Sir Tom Stoppard, the celebrated British playwright, has died at the age of 88, his representatives have confirmed.
Sir Tom, renowned for his Oscar and Golden Globe-winning screenplay for *Shakespeare In Love*, “passed away peacefully at his home in Dorset, surrounded by his family.”
King Charles III and Queen Camilla expressed their “deep sadness” at the loss of “one of our greatest writers.”
In a statement, they remarked, “A dear friend who wore his genius lightly, he could, and did, turn his pen to any subject, challenging, moving and inspiring his audiences, borne from his own personal history.”
“We extend our most heartfelt sympathy to his beloved family. Let us all take comfort in his immortal line: ‘Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else’.”
The poignant line originates from *Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead*, one of his most acclaimed stage works, which also includes *The Real Thing*.
United Agents, in their statement announcing his death, conveyed, “He will be remembered for his works, for their brilliance and humanity, and for his wit, his irreverence, his generosity of spirit and his profound love of the English language.”
“It was an honour to work with Tom and to know him.”
For over six decades, the playwright captivated audiences with his works that deftly explored philosophical and political themes.
Sir Mick Jagger, paying tribute to his “favorite playwright,” shared on social media: “He leaves us with a majestic body of intellectual and amusing work. I will always miss him.”
Faber Books, his publishing house, lauded Sir Tom as “one of the most brilliant and feted playwrights of the last sixty years and one of the great intellects of our time.”
They added, “Tom has been at the heart of Faber Drama since his first play, the dazzling *Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead*. He will be missed beyond measure.”
In addition to his stage work, he contributed to film, TV, and radio. He adapted Leo Tolstoy’s *Anna Karenina* for the 2012 film starring Keira Knightley and Jude Law.
In 2020, he unveiled his semi-autobiographical piece, *Leopoldstadt*, set in the Jewish quarter of early 20th Century Vienna, which subsequently earned him an Olivier Award for Best New Play and four Tony Awards.
Born Tomas Straussler in Czechoslovakia, he fled his homeland during the Nazi occupation, seeking refuge in Britain.
He later discovered through relatives that all four of his grandparents were Jewish and had perished in Nazi concentration camps.
Reflecting on his return to his birthplace, Zlin, in the Czech Republic, he told US magazine Talk in 1999, “I feel incredibly lucky not to have had to survive or die. It’s a conspicuous part of what might be termed a charmed life.”
He began his career as a journalist in Bristol in 1954 before transitioning to a theatre critic and writing plays for radio and TV.
As quoted by Reuters, he once stated, “I wanted to be a great journalist. My first ambition was to be lying on the floor of an African airport while machine-gun bullets zoomed over my typewriter. But I wasn’t much use as a reporter. I felt I didn’t have the right to ask people questions.”
“I always thought they’d throw the teapot at me or call the police.”
Sir Tom’s breakthrough as a playwright came in the 1960s with the premiere of *Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead* at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, later staged at the National Theatre and on Broadway.
The play, centered on two minor characters from Hamlet, garnered numerous awards, including four Tonys in 1968, including Best Play.
Throughout his illustrious career, Sir Tom received numerous honors and accolades, including a knighthood from the late Queen in 1997 for his contributions to literature.
The Olivier Awards organization, recognizing excellence in theatre, announced that West End theaters would dim their lights for two minutes at 19:00 BST on December 2nd in remembrance of the playwright.
In a post on X, they noted that Sir Tom was the recipient of three Olivier Awards and five Tony Awards, as well as the Oscar for *Shakespeare in Love*.
“That recognition attests to the remarkable range and enduring impact of his work on both stage and screen,” they stated.
Rupert Goold, Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre, fondly remembered Sir Tom as “the most supportive, most generous man” whose “magic was present in everything he wrote.”
London’s Royal Court Theatre also paid tribute to Sir Tom, hailing him as “a playwright whose work probed the deepest human mysteries of truth, time, mortality and frailty while dazzling with wit, laughter and the buoyancy of the human spirit.”
Lyricist Sir Tim Rice expressed that he “was in awe of nearly everything” Sir Tom accomplished.
He told BBC News, “He was able to mix intellectual arguments and philosophical thought with sheer wit and fun and that was apparent in *Rosencrantz And Guildenstern*, which was his first big success, and I remained very much in awe of him, but he also became a friend and I was very honored to know him.”
“He’s written at least half a dozen, probably twice that, plays that will live for a long, long time – however brilliant plays are, a lot of them don’t last much beyond their era, but I think Tom Stoppard’s will, no question.”
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