Only a few days after we lose a member of the original Star Trek cast the world of Trekkies mourn the loss of a true icon concerning “Space, the final frontier” with the passing of Patrick Stewart at the age of 86! He was the man who took command of the new improved Starship Enterprise with the unforgettable voice that spoke such memorable words as, “Engage,” and “Make it so.” And for the true Trekkie there was the wonderful line, “Shut up Wesley!” For most of us, or maybe just me, I had never heard of Patrick Stewart until he took on the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. I always wondered if this meant in the future men with French names will speak with English accents? Regardless of Stewart’s accent, his commanding voice and demeanor took on the captain role in a total contrast to William Shatner’s Capt. Kirk in the original series. What really shocked me was when I learned that Stewart was originally considered to take on the role of the character Data. For about five seconds anyway. That would have certainly changed things up a bit.
Of course, Stewart had an acting career long before he launched into space. He was a Shakespearean stage actor. With that voice it’s pretty obvious, right? There were times I nearly expected him to break out into Hamlet during a Star Trek episode. “To be or not to be! Make it so!” What I always liked about Stewart was the fact that his voice and appearance had changed very little since the late 1980’s. With a little search I did find some photos of the guy when he actually had hair! Whether it was truly his hair or not remains a mystery.
For the true nerd Stewart’s passing is a double tragedy because not only did they lose Capt. Picard of Star Trek, but Professor Charles Francis Xavier of the X Men movies as well. Actually the guy took on a ton of roles that included classic characters as the bah humbug Ebenezer Scrooge to the obsessed whaler Captain Ahab where he had hair! I also just learned that he carried out the voice role of an elderly ram in Sheep Detective. Okay, the guy was a pretty diverse actor, but for me he will always be Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Engage! R.I.P Patrick Stewart.
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