Sir Tom Stoppard died at the age of 88, AP confirms on November 29. The Oscar- and Tony-winning playwright died “peacefully” in England alongside his family. “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,” United Agents, Stoppard’s talent agency, shared with AP. “It was an honor to work with Tom and to know him.” Stoppard is a five-time winner of the Best Play Award at the Tonys with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead being his first win in 1968 and Leopoldstadt his most recent win in 2023. Even those unfamiliar with live theater have appreciated Stoppard’s work, as he co-wrote the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love alongside Marc Norman; the two won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1999. Stoppard also rewrote and polished the final draft of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade under the pen name Barry Watson almost one week before the movie went into production.
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Born Tomáš Sträussler in 1937 in Czechoslovakia, Stoppard and his family fled to Singapore as the Nazis invaded the country when he was less than 2 years old. Eventually, everyone in his family except his father relocated to India when he was 5 years old; his father was a doctor and believed it would be better for him to stay and help. His father died after a ship he was on was bombed by the Japanese Army as it fled Singapore. Once in India, Tomáš and his brother attended an American international school, where he anglicized his name to Tom and later adopted his stepfather’s last name, Stoppard. As a family, they settled in Nottingham, England, by 1946.
Beloved by many artists, the late writer has received many tributes (below), including from Mick Jagger and the royal family.
Mick Jagger
Piers Morgan
Olivier Awards
