In a statement on Saturday, United Agents said the Czech-born Stoppard – often hailed as the greatest British playwright of his generation – died “peacefully” at his home in Dorset in south-west England, surrounded by his family.
Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger was among those paying tribute, calling Stoppard “a giant of the English theatre, both highly intellectual and very funny in all his plays and scripts.
“He had a dazzling wit and loved classical and popular music alike which often featured in his huge body of work,” said Jagger, who produced the 2001 film “Enigma,” with a screenplay by Stoppard.
“He was amusing and quietly sardonic. A friend and companion and I will always miss him.”
King Charles III said Stoppard was “a dear friend who wore his genius lightly.”
Theatres in London’s West End will dim their lights for two minutes on Tuesday in tribute.
Over a six-decade career, Stoppard’s brain-teasing plays for theatre, radio and screen ranged from Shakespeare and science to philosophy and the historic tragedies of the 20th century – Five of them won Tony Awards for best play.
Dizzyingly prolific, Stoppard also wrote many radio plays, a novel, television series including “Parade’s End” (2013) and many film screenplays. These included dystopian Terry Gilliam comedy “Brazil” (1985), Steven Spielberg-directed war drama “Empire of the Sun” (1987), Elizabethan romcom “Shakespeare in Love” (1998) – for which he and Marc Norman shared a best adapted screenplay Oscar – code breaking thriller “Enigma” and Russian epic “Anna Karenina” (2012).
Stoppard also had a sideline as a Hollywood script doctor, lending sparkle to the dialogue of movies including “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and the Star Wars film “Revenge of the Sith.” (AP)
