Tom Stoppard, Tony and Oscar Winning Playwright, Dead at 88
Sir Tom Stoppard died at the age of 88, AP confirms on November 29. The Oscar and Tony-winning playwright died “peacefully” in England alongside his family. “He will be remembered for his works, for their brilliance and humanity, and for his wit, his irreverence, his generosity of spirit and his profound love of the English language,” United Agents, Stoppard’s talent agency, shared with AP. “It was an honor to work with Tom and to know him.” Stoppard is a five-time winner of the Best Play award at the Tonys, with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead being his first win in 1968 and Leopoldstadt as his most recent win in 2023. Even those unfamiliar with live theater have appreciated Stoppard’s work, as he co-wrote the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love alongside Marc Norman; the two won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1999. Stoppard also rewrote and polished the final draft of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, under the pen name, Barry Watson, almost one week before the movie went into production.
Born Tomáš Sträussler in 1937 in Czechoslovakia, Stoppard and his family fled to Singapore when the Nazis invaded the country when he was less than two years old. Eventually, everyone in his family except his father relocated to India when he was five years old; his father stayed behind as he was a doctor and believed it would be better for him to stay and help. His father died after a ship he was on was bombed by the Japanese army when fleeing Singapore. Once in India, he and his brother attended an American international school, where he anglicized his name to Tom and later adopted his stepfather’s last name, Stoppard. As a family, they settled in Nottingham, England by 1946.
Beloved by many artists, below are some tributes to the late writer, including from Mick Jagger and the Royal Family.
Mick Jagger
King Charles III
“A dear friend who wore his genius lightly, he could, and did, turn his pen to any subject, challenging, moving and inspiring his audiences, borne from his own personal history. We send our most heartfelt sympathy to his beloved family. Let us all take comfort in his immortal line: ‘Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else’,” King Charles shared with The Independent.
Sean Ono Lennon
Tom Stoppard R.I.P. An absolute genius. pic.twitter.com/H7DPaoymE6
— Seán Ono Lennon (@seanonolennon) November 29, 2025
Piers Morgan
RIP Sir Tom Stoppard, 88.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 29, 2025
Oscar-winning literary genius, and one of the world’s greatest dramatists.
What a writer! Sad news. pic.twitter.com/vBDYLZ7JnM
Olivier Awards
West End theatres will dim their lights for two minutes at 7pm on Tuesday 2 December in remembrance of renowned playwright Tom Stoppard who has died aged 88.
— Olivier Awards (@OlivierAwards) November 29, 2025
Over a distinguished career spanning six decades, he won three Laurence Olivier Awards and five Tony Awards, and received… pic.twitter.com/lmj5x4HM6L
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