Born: 10 October 1930 · Died: 24 December 2008 · Age at death: 78
How old was Harold Pinter when he died?
Harold Pinter died aged 78. He was born on 10 October 1930 and died on 24 December 2008.
English playwright of The Birthday Party and The Homecoming, famous for menacing pauses, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature
Did you know?He was a passionate cricket enthusiast and served as the chairman of the Gaieties Cricket Club for many years.
Quick facts
Date of birth10 October 1930
Date of death24 December 2008
Age at death78
Cause of deathLiver cancer
NationalityBritish
BirthplaceLondon, United Kingdom
Occupationplaywright, actor, film director
Editor's Take:
Harold Pinter made silence dramatic. He grew up in Hackney, the son of a Jewish tailor. He worked as an actor before writing plays. The Birthday Party and The Caretaker introduced his menacing, funny dialogue. His famous pauses gave English the word "Pinteresque". He also wrote screenplays, such as The French Lieutenant's Woman. In later life he was an outspoken political campaigner. He won the Nobel Prize in 2005.
Key Milestones
1958: Birthday Party – play
1960: The Caretaker – play
1965: The Homecoming – play
1978: Betrayal – play
Harold Pinter (10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was an English playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Literature, Pinter was one of the most influential modern dramatists of British theatre with a writing career that spanned more than 50 years.