Oscar-winning UK playwright Tom Stoppard dies aged 88

Stoppard, who first made his name with "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" -- an absurdist tragicomedy about two minor characters from Shakespeare's "Hamlet" -- developed a distinctive style combining serious ideas with comedy.

"We are deeply saddened to announce that our beloved client and friend, Tom Stoppard, has died peacefully at home in Dorset, surrounded by his family," the talent agency said.

"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."

Rock legend Mick Jagger led the tributes on social media.

"Tom Stoppard was my favourite playwright," the Rolling Stones frontman posted on X.

"He leaves us with a majestic body of intellectual and amusing work. I will always miss him."

In London, the Olivier Awards announced that West End theatres would dim their lights for two minutes at 7:00 pm on Tuesday in his memory.

His publisher, Faber Books, paid tribute to "one of the most brilliant and feted playwrights of the last 60 years and one of the great intellects of our time".

As well as his Oscar, Stoppard won three Oliviers and five Tonys, among the top awards in the theatre world.
A string of awards
Shakespeare was a rich seam for him to mine.

"Rosencrantz and Guildernstern are Dead", the play that first brought him success in theatres on both sides of the Atlantic, won a string of theatre awards.

Then when he adapted it for cinema in 1990, in a version starring Tim Roth, Gary Oldman and Richard Dreyfuss, it picked up the Golden Lion -- the top prize -- at the Venice Film Festival.

To non-theatre-goers, Stoppard is best remembered for cinema work that included the "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" franchises and an Oscar in 1999 for "Shakespeare in Love".

Born in Czechoslovakia in 1937, he fled his home during the Nazi occupation and found refuge in Britain. After leaving school, Stoppard became a journalist before launching his career as a playwright.

Over a six-decade career, he wrote for the theatre, TV and radio, as well as film, winning multiple awards.

In 1997 he was knighted for his services to literature.

Stoppard was married three times and had four sons, one of whom, Ed Stoppard, is an actor.