Oscar winner Tom Stoppard dies at age 88

King says playwright was a 'dear friend who wore his genius lightly'

- BY STEPHEN BEECH

OSCAR-WINNING playwright Sir Tom Stoppard has died aged 88, triggering a wave of warm tributes.

He passed away peacefully at his home in Dorset surrounded by family, his agents announced last night.

Stoppard won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the screenplay of Shakespeare In Love — which starred Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes — and was critically acclaimed for stage plays Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Night and Day, and The Real Thing.

Leading tributes, the King last night said Sir Tom was "a dear friend who wore his genius lightly". Charles said he and the Queen were "deeply saddened" by his death.

Writing on X, Sir Mick Jagger, 82, said: "Tom Stoppard was my favourite playwright.

"He leaves us with a majestic body of intellectual and amusing work.

"I will always miss him."