, for they are what gave him his identity. In the end, he feels the call of home, as do I." - Patrick Stewart, Making It So: A Memoir
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:
Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund https://alzresearch.org/giving/
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources https://alzfdn.org/donate/
xsmasher 12 hours ago
Black bar please?
syngrog66 8 hours ago
should not be on HN
keithnz 7 hours ago
since you are new here, maybe get familiar with the guidelines :-
What to Submit
On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity.
syngrog66 3 hours ago
been visiting HN for almost 20 years, likely most/all of its existence
your wording is rude. when you post a comment reply to someone online, ask yourself if you would choose the words F2F. if they would be rude F2F they are rude here
lastly, I am allowed to express my opinion, and no harm was done. I express it precisely to try influencing, to nudge the world around me in a better direction. nothing about that is wrong. indeed it is wise
may you behave better in the future
dspillett 12 hours ago
Same as I said about Walter:
Nah, it's SciFi. They'll find a way of writing them back in. Won't they?