This week’s image is in memory of Patrick Stewart, who died yesterday at the age of 86 at his home in Los Angeles.
Mr. Stewart will be remember for many of his roles, but his most iconic was his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on the starship USS Enterprise. His talents brought the Star Trek series to a whole new level that has yet to be matched.
Born in Yorkshire, England, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966, the same year that the first Star Trek series premiered on television. Little did he know then, but 21 years later he would find himself on the bridge of a starship exploring the galaxy. Even Shakespeare would be impressed with this career path, yet it was just as he wrote in Twelfth Night:
Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.
Mr. Stewart came to see his role on Star Trek as something akin to a religious ministry:
It was about truth and fairness and honesty and respect for others, no matter who they were or what strange alien creature they looked like…And if they needed help, Jean-Luc Picard and his crew, his team, were there to give it. So, yes, in a sense, we were ministers. And I have heard now so many times from individuals who have been honest enough and brave enough to tell me aspects of their life, of their health, of their mental health, and how it was all saved and improved by watching every week.”
George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series, had this to say about Mr. Stewart:
Fans across the world mourn the passing of a true and irreplaceable legend…As Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Patrick Stewart took the starship Enterprise to places it had never gone before, and he inspired a whole next generation of star-gazers who looked longingly ahead to a brighter future for all humanity.
You can read more on Mr. Stewart’s life and career at these sites:
National Public Radio
ABC News
BBC News
Rest in peace.
