Readers have responded to the death of Sir Patrick Stewart with personal memories and tributes, highlighting his famous support for Huddersfield Town, his stage career, and some of his lesser-known roles.
Why Stewart Supported Huddersfield Town
In response to Marina Sirtis's comments about Stewart's football allegiance, Jon Hughes from Woolley, West Yorkshire, points out that Stewart began supporting Huddersfield in 1947. At that time, Leeds United had never won a major trophy, while Huddersfield had won the FA Cup in 1922 and the First Division in 1924, 1925 and 1926, making them the West Riding's biggest team.
Hughes also notes that Stewart lived in Mirfield, roughly five miles from Huddersfield but 10 miles from Leeds. In an era when public transport was the main way to reach matches and money was tight, it was natural for him to support Huddersfield.
Stage and Screen Tributes
Michael Billington's list of Stewart's greatest stage roles drew praise, but Alexandra Shepherd from Aberdeen suggests adding his performance as Scrooge in the 1999 film of A Christmas Carol. She describes his conversion from vicious miser to genial old benefactor as totally real and believable, with Richard E Grant as Bob Cratchit.
Gerry Rees from Worcester notes that the obituary omitted Stewart's role as CIA director Avery Bullock in American Dad, asking whether Shakespeare ever wrote him a line as good as “Hand me the anal tarring brush”.
Stan Broadwell from Bristol recalls that when the Barbican Centre opened in 1982, Trevor Nunn chose Henry IV parts I & II as the inaugural production and cast Stewart in the title role. The role seemed small for an actor of his calibre, but the reason given was that King Henry has the opening lines, and Nunn wanted Stewart's voice to be the first heard from the new stage.
