Tom StoppardBritish playwright and screenwriter, winner of the Oscar and Tony awards, died at the age of 88.
Stoppard's agents confirmed his death BBCnoting in a statement that he “died peacefully at home in Dorset, surrounded by his family.” The cause of death was not specified.
“He will be remembered for his work, for its brilliance and humanity, but also for his wit, his irreverence, his generosity of spirit and his deep love of the English language. It was an honor to work with and know Tom.”
A five-time winner of the Tony Award for Best Play, Stoppard first won the award at age 30 in 1968. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are deadwhich reimagined the events of Hamlet through the eyes of two minor characters in William Shakespeare's drama. Stoppard also won the 1976 Best Play award. Travesties1984s The real thing2007s Coast of Utopiaand 2023s Leopoldstadthis latest production, inspired by his youth as a Jewish Czechoslovakian child escaping Nazi occupation.
On the big screen, Stoppard wrote the screenplays for Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Desperation and Steven Spielberg's Desperation. Empire of the Sunan adaptation of John Le Carre's The Russia House and co-author of Terry Gilliam's dystopian epic. Brazilthe latter earned Stoppard his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. He later won an Academy Award in 1998 for co-writing. Shakespeare in Love.
Although uncredited, Stoppard also provided dialogue Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade “Tom is pretty much responsible for every line of dialogue,” Spielberg once admitted, and also Star wars. Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Stoppard also directed his own film version. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead in 1990.
Mick Jagger, who once dated Stoppard's fourth wife Sabrina Guinness, paid tribute on social media on Saturday: Tom Stoppard was my favorite playwright. He leaves us a magnificent collection of intelligent and funny works. I will always miss him.”
Following Stoppard's death, the Olivier Awards announced they would honor the playwright by dimming the lights in London's West End theaters for two minutes this Tuesday, December 2.
“In a distinguished career spanning six decades, he has won three Laurence Olivier Awards and five Tony Awards, and received an Academy Award for his screenplay for Shakespeare in Love,” the association said. statement. “This recognition demonstrates the remarkable scope and lasting impact of his work on both stage and screen. We extend our sincere condolences to his family, colleagues and everyone whose lives he enriched.”
PEN America added statement“From his early plays such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead shocked the public, until his last and most autobiographical play Leopoldstadt— inspired by the impact of the horrors of the Holocaust on his family — Stoppard's plays are filled with wit and wordplay and ask important questions about how we live, love, die and explore the depths of human existence… Stoppard has used his platform to highlight the struggles of writers under repressive governments around the world. The world of modern theater will forever retain his mark.”
