Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter CH CBE was a Nobel Prizewinning English playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His bestknown plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted for the screen. His screenplay adaptations of others works include The Servant , The GoBetween , The French Lieutenants Woman , The Trial , and Sleuth . He also directed or acted in radio, stage, television, and film productions of his own and others works.

Pinter was born and raised in Hackney, east London, and educated at Hackney Downs School. He was a 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 Lady Antonia Fraser in 1980.

Source: Wikipedia