<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The name Patrick Stewart no doubt connects with SciFy fans through the resume of characters he has played in recent times:\u00a0 Captain Jean-Luc Picard (<\/span>Star Trek:\u00a0 The Next Generation <\/span><\/i>TV \/ movies \/ and now streaming with the newest iteration <\/span>Picard<\/span><\/i>), Professor Charles Xavier (X-Men movies and other Marvel movies like <\/span>Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness<\/span><\/i>), and even the voice of the Poop emoji (in the animated Emoji film).\u00a0 When <\/span>TNG <\/span><\/i>debuted in 1987, there was considerable buzz around the Picard character because a) he was older than people pictured for a dashing starship captain, b) he was balder than expected for a dashing starship captain, and c) his character was of French heritage but clearly spoke with an English accent.\u00a0 Many viewers at the time were not aware of Stewart\u2019s origins in the Yorkshire area of Northern England or of his training at the very English Bristol Old Vic Theater School.\u00a0 Patrick Stewart\u00a0 had a long career in theater before he became a starship captain including a fourteen year tenure with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0His most notable achievements between 1966 (when he became a member of the RSC) and his introduction into the world of <\/span>Star Trek<\/span><\/i> were many.\u00a0 He made his Broadway debut in 1971 appearing in a production of <\/span>A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 His performance in the 1979 adaptation of <\/span>Anthony and Cleopatra <\/span><\/i>in London\u2019s West End earned him the Laurence Olivier Award for the Best Supporting Actor.\u00a0 Between that role and his second Laurence Olivier Award (and his first Tony Award) in 2008 (for reprising his role as King Claudius in <\/span>Hamlet<\/span><\/i>)<\/span>, <\/span><\/i>Stewart began appearing in television shows and movies.\u00a0 When the original run of TNG ended in 1994, he became kind of a \u2018go to\u2019 actor for a host of TV miniseries, movies, and even sitcoms.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Stewart\u2019s bonafides are too numerous to list here, but suffice to say at the age of 84, he has created a vast legacy of work in every type of entertainment media one can think of.\u00a0 A passing reference to his book <\/span>Patrick Stewart – Making It So – A Memoir <\/span><\/i>(Gallery Books, Camm Lane Publishing 2023) led me to find a copy via interlibrary loan.\u00a0 The tales of his long and storied career are fascinating, but in this brief space, I would like to concentrate on young Patrick Stewart\u2019s life.\u00a0 I have often written about the similarities in the upbringing of British rock stars who grew up in post-WWII England so it was time to put an actor\u2019s life under the same lens.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One of the first times I really thought about my parent\u2019s life during the Great Depression and World War II came courtesy of one of my elementary school teachers at the Willard Whitman School in Marquette (now owned and renovated by Northern Michigan University into\u00a0 Whiteman Hall).\u00a0 During our daily reading time, she would read us a chapter of a book entitled <\/span>Rufus M.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Written by Elenor Estes and published in 1943, it was the first in a series simply called The Moffats.\u00a0 Each chapter of the book recounts another story about Rufus and his family.\u00a0 Set during 1918 and the final year of World War I, I was intrigued by the tales that told about\u00a0 shortages of things like food and coal and how the family survived these times.\u00a0 It was, of course, a fictional tale but my parents lived through similar times (my father and mother were born in 1919 and 1924).\u00a0 I started peppering them with questions about what life was like \u2018back then\u2019.\u00a0 Perhaps this is one of the reasons I have also been interested in the stories of musicians who grew up in Great Britain as the country slowly righted itself from the devastation and deprivations of war.\u00a0 As I said, it is high time I gave an actor their say in the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Patrick Stewart\u2019s parents lived a simple life during and after the war years.\u00a0 His father, Alfred was an older veteran who had twice been sent on tours of India in the 1920s and 1930s as a member of the King\u2019s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (or KOYLIs). \u00a0 When World War II broke out, Regimental Sergeant Major Alf Stewart saw combat and was twice air-dropped into battle.