Born in Iowa! He interrupted his blossoming baseball career (AND left his dying father) to be the first American athlete to enlist for WW2! Served combat duty! Came back and helped the Indians win the 1948 World Series (no wins since)! Fought for MLB players rights! Grew to be a bit of a cranky old man!
And Stewart never used his service to celebrate himself or advance his later career after resuming acting, and in fact rarely mentioned it except to promote the Air Force in documentaries and Strategic Air Command. Marion Morrison was a racist, misogynistic movie star who promoted the maniliness of combat that he never personally experienced.
I wouldn’t categorize him with the modern notion of a white supremacist. He was echoing the popular notions of the time he lived in. By all accounts he not demonstrate prejudice on a personal level but he certainly did maintain some old fashioned views that would have been considered vile when he made that statement in 1971. In this regard he was an ignorant fool but I think would be reviled by what currently is considered a white supremacist. That’s no excuse for that statement but he wasn’t as extreme as it sounds either. More like a 7 or 8 on the scale of assholery in that regard than a 9 or a 10. And to his credit somewhat tempered by his actions and other words over time also. But no doubt he was on the wrong side of the line.
IIRC, Patrick Stewart has applied for US citizenship. I’m not sure where he stands in the process. But, if he does become a citizen, he will be my favorite American Patrick.
Wait! Does Patrick Swayze have a holiday named after him? Do we get blackout drunk to celebrate Patrick Henry? Does anyone pretend to be British and demand kisses in honor of Patrick Stewart?
I think America’s favorite Patrick is actually an Irish saint.
He made many statements over several decades that indicated he either failed to understand or just plain ignored the US Constitution. Esp. on other people’s First Amendment rights.
Ordinary patriots don’t have that flaw let alone the Greatest.