Stoppard, Tom 1937-

PERSONAL

Original name, Thomas Straussler; born July 3, 1937, in Zlin, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic); immigrated to Bristol, England, 1945; naturalized citizen; son of Eugene Straussler (a physician) and Martha Stoppard; stepson of Kenneth Stoppard; married Jose Ingle, 1965 (divorced, 1972); married Miriam Moore-Robinson (a dermatologist and television personality), 1972 (divorced, 1992); children: (first marriage) Oliver, Barnaby; (second marriage) William, Edmund. Education: Attended Dolphin School, Nottinghamshire, England, and Pocklington School, Yorkshire, England. Avocational Interests: Fishing, cricket.

Addresses:

Agent—Peters, Fraser and Dunlop, Drury House, 34-43 Russell St., London WC2B 5HA United Kingdom; Creative Artists Agency, 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067.

Career:

Playwright, screenwriter, director, and journalist. Western Daily Press, Bristol, England, reporter and critic, 1954-58; Evening World, Bristol, reporter and critic, 1958-60; freelance reporter, 1960-63; Scene (magazine), reviewer, 1962; Index Against Censorship (magazine), member of publishing committee.

Member:

Royal National Theatre Board, member, 1989—, Royal Society of Literature (fellow), Committee of the Free World.

Awards, Honors:

Ford Foundation grant, 1964; John Whiting Award, Arts Council, 1967; London Evening Standard Award, most promising playwright, 1968; Antoinette Perry Award, best play, and New York Drama Critics Circle Award, 1968, both for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; Prix Italia, 1968, for Albert's Bridge (radio play); London Evening Standard Award, 1972, for Jumpers; Antoinette Perry Award, best play, and London Evening Standard Award, 1976, both for Travesties; New York Drama Critics Circle Award, 1976; named Commander of the British Empire, 1978; London Evening Standard Award, 1978, for Night and Day; Giles Cooper Award, for The Dog It Was That Died (radio play); London Evening Standard Award, 1982, and Antoinette Perry Award, best play, 1984, both for The Real Thing; Shakespeare Prize, 1979; Emmy Award nomination (with others), 1984, for Squaring the Circle (television play); Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award (with Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown), best screenplay, 1985, and Academy Award nomination (with Gilliam and McKeown), best original screenplay, 1986, both for Brazil; Film Award nomination, best adapted screenplay, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 1989, for Empire of the Sun; Golden Lion Award, Venice Film Festival, 1990, and Directors Week Award, Fantasporto, 1991, both for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (film); London Critics Circle Award, best play, 1993, Evening Standard Award, best play, Laurence Olivier Theatre Award, best play, Society of London Theatre, 1994, Antoinette Perry Award nomination, best play, 1995, and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, outstanding writing, 1997-98, all for Arcadia; Evening Standard Award, best play, 1997, Antoinette Perry Award nomination, 2000, and New York Drama Critics Circle Award, best play, 2000-01, all for The Invention of Love; New York Film Critics Circle Award, best screenplay, 1998, Academy Award, best writing—screenplay written directly for the screen, Golden Globe Award, best screenplay—motion picture, Film Award nomination, best screenplay—original, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Silver Berlin Bear, outstanding single achievement, Berlin International Film Festival, Screen Award, best screenplay written directly for the screen, Writers Guild of America, Southeastern Film Critics Association Award, best original screenplay, Online Film Critics Society Award nomination, best screenplay—original, Golden Satellite Award nomination, best motion picture screenplay—original, International Press Academy, Florida Film Critics Circle Award, best screenplay, Chicago Film Critics Association Award, best screenplay, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, best screenplay—original, 1999, and Evening Standard British Film Award, best screenplay, 2000, all (with Marc Norman) for Shakespeare in Love; Theater Hall of Fame, inductee, 2000; Antoinette Perry Award nomination, best play, New York Drama Critics Award, best play, Drama Desk Award nomination, outstanding new play, 2001, all for The Invention of Love; Laurence Olivier Theatre Award, BBC award for best play, 2003, for The Coast of Utopia; Laurence Olivier Theatre Award, best new comedy, 2006, for Heroes; Laurence Olivier Theatre Award, Antoinette Perry Award, best play, 2007, for "Voyage," Coast of Utopia; London Critics Circle Award, best new play, 2007, for Rock 'n' Roll; Sony Award, for In the Native State; Film Award, British Academy for Film and Television Arts, for Professional Foul. Named Commander of the British Empire, 1978; knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, 1997; appointed a Member of the Order of Merit, 2000; honorary degrees from University of Bristol, 1976, Brunel University, 1979, University of Leeds, 1980, University of Sussex, 1980, University of London, 1982, Kenyon College, 1984, and University of York, 1984.

