Theater News

Sir Harold Pinter Dies at 78

New York City
Sir Harold Pinter, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005, has died after a long battle with cancer, according to the Associated Press. He was 78.

Pinter wrote over 30 plays in his long career; his best known works included The Homecoming, which won the Tony Award for Best Play, as well as The Caretaker, The Birthday Party, No Man’s Land, Old Times, The Room, Celebration, and Betrayal. He also directed the original Broadway productions of two shows he did not write: The Man in the Glass Booth and Butley.

He also wrote one novel, Dwarfs, and over 20 screenplays. He received Oscar nominations for his adaptations ofThe French Lieutenant’s Woman and Betrayal; his other credits included The Servant, Accident, The Last Tycoon, and the 2007 remake of Sleuth.

The playwright made headlines in 2005 in his recorded acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, when he attacked President George W. Bush. “The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law,” he said.

Pinter is survived by his second wife, Lady Antonia Fraser, and a son, Daniel, from his marriage to actress Vivien Merchant.