Saturday Night Live closed its Oct. 31 Halloween episode with an on-air tribute to Patrick Stewart, airing an archive clip from the Star Trek legend’s Feb. 5, 1994 hosting turn — the now-iconic Salt-N-Pepa musical intro that became a comedy touchstone, later referenced in a John Mulaney bit — followed by an In Memoriam card bearing a 1994 promo photo.

The farewell capped a Halloween episode hosted by Inde Navarrette with Gracie Abrams as musical guest, airing just three days after Stewart’s death. (Read our coverage of Navarrette’s standout Halloween episode and Abrams’ Halloween performance as Juliet.)

Stewart died Oct. 28 at his home in Los Angeles at 86 after “a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,” his longtime spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak said. His wife, singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell, was by his side.

The show’s goodbye underscored just how much that 1994 appearance meant. Best known as Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Stewart gleefully played against type as he introduced the hip-hop trio — and the moment has echoed through comedy history ever since, with SNL’s tribute drawing a wave of tributes from fans and fellow comics alike.

Stewart’s final film role is Professor X in Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday, due in December; Marvel issued its own tribute to the beloved actor.

His family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s research and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (file photo, 2019).