1. Harold Pinter

2. His Life… English playwright, screenwriter, director and actor
born and raised in Hackney, east London
Married twice; had a son and 6 stepchildren

3. Pinter was born into a middle class family
During WWII, he lived through the Blitz, which haunted him for the rest of his life (a feeling lf loss)
He began writing poetry at age 12
He loved sports and literature
He soon began acting which led to writing plays and adapting the work of other writers for stage and film

4. Pinter was strongly against war, especially in the late 20th century and 21st century
He enjoyed the life he built with his second wife, happily surrounded by step-children and step-grandchildren
He won the Pulitzer Prize in literature in 2005
Diagnosed with cancer in 2001, Pinter continued writing and acting until his death from liver cancer in 2008

5. His Work
One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years
His best-known plays include The Birthday Party (1957), The Homecoming (1964), and Betrayal (1978), each of which he adapted for the screen

6. His screenplay adaptations of others' works include The Servant (1963), The Go-Between (1970), The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), The Trial (1993), and Sleuth (2007)
He also directed or acted in radio, stage, television, and film productions of his own and others' works

7. Influenced by Beckett, Kafka, and Hemingway

8. His strong opinions about war caused him to receive a great deal of criticism, with some claiming that he was not worthy of a Pulitzer Prize
Because of the anti- Semitism he saw in WWII, Pinter was an avid supporter of Israel and the cause of the Jewish people