Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart dies

Patrick Stewart, known for Star Trek: The Next Generation and the X-Men film franchise, died at age eighty-six on Thursday, his representative announced.

He died after brief illness

Stewart died in the loving care of his wife Sunny after a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, according to his spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak.

What Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia are

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, causing loss of memory, problem-solving and thinking abilities. It is progressive with no cure. Lewy body dementia causes complications with movement, behavior, thinking and mood.

Early life and theater career

Born July thirteenth, nineteen forty, in Mirfield, England, Stewart's love of theater began early.An English teacher gave him Shakespeare and told him to perform.

“put a copy of Shakespeare in my hand [and] said, 'Now get up on your feet and perform,'”

Television and film breakthrough

Stewart made his television debut in nineteen sixty-seven on Coronation Street, a British soap opera.

Cast as Captain Picard in nineteen eighty-seven

In nineteen eighty-seven, Stewart was cast as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, widely considered his most famous role.He played the starship captain for seven seasons from nineteen eighty-seven to nineteen ninety-four.

Stewart's initial doubts about the role

Speaking with NPR in twenty twenty-two, Stewart said taking the American TV series role was terrifying because it meant shutting down his theater career just as it was taking off with leading Shakespearean roles and…

“I was unprepared for what being cast in an American TV series meant because I'd never done that before”

Professor X and later career

In two thousand, Stewart was cast as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film franchise, portraying the character in eight films over more than two decades.

Hollywood honors and activism

Stewart received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in nineteen ninety-six and was immortalized outside the TCL Chinese Theater in January twenty twenty.

Final role and survivors

Leading up to his death, Stewart returned as Professor X in Avengers: Doomsday, releasing December eighteenth, twenty twenty-six.