To describe Sir Tom Stoppard simply as the script doctor for Revenge of the Sith and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade would be to criminally undersell his boundless literary talents, but those were his key contributions to the worlds of Lucasfilm, coming in to polish Jeffrey Boam’s script and add key characters, while adding structure and plot twists to Episode III. In addition to his two trilogy ending contributions, the Oscar and Golden Globe-winning Stoppard was best known for The Real Thing, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Shakespeare In Love. He passed peacefully at home age 88, and leaves behind an enviable career in writing.
Sir Tom Stoppard, one of the UK’s best-known playwrights, has died aged 88, his agents have announced.
Sir Tom, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the screenplay for Shakespeare In Love, “died peacefully at home in Dorset, surrounded by his family”.
His other stage work included The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
Sir Tom’s career as a playwright did not take off until the 1960s when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It was later performed at the National Theatre and Broadway.
The play focuses on two minor characters from Hamlet. It won several awards including four Tonys in 1968, including best play.
He received many honours and accolades throughout his career, including being knighted by the late Queen for his services to literature in 1997.
