The Jewish Chronicle
On this day: Harold Pinter wins a Nobel Prize
October 13 2005: the playwright is awarded the prestigious prize for literature
October 13, 2010 12:54
October 13 2005: the playwright is awarded the prestigious prize for literature
October 13, 2010 12:54The Nobel Prize committee praised him as a writer “who in his plays uncovers the precipice under everyday prattle and forces entry into oppression’s closed rooms.”
Born in 1930 in Hackney, Harold Pinter attended Hackney Downs school and then pursued a career on stage, screen and as a writer. He became known for plays including The Birthday Party and The Caretaker, as well as The Homecoming, for which he won a Tony award.
Married to Lady Antonia Fraser, throughout his life Pinter was a politically active. He turned down a knighthood from John Major, but in 2002 became a Companion of Honour.
When he died at the age of 78 in 2008, the JC described Pinter as latterly one of the Israel’s “strongest Jewish critics” but also an “early friend and supporter” of the country.
