British playwright Tom Stoppard, who won Academy Award for ‘Shakespeare In Love,’ has died at 88 | World News

In this Sept. 4, 2012 file photo, British playwright Tom Stoppard poses as he arrives for the world premiere of “Anna Karenina,” in London. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)

British playwright Tom Stoppard, a playful, probing dramat who won an Academy Award for the screenplay for 1998’s “Shakespeare In Love,” has died. He was 88.

In a statement Saturday, United Agents said Stoppard died “peacefully” at his home in Dorset in southern England, surrounded his family.

“He will be remembered for his works, for their brilliance and humanity, and for his wit, his irreverence, his generosity of spirit and his profound love of the English language,” they said. ”“It was an honor to work with Tom and to know him.

”The Czech-born Stoppard was often hailed as the greatest British playwright of his generation and was garlanded with honors, including a shelf full of theater gongs .His brain-teasing plays ranged across Shakespeare, science, philosophy and the horic tragedies of the 20th century.