Tom Stoppard has passed away, aged 88, United Agents has confirmed. Her reportedly passed at his family home in Dorset, England, surrounded by family. Stoppard is best known for co-writing "Shakespeare In Love," which won an Oscar for 'Best Original Screenplay' in 1998.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Of course, Stoppard's career was more than just co-writing one movie. In fact, it spanned roughly 70 years. His first writing job was in the 1950s, where he wrote plays for British radio. However, it was in 1966, the same year that England last won the World Cup, that Stoppard's career began to flourish.
The talented wordsmith wrote the 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' play, which was eventually turned into a movie. Both Gary Oldman and Tim Roth appeared in the big-screen version, with Stoppard directing.
Of course, someone as talented as Stoppard was always destined to make the jump to writing movie scripts. "Brazil" was one of his earlier movie scripts, and earned him an Oscar nomination for 'Best Original Screenplay.' He also contributed to the 'Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith' script.
Some of Tom Stoppard's Best Work Went Uncredited
Despite winning both an Oscar and a Tony award during his illustrious career, some of Stoppard's best work occurred behind the scenes. He would often work as an uncredited writer on big Hollywood movies. Of course, that meant working alongside multiple world-class writers and directors, who praised his undoubted talent.
"It was his uncredited writing on blockbusters such as Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Empire of the Sun that made movies sparkle on the silver screen," Matt Strudwick of the Daily Mail reported. "The famed director would often turn to Sir Tom, with his anonymous script-doctoring helping on the 1991 Peter Pan tale Hook, and Schindler's List in 1993. Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker got the Stoppard treatment in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, with himself declaring: 'If you're going to be rewritten by anybody, Stoppard's the one.'"
Stoppard was a highly respected figure in the entertainment industry. His ability to create intense mental imagery with his unique flair and control of the English language was legendary. With a career that spanned generations, he will go down in history as one of the best scriptwriters.
Details of Stoppard's death haven't been made public. Nor has there been any information regarding a funeral. However, it's likely that his final goodbye will be a star-studded affair, after all, his impact reached far and wide.
