Editing Harold Pinter (section)

{{short description|British playwright (1930–2008)}}
{{redirect|Pinter|other people named Pinter|Pinter (surname)}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox writer
| name        = Harold Pinter
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CH|CBE}}
| image       = Harold Pinter 1962.jpg
| caption     = Pinter in 1962
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1930|10|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[London]], [[England]], UK
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2008|12|24|1930|10|10|df=yes}}
| death_place = London, England, UK
| spouse      = {{Plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Vivien Merchant]] <br/>|1956|1980|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Antonia Fraser|Lady Antonia Fraser]] <br/>|1980}}
}}
| children    = 1
| occupation  = [[Playwright]], [[screenwriter]], [[actor]], [[theatre director]], [[poet]]
| alma_mater    = [[Royal Central School of Speech and Drama]]
| period      = 1947–2008
| awards      = {{Plainlist|
* [[Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour]] (2002)
* [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] (2005)
* [[Légion d'honneur]] (2007)
* [[David Cohen Prize]] (1995)
* [[Laurence Olivier Awards|Laurence Olivier Award]] (1996)
}}
| website     = {{URL|http://www.haroldpinter.org}}
| portaldisp  = y
| signature   = Harold Pinter Signature.svg
| module = {{Listen |embed= yes |filename= Harold Pinter BBC Radio4 Front Row 26 Dec 2008 b00gy71c.flac |title= Harold Pinter's voice |type= speech |description= from the BBC programme ''[[Front Row (radio programme)|Front Row Interviews]]'', 26 December 2008.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Michael Caine |series=Front Row Interviews |series-link=Front Row (radio programme) |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gy71c |station=[[BBC Radio 4]] |date=26 December 2008 |access-date=18 January 2014}}</ref> }}
}}

'''Harold Pinter''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɪ|n|t|ər}}; 10 October 1930&nbsp;– 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. A [[List of Nobel laureates in Literature|Nobel Prize]] winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include ''[[The Birthday Party (play)|The Birthday Party]]'' (1957), ''[[The Homecoming]]'' (1964) and ''[[Betrayal (play)|Betrayal]]'' (1978), each of which he adapted for the screen. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include ''[[The Servant (1963 film)|The Servant]]'' (1963), ''[[The Go-Between (1971 film)|The Go-Between]]'' (1971), ''[[The French Lieutenant's Woman (film)|The French Lieutenant's Woman]]'' (1981), ''[[The Trial (1993 film)|The Trial]]'' (1993) and ''[[Sleuth (2007 film)|Sleuth]]'' (2007). He also directed or acted in radio, stage, television and film productions of his own and others' works.

Pinter was born and raised in [[Metropolitan Borough of Hackney|Hackney]], east London, and educated at [[Hackney Downs School]]. He was a [[Sprint (running)|sprinter]] and a keen [[cricket]] player, acting in school plays and writing [[poetry]]. He attended the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] but did not complete the course. He was fined for refusing [[national service]] as a [[conscientious objector]]. Subsequently, he continued training at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]] and worked in repertory theatre in Ireland and England. In 1956 he married actress [[Vivien Merchant]] and had a son, Daniel, born in 1958. He left Merchant in 1975 and married author [[Antonia Fraser|Lady Antonia Fraser]] in 1980.

Pinter's career as a playwright began with a production of ''[[The Room (play)|The Room]]'' in 1957. His second play, ''[[The Birthday Party (play)|The Birthday Party]]'', closed after eight performances but was enthusiastically reviewed by critic [[Harold Hobson]]. His early works were described by critics as "[[comedy of menace]]". Later plays such as ''[[No Man's Land (play)|No Man's Land]]'' (1975) and ''[[Betrayal (play)|Betrayal]]'' (1978) became known as "[[memory play]]s". He appeared as an actor in productions of his own work on radio and film, and directed nearly 50 productions for stage, theatre and screen. Pinter received over 50 awards, prizes and other honours, including the [[2005 Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize in Literature]] in 2005 and the French [[Légion d'honneur]] in 2007.

Despite frail health after being diagnosed with [[esophageal cancer|oesophageal cancer]] in December 2001, Pinter continued to act on stage and screen, last performing the title role of [[Samuel Beckett]]'s one-act monologue ''[[Krapp's Last Tape#Harold Pinter|Krapp's Last Tape]]'', for the 50th anniversary season of the [[Royal Court Theatre]], in October 2006. He died from [[liver cancer]] on 24 December 2008.