Star Trek: The Next Generation cast gathers for a masked, socially-distant celebration for Sir Patrick Stewart’s 80th birthday

LeVar Burton’s tweet from Sir Patrick Stewart’s birthday party

The cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation got together on Monday - in person - to celebrate a very special event: Sir Patrick’s Stewart’s 80th birthday. With the outbreak of COVID-19, the crew assembled virtually for Marina Sirtis’ 65th birthday at the end of March, but this occasion called for a personal visit to see the Captain.

It seems the bonds formed while filming 7 seasons of TNG, and four feature films, are not easily broken, and weren’t going to keep this crew apart any longer. A report from SYFY noted that sensible precautions were taken for the event. The long-time friends and colleagues each wore a mask and maintained a respectful distance from each other. LeVar Burton tweeted a photo of the group standing poolside together during the gathering with the comment, “A Covid compliant, socially distanced and masked observation of the 80th Birthday of a legend and a friend.”

A Covid compliant, socially distanced and masked observation of the 80th Birthday of a legend and a friend. #bydhttmwfi pic.twitter.com/ibgEB1I90T

— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) July 14, 2020

Also joining Stewart in his birthday celebration were Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner and Michael Dorn. While fellow TNG cast member Jonathan Frakes was unable to attend the event, he did send Stewart a birthday greeting on Twitter with the message “Happy Birthday @sirpatstew 80 great years.”

Happy Birthday @sirpatstew 80 great years. 🖖🏾🎬🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/zusu2mxkWD

— Jonathan Frakes (@jonathansfrakes) July 13, 2020