Patrick Stewart as Picard, from Star Trek.

This is Patrick Stewart in the popular old historical BBC show, I, Claudius.

Patrick Stewart was born June 13, 1940 in Mirfield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Gladys and Alfred Stewart. He attended the Crowless Church of England Junior and Infants school and in 1951, he entered the Mirfield Secondary Modern School where he continued the study of drama he began at Crowless. At at the age of 15, he dropped out of school and began working at a local theatre. During this time, he also worked as a writer at a newspaper, but when forced to choose between journalism and acting, he quit. In 1966, he became a member of the Royal Shakespeare company, staying there until 1982.

In January of 1967, he made his debut on television with an appearance on Coronation Street as a Fire Officer. He broke into Broadway with Peter Brook’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Over the years, he continued to appear in television and even a few minor film roles. During this time however, he felt that his reputation was not as great as he’d have liked, thus in 1987, when he was approached by producer Robert H. Justman, he accepted the role offered to him in the planned revival of Star Trek. Stewart was unused to working for long-term on a television show and had difficulty fitting in with his other castmates. His appearance on the show made him both immediately wealthy and recognizable. In 1995, he received a Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series”. From 1994 to 2002, he reprised the role of Picard for any of the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies. While Stewart is appreciative of the change on his career the show had, he does wish he hadn’t been so devoted to a single project for seven years. Also, the show resulted in him being typecast as characters like Picard. Also, after the show was over, he realized that he missed acting on the stage and began appearing in one man shows. He has continued appearing in film and television roles as well as on-stage shows, most notable among them, the X-men films.

a scene from the 1926 Scarlet Letter, in which Lillian Gish starred.

The Smashing Pumpkins first Album was named “Gish” after her.

Lillian Gish in Way Down East

Lillian Diana Gish was born on October 14th, 1893 to Mary Robinson McConnell and James Leight Gish in Springfield, Ohio. Her sister Dorothy was born in 1898 and her father left the family not long after. To support her children, their mother began acting and when they were old enough, they began stagework themselves, with Lillian starting in 1902. From 1903 to 1904, the family toured around the country with the play Her First False Step. From 1908 to 1911, Lillian traveled around the country, staying with various relatives while looking for work.

In 1912, Lillian hit the silverscreen, starring alongside her sister in An Unseen Enemy. After this, she continued working, ending up in 25 short films and features in only two years’ time, which earned her the moniker ”The First Lady of the Silent Screen.” In 1928, MGM released her from her contract after the poor reception of The Wind. Her success with “talkies” caused her to return to the stage in the 1930s and ’40s, returning to movies in ‘46 with Duel In the Sun, which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. From the ’50s, even into the ’80s, Gish appeared in numerous television roles. In 1987, she took her last film role, The Whales of August, starring alongside Vincent Price, Bette Davis, and Anne Southern. On February 27th, 1993, Lillian Gish died in her sleep of natural causes and is interred beside her sister. She left behind no husband or children, having never married. Having lived 99 years and worked for 85 of those years, Gish left behind an enormous legacy as one of the greatest film actresses.

Ian McKellen, On Acting

Ian McKellen as “Magneto” (from X-Men)

Ian McKellen as “Gandalf the Grey” (from Lord of the Rings)