Tom Stoppard at an event in 2007. Credit: Media Punch, MediaPunch Inc / Alamy / Profimedia
British playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard has died at the age of 88, according to his talent agency United Agents, CNN and The Guardian write.
Stoppard, who dropped out of school at 17, went on to win numerous awards on both sides of the Atlantic, according to AFP.
His most recent honor was the 2023 Tony Awards for his play Leopoldstadt. The Czechoslovak-born artist also won an Oscar in 1998 for the film Shakespeare in Love, which he co-wrote with Marc Norman.
“We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved client and friend, Tom Stoppard, has passed away peacefully at home in Dorset, surrounded by his family,” United Agents said in a press release.
Stoppard regaled his audiences with the most unlikely pairings in his plays: philosophy and gymnastics in “Jumpers” (1972); early 19th century landscape gardening and chaos theory in “Arcadia” (1993); rock music, dissident Czech academics and Sappho's love poem in “Rock 'n' Roll” (2006).
Throughout his career, he has produced over 30 plays and a steady stream of work for television and radio.
In 2014, Tom Stoppard was named “Greatest Living Playwright” at the London Evening Standard Theater Awards.
“The theater is primarily a recreation. But it is not just a playground for children; it can be a recreation for people who like to develop their minds,” Stoppard said in an interview in the 1970s, according to AFP.
