The cruelest part of getting older is watching the screen stars of my youth pass away — the family stand-ins, the beloved surrogate fathers. Each one hits like a sledgehammer to the gut, because you never know how much they meant to you until they're no longer here. It seems to be happening faster now. But at least we still have their work: vivid twentieth-century ghosts who will live on as long as they are appreciated. Thank you for your wonderful performances, Sir Patrick Stewart.
