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| UK playwright Harold Pinter dies | UK playwright Harold Pinter dies |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter has died aged 78. | Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter has died aged 78. |
| Pinter, who had been suffering from liver cancer, died on Christmas Eve, his wife confirmed. | |
| He wrote more than 30 plays including The Caretaker and The Birthday Party. His film scripts include The French Lieutenant's Woman. | |
| His second wife, Lady Antonia Fraser, told the Guardian newspaper: "He was a great, and it was a privilege to live with him for over 33 years." | His second wife, Lady Antonia Fraser, told the Guardian newspaper: "He was a great, and it was a privilege to live with him for over 33 years." |
| He had been due to pick up an honorary degree earlier this month from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London but was forced to withdraw due to illness. | He had been due to pick up an honorary degree earlier this month from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London but was forced to withdraw due to illness. |
| Political views | Political views |
| BBC Creative Director Alan Yentob told the BBC: "He was a unique figure in British theatre. He has dominated the theatre scene since the 1950s." | BBC Creative Director Alan Yentob told the BBC: "He was a unique figure in British theatre. He has dominated the theatre scene since the 1950s." |
| Michael Billington, Pinter's friend and biographer, said the writer was a great man as well as a great playwright. | Michael Billington, Pinter's friend and biographer, said the writer was a great man as well as a great playwright. |
| He told Sky News: "Harold was a political figure, a polemicist and carried on fierce battles against American foreign policy and often British foreign policy, but in private he was the most incredibly loyal of friends and generous of human beings." | He told Sky News: "Harold was a political figure, a polemicist and carried on fierce battles against American foreign policy and often British foreign policy, but in private he was the most incredibly loyal of friends and generous of human beings." |
| Harold Pinter in The Birthday Party | Harold Pinter in The Birthday Party |
| Also an actor, poet, screenwriter and director, Pinter was known for his left-wing political views and was an outspoken critic of US and UK foreign policy. | Also an actor, poet, screenwriter and director, Pinter was known for his left-wing political views and was an outspoken critic of US and UK foreign policy. |
| Veteran politician Tony Benn said Pinter was a great figure on the political scene. | Veteran politician Tony Benn said Pinter was a great figure on the political scene. |
| "His death will leave a huge gap that will be felt by the whole political spectrum," he said. | "His death will leave a huge gap that will be felt by the whole political spectrum," he said. |
| Pinter won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005 and the citation said "in his plays he uncovers the precipice in everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression's closed rooms". | Pinter won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005 and the citation said "in his plays he uncovers the precipice in everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression's closed rooms". |
| He was awarded a CBE in 1966, later turned down a knighthood and became a Companion of Honour, an exclusive award in the gift of the Sovereign, in 2002. | He was awarded a CBE in 1966, later turned down a knighthood and became a Companion of Honour, an exclusive award in the gift of the Sovereign, in 2002. |
| Pinter was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in 2002 and following treatment, announced that he was on the road to recovery. | Pinter was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in 2002 and following treatment, announced that he was on the road to recovery. |
| Three years later, he announced that he had given up writing for the theatre in order to concentrate on political work. | Three years later, he announced that he had given up writing for the theatre in order to concentrate on political work. |
| The adjective "Pinteresque" is included in the Oxford English Dictionary. | The adjective "Pinteresque" is included in the Oxford English Dictionary. |