\u00a0 Alf was also used to help recruit\u00a0 paratroop volunteers:\u00a0 he would stand next to the recruiter who would at some point, pull of Alfred\u2019s beret revealing his bald pate and say something along the line of, \u201cIf this old geezer can jump out of an airplane and parachute into battle, so can you.\u201d\u00a0 When he was \u2018de-mobbed\u2019 (demobilized) from the army after WWII, Patrick was five years old and finally having both parents at home would impact the rest of his life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Having earned a great deal of respect while serving as an RSM in the Army, Alf Stewart had a hard time adapting to civilian life.\u00a0 It took many years for Patrick to realize much of his father\u2019s abusive behavior toward his mother was probably fueled by \u2018shell shock\u2019, the old term for what is more widely known today as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).\u00a0 Regardless of the source of his frustrations and anger, Patrick and his older brother Trevor often found themselves inserting themselves between their father\u2019s raised fist and their mother.\u00a0 This difficult parental\u00a0 relationship never broke up the family unit, but Trevor did leave for military service as soon as he was old enough.\u00a0 This left Patrick as his Mam\u2019s sole shield and the feelings that lingered can be summed up by Patrick\u2019s recollection of their passing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Trevor had called to tell Patrick their mother Gladys had passed away in 1977 at age 76.\u00a0 She had a difficult life, \u201cmarked by poverty, spousal abuse, and exposure to chemicals in the mill [where she had worked], and there was only so much her heart could take before it gave out,\u201d according to Patrick. \u00a0 Upon visiting her the final time, the undertaker left him alone with his mother and as he moved toward the open casket he recalls, \u201cJust before my eyes fixed on her face, I heard her say, \u2018Oh, hello, Patrick, love.\u2019\u00a0 I know I heard it.\u00a0 I did not imagine it.\u00a0 I kissed her on the check, told her I loved her, and bid Mam farewell.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Three years later, Alf Stewart passed away and Patrick felt a much different set of emotions on his final visit with his father:\u00a0 \u201cAs I now inched toward his coffin, I prepared myself for Dad, like Mam, to speak to me.\u00a0 But no such supernatural greeting was forth-coming.\u00a0 Nonetheless, I felt a charge in the room, as if he might, at any moment, sit up and hit me.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t filled with sadness as I had been when saying goodbye to Mam.\u00a0 My primary feelings toward him – still – were of anger and fear.\u00a0 I did not offer him a final kiss, but I did say goodbye.\u201d\u00a0 I should note that neither parent survived to see Stewart reach the pinnacle of his acting career, but they were supportive of his chosen profession even when he himself was not sure it was the right thing for him to chase.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Becoming an actor was an unconventional choice for a Northern lad from Yorkshire.\u00a0 Schooling never really interested young Patrick much but he did enjoy the sporting opportunities it brought.\u00a0 When time came for him to take the dreaded \u201811 plus exams\u2019 that would shape his future educational options, Stewart took a different path, literally.\u00a0 Near the end of his stay at Crowless Boys\u2019 School, he was in sight of the grounds on testing day when he decided to turn\u00a0 left and take a different path to the other side of the valley.\u00a0 Upon entering the Bluebell Wood, he sat against a stone wall and ate his lunch:\u00a0 \u201cI even took a little nap,\u00a0 I look on this day as one of the happiest of my childhood, as if I had given myself a wonderful gift.\u00a0 Remarkably, there were few repercussions for my going AWOL.\u00a0 There was talk with my form master about me sitting the exam the next day, but in the end, my parents didn\u2019t force me to, and I simply never took the exam.\u00a0 Nor was I punished for my avoidance of academic duty.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In September of 1951, Patrick would begin his next level schooling at Mirfield Secondary Modern.\u00a0 He wondered later if his little act of rebellion against the 11 plus exams landed him exactly where he needed to be.\u00a0 \u201cI was never very academic but I was well read.