CREDITS

Stage Director:

Born Yesterday, Greenwich Theatre, London, 1973.

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, New York City, 1979.

Film Director:

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Cinecom, 1991.

Film Appearances:

"In Side Out," 1964.

Himself, The King's Head: A Maverick in London (documentary; also known as A Maverick in London: The Story of the King's Head), 2006.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Poodle Springs, HBO, 1998.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Journey into Light, 1985.

What Is Brazil?, 1985.

Shakespeare in Love and on Film, 1999.

Inside Hollywood: The Pictures, the People, the Academy Awards, ABC, 1999.

The 71st Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1999.

Presenter, The 55th Annual Tony Awards, CBS and PBS, 2001.

Ronnie Barker: A BAFTA Tribute, BBC, 2004.

Presenter, The British Comedy Awards 2004, ITV, 2004.

The 61st Annual Tony Awards, CBS, 2007.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

"Prologue," The Newcomers, 1977.

"1911," The Newcomers, 1979.

Friday Night, Saturday Morning, 1979.

The Charlie Rose Show (also known as Charlie Rose), PBS, 1995.

Changing Stages, PBS, 2001.

The 26th Annual Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts, CBS, 2003.

"Shakespeare in Love," Movie Connections, 2007.

WRITINGS

Plays:

The Gamblers, produced at Bristol Old Vic Theatre, Bristol, England, 1965.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, first produced at Edinburgh Festival, Scotland, 1966, revised version produced by National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, London, 1967, later Alvin Theatre, New York City, 1967, published by Grove Press, 1967.

Enter a Free Man (two-act; adaptation of Stoppard's television play A Walk on the Water), produced at St. Martin's Theatre, London, 1968, later St. Clement's Theatre, New York City, 1974, published by Grove Press, 1968.

Tango (adaptation), produced at Aldwych Theatre, London, 1968.

The Real Inspector Hound, produced at Criterion Theatre, London, 1968, published by Faber, 1968.

Albert's Bridge (adaptation of Stoppard's radio play of the same title), produced by Oxford Theatre Group, Edinburgh Festival, 1969, published by Samuel French, 1969.

After Magritte, produced at Ambiance Theatre, London, 1970, later produced with The Real Inspector Hound as a double-bill at Theatre Four, New York City, 1972, published with The Real Inspector Hound by Grove Press, 1968, published separately, Faber, 1971.

Dogg's Our Pet, produced at Ambiance Theatre, 1972.

Jumpers, produced by National Theatre Company, Old Vic Theatre, 1972, later Billy Rose Theatre, New York City, 1974, published by Grove Press, 1972, revised edition, Faber, 1986.

The House of Bernarda Alba (adaptation of the play by Frederico Garcia Lorca), produced at Greenwich Theatre, London, 1973.

Travesties, produced at Aldwych Theatre, 1974, then Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, 1974, published by Grove Press, 1975.

Dirty Linen; New-found-land (double-bill), produced at Ambiance Theatre, 1976, then John Golden Theatre, New York City, 1977, published by Grove, 1976.

The Fifteen-Minute Hamlet, Samuel French, 1976.

(With music by Andre Previn) Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, produced in London, 1977, then Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, 1979, published with Professional Foul by Faber, 1978.

Night and Day, produced at Phoenix Theatre, London, 1978, then John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, later American National Theatre and Academy Theatre, New York City, 1979, published by Faber, 1978, revised edition, Samuel French, c. 1980.

Dogg's Hamlet; Cahoot's Macbeth (double-bill), produced at Collegiate Theatre, London, 1979, then Twenty-Two Steps Theatre, New York City, 1979, published by Faber, 1980.

Undiscovered Country (adaptation of Das weite land by Arthur Schnitzler), produced by National Theatre Company, 1979, published by Faber, 1980.

The Real Thing, produced at Strand Theatre, London, 1982, then Plymouth Theatre, New York City, 1984, published by Faber, 1982, revised edition, 1983.

