Patrick Stewart death at 86: Judi Dench “very sad” as tributes pour in

The Patrick Stewart death, announced after the actor died at 86 at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday evening, has drawn tributes from across theatre, film and politics, with Dame Judi Dench among the first of his contemporaries to speak publicly about the loss.

Speaking to the Press Association at an event marking 50 years of the National Theatre building, Dame Judi, 91, said she was “very, very shocked” and “very surprised” by the news. She described a colleague who never coasted. “He’s never been one of those actors who never felt like it that night, he was always very, very committed,” she said. “He’ll be much missed and he was much admired.”

A shared stage and a shared classroom

Dench and Stewart both belonged to the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stewart joined in 1966 and went on to appear in dozens of its productions, building a stage reputation long before television made him a household name. The two also appeared together in Playing Shakespeare, a 1982 television masterclass series.

That grounding in classical theatre was the thread running through many of the tributes. Sir David Suchet, Dame Harriet Walter, James McAvoy and Sir Ian McKellen were among those who paid their respects. Downing Street said Stewart “never forgot his working-class Yorkshire roots” and brought “joy to millions”. On Friday’s edition of BBC’s The One Show, presenters Roman Kemp and Clara Amfo closed the programme with a 2023 clip in which Stewart recalled his first time on a stage. “I felt safer than I’d ever felt in my life,” he said.

What the family statement said

A statement on Stewart’s Instagram page said he died after a “brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia”. The Mirror reported that his wife, Sunny, confirmed the news. The statement said he was surrounded by family and friends, live music, prayers and laughter, and it remembered him for “the dignity, compassion and humanity he brought to every role – in his art and life.”

It also highlighted his philanthropy and activism, including work for survivors of domestic violence, refugees, veterans’ mental health services and animal welfare. It described him as a Knight, Chancellor, motor sport enthusiast and lifelong Huddersfield fan. Rather than flowers, the family asked for contributions to the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre Fund and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s caregiver resources.

A career from Shakespeare to the Starship Enterprise

Born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, in 1940, Stewart had a career of six decades. He won two Olivier Awards for supporting roles in Shakespeare, for Antony and Cleopatra in 1979 and Hamlet in 2009. He also earned four Emmy nominations and a Grammy for a children’s recording of Peter and the Wolf. Global fame came as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987, and later as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, beginning in 2000. Fans will see him once more as Xavier in Avengers: Doomsday, due in mid-December.

Understanding the conditions behind his death

Coverage of the Patrick Stewart death has also prompted questions about the two conditions named. Lewy body dementia, also called dementia with Lewy bodies, is caused by clumps of protein in the brain’s nerve cells. The Independent reports that it is thought to affect around 100,000 people in the UK. Around 5 per cent of diagnosed dementia cases are recorded as this type, but specialists argue it is under-diagnosed and the true share could be as high as 20 per cent.

Symptoms can include hallucinations, confusion, slow movement, tremors, disturbed sleep and fainting spells. Many of these overlap with Alzheimer’s, which makes diagnosis difficult. A US physician told HuffPost there is no single definitive test. There is no cure, though medication and therapies can ease symptoms. Survival after diagnosis is estimated at five to seven years on average, though it can be far longer.

Public awareness of the condition rose after Robin Williams was diagnosed with it posthumously following his 2014 death. For Stewart’s admirers, the Patrick Stewart death is a reminder of how little warning these illnesses can give, and of the dedication Dench says he brought to every performance.

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File photo: Patrick Stewart 1999.jpg by Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.