William Shatner is mourning the death of his Star Trek costar Sir Patrick Stewart.
“What a heartbreaking week it has been. Sir Patrick Stewart was a friend, a colleague and a magnificent actor,” Shatner, 95, wrote via X on Thursday, October 29. “From the stage to the bridge of the Enterprise, he brought intelligence, grace, and a deep sense of humanity to everything he did.”
He continued, “Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him. I was filled with affection and admiration for him and his work. My heart goes out to Sunny [Ozell, his wife] and his family. He will be deeply missed.”
News broke hours earlier that Stewart, who portrayed Captain Picard in Star Trek opposite Shatner’s Captain Kirk, had died at the age of 86.
“We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles,” a rep for Stewart wrote in a social media statement shared on Thursday. “Patrick died] in the loving care of his beloved wife, Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.”
Lewy body dementia (LBD) is the second most common form of dementia, according to the Mayo Clinic, which causes a decline in mental abilities that gradually worsen over time. Symptoms of LBD, a progressive brain disorder, include visual hallucinations, rigid muscles, slow movement, difficulty walking and tremors.
“Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a type of progressive dementia that leads to a decline in thinking, reasoning and independent function,” a definition on the Alzheimer’s Association website reads. “Its features may include spontaneous changes in attention and alertness, recurrent visual hallucinations, REM sleep behavior disorder, and slow movement, tremors or rigidity.”
Other late stars who battled LBD include Robin Williams, Golden Girls actress Estelle Getty and MLB icon Tom Seaver.
Stewart, for his part, had not publicly disclosed his diagnosis before his death. He is survived by wife Ozell, 47, and his two children from his first marriage to Sheila Falconer.
“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,” the obituary noted of Stewart’s last days. “We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”