On the Razzle (adaptation of Einen Jux will er sic machen by Johann Nestroy), produced by National Theatre Company, 1982, then Arena Stage, Washington, DC, 1982, published by Faber, 1981.

Rough Crossing (adaptation of Play at the Castle by Ferenc Molnar), produced by National Theatre Company, 1984, published by Faber, 1985.

Dalliance (adaptation of the play Liebelei by Schnitzler), produced by National Theatre Company, 1986, published with Undiscovered Country, Faber, 1986.

Hapgood, produced at Aldwych Theatre, 1988, published by Faber, 1988.

Artist Descending a Staircase (adaptation of Stoppard's radio play of the same title), produced at Helen Hayes Theatre, New York City, 1989.

Arcadia, London production, 1993, then Vivian Beaumont Theatre, New York City, 1995, published by Faber, c. 1993.

India Ink, 1995, published by Faber and Faber, 1995.

The Invention of Love, London production, 1997, then Lyceum Theatre, New York City, 2001, published by Grove Press, 1998.

The Coast of Utopia (a trilogy containing Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage), 2002, then Vivian Beaumont Theatre, 2006-2007.

Rock 'n' Roll, Royal Court Theatre, then Duke of York's Theatre, London, 2006, then Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, New York City, 2007-2008.

Stage Plays (as Translator):

Vaclav Havel, Largo Desolato, produced by Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, CT, 1990, published by Faber, 1985.

Anton Chekhov, The Seagull, Shakespeare in the Park, 2001.

Gerald Sibleyras, Heroes, London production, 2006, then Geffen Playhouse, London, 2006.

Screenplays:

(With Thomas Wiseman) The Romantic Englishwoman (also known as Une anglaise romantique), New World, 1975.

(With Wiseman) Despair (also known as Despair ine reise ins licht, based on the work by Vladimir Nabokov), New Line, 1978.

The Human Factor, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1979.

(With Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown) Brazil, Universal, 1985.

Empire of the Sun, Warner Bros., 1987.

The Russia House (adaptation of the novel by John le Carre), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists, 1990.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (adaptation of Stoppard's stage play of the same title), Cinecom, 1991, screenplay published by Faber, 1991.

Billy Bathgate (adaptation of novel by E. L. Doctorow), Buena Vista, 1991.

The Fifteen Minute Hamlet, 1995.

Shakespeare in Love, Universal, 1998.

(English adaptation) Vatel, Miramax, 2000.

Enigma (also known as Enigma-das geheimnis), Intermedia Films, 2001.

Television Plays:

A Walk on the Water, BBC, 1963, revised as The Preservation of George Riley, BBC, 1964.

A Separate Peace, BBC, 1966, published by Samuel French, 1977.

Teeth (also known as Thirty-Minute Theatre: "Teeth"), BBC, 1967.

Another Moon Called Earth (also known as Thirty-Minute Theatre: "Another Moon Called Earth"), BBC, 1967.

Neutral Ground, BBC, 1968.

The Engagement, NBC, 1970.

One Pair of Eyes (documentary), BBC, 1972.

(With Clive Exton) Eleventh House, BBC, 1975.

(With Exton) Boundary (also known as Eleventh Hour: Boundary), 1975, published by Samuel French, 1991.

Three Men in a Boat (adaptation), 1976.

Professional Foul (also known as BBC2 Play of the Week: "Professional Foul"), 1977, published with Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Faber, 1978.

Squaring the Circle, BBC, 1984, published with Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Professional Foul by Faber, 1984.

On the Razzle, PBS, 1986.

The Dog It Was That Died, 1988.

Largo Desolato (also known as Vaclav Havel's "Largo Desolato"), PBS, 1990.

Television Movies:

Ulazi slobodan covek, 1971.

Konsert for en sluten avdelning, 1984.

Poodle Springs, HBO, 1998.

Radio Plays:

The Dissolution of Dominic Boot, BBC, 1964.

M Is for Moon among Other Things, BBC, 1964.

If You're Glad, I'll Be Frank, BBC, 1965, published with Albert's Bridge, Faber, 1969, published separately, Faber, 1976, revised edition, Samuel French, 1978.

Albert's Bridge, BBC, 1967, published with If You're Glad, I'll Be Frank, Faber, 1969.