\u00a0 The price for me to attend grammar school upon passing the 11 plus would have been considerable.\u00a0 Why did I cunningly and truly walk away from an opportunity for advancement?\u00a0 What was my problem?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0The art master at the secondary modern school he attended did stir a passion for working with clay when Mr. Haycock persuaded the school to buy a potter\u2019s wheel and a small kiln.\u00a0 Later in life Patrick became a collector of Inuit pottery, the quality of which he now says far surpasses his own efforts, but no doubt his appreciation stems from Mr. Haycock\u2019s class. \u00a0 English literature classes from Mr. Dorman were also a favorite and his instructor was the first to bring the works of William Shakespeare into his life.\u00a0 Mr. Dormand would also play a pivotal role in steering Patrick into the acting field.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Mr. Dorman and the headmaster, Mr. Bassett, sensed something in young Patrick Stewart that he himself had not yet felt.\u00a0 The two summoned him to the school office one day and offered him an opportunity that he would not have stumbled upon on his own:\u00a0 The West Riding County Council\u2019s Department of Education was organizing an eight-day residential drama course for the spring bank holidays.\u00a0 The course would be taught by theater professionals and all expenses would be paid.\u00a0 They even suggested they would \u2018alter his paperwork\u2019 so the 14 year old Patrick would appear old enough to qualify.\u00a0 It was 1953 and the first door to the future was opened. \u00a0 With his parent\u2019s blessings, he stepped through it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience and met fellow artisans who would become life-long friends.\u00a0 One of the instructors, Ruth Wynn Owen, invited him to travel to her home in South Yorkshire to continue studying with her on weekends.\u00a0 Patrick jumped at the chance even though it was a three-hour one way trip with bus changes and a final mile and a half walk form the station to her home.\u00a0 She charged no fee for these sessions and Stewart was thrilled to learn some of his new friends from the eight-day course would also be in attendance.\u00a0 Staying in a guest room at Owen\u2019s home provided another insight Patrick had not been aware of.\u00a0 There was a portrait hanging in the room in which he stayed.\u00a0 It frightened him that the portrait appeared to glow.\u00a0 Curiosity finally compelled him to ask Ruth about it and she said, \u201cOh, you noticed it.\u00a0 Yes, it has always been there.\u00a0 It was with us when we and the painting lived in another house.\u00a0 The mist has followed us around.\u201d\u00a0 Owen went on to explain how she was often visited by the spirit of a young girl who would appear to her and had become an accepted part of their household.\u00a0 She told Partick very few people had picked up on the \u2018glowing mist\u2019 attending the painting, meaning he was sensitive to such things.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Near the end of his schooling, Mr. Dormand again surprised Patrick when talk turned to what he would do once he exited school and entered the world outside.\u00a0 Having professed to having no ideas about the future, Mr. D asked, \u201cHave you thought about acting?\u201d\u00a0 Stewart reminded him that he was acting (in local amateur dramas, or am-drams) but Dormand persisted, suggesting a career in acting.\u00a0 Patrick did not see acting as his future.\u00a0 When he told Mr. D, \u201cThat is not a job for people like me,\u201d Mr D retorted, \u201cYou are wrong.\u00a0 \u2018People like you\u2019 include Albert Finney and Richard Harris.\u00a0 Theater is changing.\u201d\u00a0 When he could not be budged in that direction, the teacher and the headmaster talked him into taking a job at the local paper as a fifteen year old cub reporter.\u00a0 Again, they encouraged him to not reveal he was not yet 16.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On the advice of an older woman reporter, the totally unqualified Patrick set up a routine of visiting local offices, pubs, and churches to gather news.\u00a0 In the pre-cyber age, he did his networking the old fashioned way – face to face.\u00a0 The secretary at one of the churches told him over tea that he was but the second person she had met who had a light blue aura about him (the other having been a visiting minister).\u00a0 He shared this information only with his Mam and Ruth Wynn Owen.\u00a0 Owen told him, \u201cOh yes, I saw it the first time I met you and I see it now.