Saturday Night Live pays tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart three days after his death as they air viral moment from his 1994 hosting stint

Saturday Night Live has paid tribute to the iconic actor Patrick Stewart by re-airing a clip from his 1994 hosting stint, three days after his death from Alzheimer's.

The actor, who was best known for his roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the X-Men films, passed away on Wednesday aged 86 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

In recent years, Patrick's SNL hosting stint went viral thanks to his enthusiastic introduction for that night's musical guests, Salt-N-Pepa.

And the show paid homage to Patrick by re-showing the clip at the end of this weekend's episode, followed by a title card in his memory.

Patrick's death was announced earlier this week in a statement by his longtime spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak. 

His last public appearance came at a Huddersfield Town football match in November 2024, where he supported his beloved Terriers in their match against Crawley.

His family wrote in their statement on Thursday that the star 'has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all'.

'We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.'

Despite his retreat from public life, Stewart made clear he had no plans to call it quits on his acting career in what would be his final interview.

'I can't imagine ever officially "retiring",' the beloved actor told TV Line in July. 'I'll always and forever be an actor.'

Stewart spoke to the outlet about the 40th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation, on which he famously starred as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

'All of these anniversaries are wildly surreal for me, but the 40th anniversary of The Next Generation is particularly remarkable,' he said.

Sir Patrick added: 'I still remember my first day driving on to the Paramount lot like it was yesterday.'

His final acting role will come posthumously in next month's Avengers: Doomsday, in which he portrays his long-time X-Men character Charles Xavier.

He spoke in the interview about the later stages of his career: 'As any actor my age will tell you, there are fewer and fewer available roles as we get older.

'That being said, I still continue to receive interesting offers and I love being challenged by new work.'

Sir Patrick said portraying Picard in the Star Trek universe was 'without question' the 'most significant role' he took on in his career.

He added: 'I will be forever grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of what is now such a historic franchise.'

Sir Patrick portrayed the role of the USS Enterprise leader over seven seasons and 176 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, from 1987-1994.

'The final scene of The Next Generation has always felt like such a beautiful send-off, but of course we then filmed multiple movies after the series wrapped,' he told TV Line.

The Star Trek films he was referring to included 1994's Generations, 1996's First Contact, 1998's Insurrection, and 2002's Nemesis.

After nearly two decades, he picked up the role again on the Paramount+ show Picard, which had a three-season run from 2020-2023.

'I truly thought Nemesis was my last time playing Jean-Luc,' Sir Patrick said, 'but then along came Picard - and I'm delighted with how that series ended.'

He added that The Next Generation cast coming back for the final season of Picard 'made for an absolutely joyous and satisfying experience'.

'They’re all such dear friends, but also exceptionally talented artists.'

He said he enjoyed meeting and collaborating with other performers in the Star Trek universe: 'The enduring power of Star Trek and its values continues to reach new generations, and I’ll always cheer on new series and new adaptations of this story. 

'Having fresh voices to tell these new stories is critical, and I’m thrilled any time I get to meet a new member of the Star Trek "tribe".'