Czech-born playwright Tom Stoppard passes away at 88

Czech-born playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, renowned for blending brilliant language and theatrical inventiveness, has passed away at 88. Over his career, he earned three Olivier Awards, five Tony Awards, and an extraordinary ten Evening Standard Theatre Awards. These honors spanned works ranging from his 1966 breakout Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to The Real Thing in 1982 and the 1993 modern classic Arcadia. He also received special recognition in 2011 for his translations of Russian drama, especially Chekhov, and in 2014 was celebrated as Britain’s greatest living playwright.