\u00a0 You must not be afraid,\u00a0 Your friend was right – it is beautiful, but I didn\u2019t see it when you were acting.\u00a0 I wonder why?\u00a0 Perhaps we should work with that in mind.\u00a0 It could be a very important asset to you when you are onstage.\u201d\u00a0 His career as a reporter would not be long, but this paranormal gift would remain with him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While he worked as a reporter, he continued to act in local am-drams.\u00a0 Stewart was fired from the paper when he missed a scoop on a fire because he was across town rehearsing for a play.\u00a0 The fire occurred at a mill very close to the council meeting he was supposed to be covering so he had to fess up why he missed the story.\u00a0 Patrick was given an ultimatum:\u00a0 \u201cGive up all these stupid amateur theatricals and you can stay on the job.\u201d\u00a0 Stewart replied, \u201cMr. Wilson, thank you for your offer, but I am going to try and make a career in the theater.\u201d\u00a0 His search for new employment landed him at Hudson\u2019s Furniture where he worked his way from the bottom of the rung into a position in sales.\u00a0 This job also left him free to continue with his\u2019 amateur theatricals\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One comment Stewart makes several times is the inability of actors to remember their successes but to never forget their failures.\u00a0 While he was getting quite a reputation for his performances among the local theatrical groups, he did not get accepted by the Dewsbury Drama Club.\u00a0 \u201cHonestly,\u201d he writes, \u201cI have never quite gotten over [the rejection].\u201d\u00a0 The next move for Patrick came about when his friend Brian Blessing was discharged from his National Service for having flat feet.\u00a0 Blessing was accepted at the Bristol Old Vic Theater School.\u00a0 A bit jealous of this turn of events, Patrick shared his desire to apply to the same school with his mentor Ruth Wynn Owen.\u00a0 She advised him to first apply for a West Riding County Council grant (the same group that had paid for his previous 8 day residential school where he had originally met Brian Blessing).\u00a0 As they waited to hear about the grant, she helped him fill out an application for Bristol.\u00a0 His audition at Bristol took place in the spring of 1957 and he fully expected to do the interview and be told, \u201cThank you for coming, we will be in touch.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The director of the school, Duncan Ross, inquired about his age (16) and his prospects for being called to National Service (which was no longer required for all young men).\u00a0 Patrick was a bit gobsmacked when Mr. Ross told him, \u201cYou are very young, but you seem quite a lot older.\u00a0 All right, we will offer you a place, starting in September, and you will receive the offer in writing.\u00a0 Make sure we have your address.\u00a0 Thank you for coming.\u201d\u00a0 The next hurdle, an interview with the West Riding Council, would prove to be the final piece of the puzzle.\u00a0 His future as an actor hung on how he would pay for the Bristol School.\u00a0 Patrick ended up being the first West Riding scholarship recipient who was not a graduate of Oxford or Cambridge.\u00a0 His lack of education at a prestigious house of learning had not prevented him from being accepted at a school that would profoundly affect the rest of his life.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Having covered a good share of young Stewart\u2019s life, we will turn our attention to the older version of Patrick in Part 2.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Top Piece Video – Why\u00a0Aqualung?<\/em>\u00a0 It happened to be playing on WOAS as I was posting this . . . and the album cover art kind of reminds me what Patrick Stewart may have looked like in some of his roles!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The name Patrick Stewart no doubt connects with SciFy fans through the resume of characters he has played in recent times:\u00a0 Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek:\u00a0 The Next Generation TV \/ movies \/ and now streaming with the newest iteration Picard), Professor Charles Xavier (X-Men movies and other Marvel movies like Dr. Strange and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-from-the-vaults","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3174"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3177,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174\/revisions\/3177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}