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Tom Stoppard: Profile of the Legendary Playwright Who Died at 88

The literary world is mourning the passing of Sir Tom Stoppard, the renowned playwright and screenwriter, who has died at the age of 88.

Tom Stoppard: Profile of the Legendary Playwright Who Died at 88
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The literary world is mourning the passing of Sir Tom Stoppard, the renowned playwright and screenwriter, who has died at the age of 88.... Selengkapnya

Liputan6.com, Jakarta The performing arts world is mourning the death of Sir Tom Stoppard, the highly respected Czech-British playwright and screenwriter.

Stoppard passed away on Friday, November 29, 2025, at the age of 88.

His literary agency, United Agents, confirmed that Stoppard died peacefully at his home in Dorset, southern England.

The passing of this legendary figure has left many in mourning, including King Charles and Mick Jagger, who publicly expressed their condolences.

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Tom Stoppard: A Brilliant Playwright Across Generations

Sir Tom Stoppard is a playwright and screenwriter known for his verbal wit, clever action, and structural mastery.

He often explores themes of human rights, censorship, political freedom, and the philosophical underpinnings of society in his plays.

One of his most famous works is the absurdist tragicomedy "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" (1966), which was his breakthrough and won a Tony Award.

He also wrote other iconic stage plays such as "Travesties," "The Real Thing," and "Arcadia."

Tom Stoppard's contributions were not limited to the stage.

He also achieved significant success in film, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay with Marc Norman for "Shakespeare in Love" (1998).

His other works include "Brazil" and "Anna Karenina."

His final play, "Leopoldstadt" (2020), inspired by the discovery of his family's Jewish background and the Holocaust, also won numerous awards.

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From Czechoslovakia to England

Tom Stoppard was born Tomáš Sträussler on July 3, 1937, in Zlín, Czechoslovakia.

His childhood was marked by political turmoil and war, which shaped his worldview.

In March 1939, his family was forced to flee to Singapore to escape the Nazi invasion.

After the Japanese occupation of Singapore, Stoppard, his mother, and his brother fled again to British India, while his father died in the escape attempt.

In India, his mother remarried to a British Army major, Kenneth Stoppard, who then brought the family to England in 1946.

From then on, Tomáš adopted his stepfather's surname, becoming Tom Stoppard.

He attended Pocklington School in Yorkshire and Mount Hermon School in Darjeeling, India.

Remarkably, he left school at 17 and did not go to university, choosing journalism as his starting point.

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Tom Stoppard's International Recognition

Throughout his career, Tom Stoppard has received numerous prestigious awards, confirming his position as one of the greatest writers.

He won five Tony Awards for Best Play, three Laurence Olivier Awards, and one Academy Award.

In 1997, Queen Elizabeth II awarded him the title of Knight Bachelor for his outstanding contribution to the theatre.

This was followed by an Order of Merit in 2000, placing him among Britain's most distinguished individuals.

Tom Stoppard's personal life has also attracted attention, particularly the discovery of his Jewish heritage in the early 1990s.

After the fall of communism and the death of his mother, he learned that all four of his grandparents had died in Nazi concentration camps.

This discovery deeply affected him and became a major inspiration for his play Leopoldstadt, which chronicles the history of a Jewish family in Vienna.