A giant of modern theater and Oscar-winning screenwriter

British playwright Tom Stoppard, a giant of modern theater and Oscar-winning screenwriter known for playful, probing works of erudition and wit, has died. He was 88.

- JILL LAWLESS

WITTY AND ERUDITE Tom Stoppard "wore his genius lightly," said King Charles III.

MATTHEW LLOYD For The Times

In a statement Saturday, United Agents said Stoppard died “peacefully” at his home in Dorset in southern England, surrounded by 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," it said. "It was an honor to work with Tom and to know him."

The Czech-born Stoppard was often hailed as the greatest British playwright of his generation and was garlanded with honors, including a shelf full of theater gongs. Dizzyingly prolific, he also wrote radio plays, anovel, television series and many celebrated screenplays, including 1998's “Shakespeare in Love,” which won an Academy Award.

Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones was among those paying tribute, calling Stoppard “a giant of the English theater, both highly intellectual and very funny in all his plays and scripts.”

“He had a dazzling wit and loved classical and popular music alike, which often featured in his huge body of work,” said Jagger, who produced the 2001 film “Enigma,” featuring a screenplay by Stoppard. “He was amusing and quietly sardonic. A friend and companion, and I will always miss him.”

King Charles III said Stoppard was “a dear friend who wore his genius lightly.”

Theaters in London's West End will dim their lights for two minutes Tuesday in tribute.

Over a six-decade career, his brain-teasing plays ranged across Shakespeare, science, philosophy and the historic tragedies of the 20th century.

Five of them won Tony Awards for best play: “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” in 1968, “Travesties” in 1976, “The Real Thing” in 1984, “The Coast of Utopia” in 2007 and “Leopoldstadt” in 2023.