Peter Shaffer
Sir Peter Levin Shaffer CBE (15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is best known for the plays Equus and Amadeus, the latter of which was adapted for the screen by Miloš Forman, with a screenplay by Shaffer, for which he won an Academy Award.
SirPeter Shaffer
6 June 2016 (aged 90)
- Playwright
- screenwriter
- novelist
Robert Leonard (died 1990)
Anthony Shaffer (brother)
Early life[edit]
Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in Liverpool, the son of Reka (née Fredman) and estate agent Jack Shaffer.[1] He grew up in London and was the identical twin brother of fellow playwright Anthony Shaffer.[2]
He was educated at the Hall School, Hampstead, and St Paul's School, London, and subsequently he gained a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge, to study history. Shaffer was a Bevin Boy coal miner during World War II, and took a number of jobs including bookstore clerk, and assistant at the New York Public Library, before discovering his dramatic talents.[3]
Personal life and death[edit]
Shaffer was gay. In the 1970s, Shaffer was in a relationship with Paul Giovanni, musician and composer of The Wicker Man.[10] His later partner, New York-based voice teacher Robert Leonard, died in 1990 at the age of 49.[11][12][13] Shaffer lived in Manhattan from the 1970s onward.[2]
While on a trip to Ireland shortly after his 90th birthday, Shaffer died on 6 June 2016 at a hospice facility in Curraheen, County Cork.[2][14][15] Leonard and Shaffer are buried together in the east side of Highgate Cemetery.
Awards[edit]
In 1989 the Hamburg-based Alfred Toepfer Foundation awarded Shaffer its annual Shakespeare Prize in recognition of his life's work. In 1993, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Letters) by the University of Bath.[16]
Shaffer's play, Five Finger Exercise won the Evening Standard Drama Award when it premiered in London and then won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Foreign Play when it moved to New York City.[17]
Shaffer's play, Equus won the Tony Award for Best Play and the New York Drama Critics' Circle that year as well.[18][19] His screenplay adaptation of the play was nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 1978.[20]
Shaffer's play Amadeus won the Evening Standard Drama Award and the Theatre Critics' Award for its initial London production. Upon moving to Broadway, Amadeus won the 1981 Tony Award for Best Play.[21] His screenplay adaptation of the play won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar as well as the Golden Globe Best Screenplay in 1984.
Shaffer's play Lettice and Lovage was nominated for another Tony Award, and for her performance in it, Dame Maggie Smith won the Tony Award for best actress after three nominations in 1990. Lettice and Lovage also won best supporting actress for Margaret Tyzack and was nominated for best direction of a play in 1990 Tony Awards.[22]
Honours[edit]
Shaffer was appointed a CBE in 1987 and named Knight Bachelor in the 2001 New Year's Honours. In 2007, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.[23]