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The Fourth Wall: Friday Mar 16, 2018 at 2:01 AM By Robert GalvinMail Tribune Which came first ... the chicken or the egg? The philosophical and scientific paradox (believed to be first posited by Greek essayist Plutarch around the year 100 A.D.) still was without a definitive answer in 1991 when it was the first line of the documentary “A Brief History Of Time” – based on the book of the same name and starring its author ... Professor Stephen Hawking. And, yes, “starring” was the proper word to use in this case; for Hawking — who was born on Galileo’s birthday and died Tuesday at the age of 76 on Einstein’s birthday — was a star ... both in the scientific community and in popular culture. Bound by ALS to a motorized wheelchair and forced to speak through a voice box that he lamented gave him an American accent, Hawking was as much an anomaly as the black holes he brought to the attention of the non-scientific world. That would be us. “Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny,” he said, and Hawking was not only able to find the humor in existence, but willing to take part in cultural escapades that might seem beneath scientists of his stature. He shared a beer with Homer Simpson and said he was “intrigued” by his drinking buddy’s theory of a “donut-shaped universe.” It wasn’t the only time an animated Hawking appeared — as he showed up on various incarnations of “Futurama” as well, defending his love of cartoon and telling jokes in an Italian restaurant. He appeared in human form as well, playing poker with Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and the android Data on the Starship Enterprise in a 1993 episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Hawking not only ruled the table, coming out 140 Federation Credits ahead, but wasn’t afraid to lord it over his playing partners – as when Newton began talking about how he invented physics. “Not the apple story again,” Hawking interjects. That episode also is thought to have led to one of the more bizarre pop culture myths of all time. The story goes that actor Brent Spiner (who portrayed Data) said in an interview that Hawking’s ST:TNG gig was “the most notable moment in television history since Albert Einstein guest-starred on ‘Gunsmoke.’” (Spiner, of course, was joking. If he’d wanted to be serious, he would have said, “since Albert Einstein made short films for ‘Saturday Night Live.’”) In more recent times, of course, Hawking made seven memorable appearances on “The Big Bang Theory” — calling Sheldon a “jackass,” later giving him advice on whether to propose to Amy, and then wishing that he could have an action figure modeled after him. “I always thought a motorized toy of me would be cool,” he says, unaware that as a child Howard had made such a thing which earlier in the episode got stuck under the refrigerator. Some would make the case that Hawking’s willingness to take part in such hijinks worked against his status as a scientist. He, however, understood the necessity of making science accessible to those with interests (and intelligence levels) outside of his own – and wasn’t afraid to play in that field. “I have sold more books on physics than Madonna has on sex,” he said when referencing “A Brief History Of Time.” (That’s his book; not hers.) “Mr. Wizard” was the progenitor of series that made science understandable to kids (and their parents), and ran for 547 episodes between 1951 and 1965. And while there have been imitations of the concept — think, unfortunately, the corn-fed silliness of “Bill Nye, the Science Guy” — and more educational shows along the way, there truly wasn’t another science-oriented “hit” on television until “Cosmos” came to PBS for its original 13-epsiode run in 1980. The show made a star of astronomer Carl Sagan — who ventured into the entertainment world as a popular talk-show guest (just the thought of a visit by Hawking to science nerd Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” sends the mind reeling) and served as a producer on the science fiction film “Contact.” Neil DeGrasse Tyson has jump-started the “Cosmos” brand, with one well-received season completed and another in the works, and has appeared as himself in everything from “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” to “Zoolander 2.” There was simply a mystique surrounding Hawking – call it a cool, a duende, an aura – that separates him from other (oxymoron be damned) popular scientists. Part of it was pursuit of the limitless despite his own limitations; his follow-up line to the documentary’s “chicken-egg” paradox — “Did the universe have a beginning, and if so, what happened before then?” — transitions from the ordinary to the extraordinary conundrum. But part of it was also Hawking’s decision to break down the walls between the serious and the comic, regardless of the consequences – as when he counsels Sheldon about dealing with the scourge of professional jealousy: “Don’t worry; I know how you feel,” Hawking says, “I have never won a Nobel Prize.” When Sheldon calls that an injustice, Hawking puts it into perspective. “It’s fine,” he says. “I’ve been on ‘The Simpsons.’” — Mail Tribune senior designer Robert Galvin, who can be reached at [email protected], is an adherent of the World’s Greatest Authority ... Prof. Irwin Corey.