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UK playwright Harold Pinter dies | UK playwright Harold Pinter dies |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, who had cancer, died on Christmas Eve aged 78. | |
He wrote more than 30 plays including The Caretaker and The Birthday Party. His film scripts include The French Lieutenant's Woman. | He wrote more than 30 plays including The Caretaker and The Birthday Party. His film scripts include The French Lieutenant's Woman. |
His style was so distinctive, "Pinteresque" entered the Oxford English Dictionary. | |
His wife, Lady Antonia Fraser, said: "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 he was "devastated and saddened" by the news. | |
He told the BBC: "Harold had been ill for a very long time, but he had a titanic will and one imagined he would go on fighting. | |
"He was a fighter in the field of politics, he fought strenuously against American and British foreign policy, but also in his work you see this, there is a combative spirit in his work. | |
"He was a generous and loyal man and very attached to the people whom he sincerely liked." | |
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. |
A production of No Man's Land starring Michael Gambon and David Walliams is due to open at the Duke of Yorks theatre in London on Friday. |