Playwright Tom Stoppard dies aged 88

British playwright Tom Stoppard, who won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his screenplay for Shakespeare in Love, has died aged 88. It was announced on Saturday by his agency, United Agents.

Stoppard was born Tomas Straussler in 1937 in Zlín to a family of Moravian Jews. The family moved to Singapore in 1939 out of fear of National Socialist Germany. From there they went to India and finally to England.

He was a British playwright, screenwriter and essayist. He is considered one of the most important playwrights of the second half of the 20th century. He was known for his brilliant play with language, intelligent humour, philosophical themes and postmodern irony.

(reuters, hal)