Where Are They Now?, BBC, 1970, published with Artist Descending a Staircase, Faber, 1973.

Artist Descending a Staircase, BBC, 1972, published with Where Are They Now?, Faber, 1973, published separately, Faber, 1988.

The Dog It Was That Died, BBC, 1982, published in The Dog It Was That Died and Other Plays, Faber, 1983.

In the Native State, Radio 3, 1991, published by Faber, 1991.

Omnibus Volumes:

Albert's Bridge and Other Plays (contains If You're Glad, I'll Be Frank; Artist Descending a Staircase; Where Are They Now; and A Separate Peace), Grove Press, 1977.

The Dog It Was That Died and Other Plays, Faber, 1983.

Four Plays for Radio (contains Artist Descending a Staircase; Where Are They Now?; If You're Glad, I'll Be Frank; and Albert's Bridge), Faber, 1984.

Stoppard: The Plays for Radio, 1964-1983, Faber, 1990.

Television Plays, 1965-1984, Faber, 1993.

Plays, Faber, 1996.

Plays One: The Real Inspector Hound and Other Entertainments, Faber & Faber, 1996.

Plays Two, Faber & Faber, 1996.

Novels:

Introduction Z, 1964.

Lord Malquist and Mr. Moon, Grove, 1966.

Contributor of short stories to Introduction 2, 1964.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Author and Artist for Young Adults, Volume 63, Thomson Gale, 2005.

Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, Volume 39, Gale, 1992, pp. 405-13.

Contemporary Dictionary of British Literary Biography, Volume 8: Contemporary Writers, 1960-Present, Gale Research, 1992.

Contemporary Dramatists, 6th ed., St. James Press, 1999.

Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998.

Gusow, Mel, Conversations with Stoppard, Limelight, 1995.

Nadel, Ira, Tom Stoppard: A Life, Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

Periodicals:

New York Times, January 1, 1984; November 26, 1989.

Time, November 5, 2007, p. 69.

Stoppard, Tom (1937– ), dramatist, born in Czechoslovakia; his family settled in England after the war. He published a novel, Lord Malquist and the Moon (1965), and his play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1966) attracted much attention. This was followed by many witty and inventive plays, including The Real Inspector Hound (1968); Jumpers (1972); Travesties (1974); Dirty Linen (1976, a satire of political life); Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1977); Night and Day (1978), about the dangers of the ‘closed shop’ in journalism; The Real Thing (1982), a marital tragi-comedy; Arcadia (1993, set in a country house); and Indian Ink (1995). Stoppard has also written many works for film, radio, and television, including Professional Foul (TV, 1977). Stoppard's work displays a metaphysical wit, a strong theatrical sense, and a talent for pastiche which enables him to move from mode to mode within the same scene with great flexibility and rapidity; yet the plays appear far from frivolous in intention, increasingly posing considerable ethical problems. His Trilogy (Voyage, Shipwreck, Salvage), collectively titled The Coast of Utopia, was performed at the Royal National Theatre in 2002.

Stoppard, Tom [né Thomas Straussler] (b. 1937), playwright. Perhaps the most brilliant (if not widely accessible) modern English playwright, he was first represented on Broadway by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1967). His later works to reach New York included Jumpers (1974), Travesties (1976), Dirty Linen and New‐Found‐Land (1977), Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1979), Night and Day (1980), The Real Thing (1984), Artist Descending a Staircase (1989), Hapgood (1995), Arcadia (1994), The Invention of Love (2001), and Indian Ink (2003). Several of his other plays have been popular with little theatres and elsewhere, although they have been denied the benefit of Broadway's approval. His best plays show a marked influence of the theatre of the absurd but, unlike most examples of the school, also manifest a traditional theatrical construction, superior character development, and gymnastic, witty dialogue. Biography: Tom Stoppard: A Life, Ira Nadel, 2002.

Stoppard, Tom (1937– ) English dramatist, b. Thomas Straussler. His reputation was established with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1966). Plays such as The Real Inspector Hound (1968) and Jumpers (1972) confirmed his ability to combine philosophical speculation with humour. Stoppard wrote plays for radio (Artist Descending a Staircase, 1973) and television (Professional Foul, 1977). Other plays include Arcadia (1993) and The Invention of Love (1997). Stoppard won an Academy Award for best screenplay for Shakespeare in Love (1998).