SIR PATRICK STEWART (1940-2026)
Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions. My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in 'Star Trek'. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk—getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”. Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes ('X-Men' of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin. But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.
His farewell performance in 'Avengers: Doomsday' is yet to be seen.
Ian McKellen 29 October 2026
Photo: University of Huddersfield
@wizards_only@steggoleaf Literally no one could’ve worded it better, the Andy Kaufman of VTubers might be the most accurate representation I’ve ever heard
He may not feel it right now but his impact an bravery for doing what he did will stay with him, the people around him and all of the people affected by this for ever. I’m sure without a shadow of a doubt he did all that he possibly could have in that moment.
JUST IN: The man who stopped the school shooting in Bend, Oregon, has been identified as 36-year-old Kalub Giamanco.
Giamanco, a carpenter, was reportedly driving home for lunch when he heard gunshots.
After hearing the gunshots, Giamanco, who has a concealed carry permit, followed the suspect into the school.
He then shot and killed 16-year-old John J Griffin moments after the teen opened fire into a special education classroom.
Giamanco, who has two children of his own who attend the school, is family friends with one of the victims, a 7-year-old who uses a wheelchair and was shot in the face.
The 7-year-old survived and is in the hospital.
Three children at Silver Rail Elementary School were killed. Their ages are 5, 8, and 11.
According to Giamanco's brother, Giamanco doesn't feel like a hero because he feels guilty for not being able to save more children.
You are a hero, Kalub.