Harold Pinter – playwright, poet, actor, director, political activist – died on 24 December 2008, aged 78
Here are a few of the obituaries and commentaries released by the international press and online theatre community. Page compiled by Mark Taylor-Batty
8 January – New Statesman – ‘‘You want to free the world from oppression? “, Ariel Dorfman
4 January – St Petersburg Times – Fond memories of late playwright Harold Pinter, a friend, Frank Gillen
1 January – Guardian – Goodnight, sweet prince: Shakespearean farewell to Pinter, Michael Billington
31 December – BBC News – Friends bid Pinter final farewell
29 December – The Stage – Obituary: Harold Pinter, Ned Chaillet
29 December – San Fransisco Chronicle – Harold Pinter knew better than to expain, Carey Perloff
29 December – The Stage – Obituary: Harold Pinter, Ned Chaillet
28 December – BBC Today programme – Gambon pays tribute to Pinter
28 December – The Observer – A fair cricketer, a good actor and a playwright of rare power and originality, Sir Richard Eyre
27 December – BBC News – West End pays tribute to Pinter
27 December – Irish Times – A writer whose dream of a political theatre found a home here, Fintan O’Toole
25 December – BBC World Service – Pinter’s legacy
25 December – BBC News – Obituary: Harold Pinter
25 December – The Times – Obituary: Harold Pinter
25 December – Washington Post – In Words and Silences, A Writer of Rare Power
25 December – The Guardian – Obituary, Michael Billington
Full list:
17-30 January – The Frontline (India) – Disturbing Talent, Uma Mahadevan-Dasgupta
16 January – Encore! (Canada) – Pinter’s influence on theatre is undeniable, Sukumar Nayar
14 January – Daily Star (Bangladesh) – Pinter, Huntington and gaps in the drawing rooms, Syed Badrul Ahsan
11 January – Times – Yo, Grandpa Pinter, big respect, Margarette Driscoll
11 January – The Journal, Harold Pinter: A look back, Anna Fenton and Lucy Jackson
11 January – Workers’ World – Harold Pinter unravelled the ‘Tapestry of Lies’, Heather Cottin
10 January – New York Times – Master of the Pause Had an Unmistakable Sense of Rhythm, Alastair Macaulay
10 Janaury – Independent – Harold Pinter didn’t get my joke, and I didn’t get him – until it was too late, Howard Jacobson
9 January – Times – Last Word: How Pinteresque!, Ben Macintyre
9 January – Helsinki Times – Harold Pinter – an ignoble footnote, Leslie Hyde
9 January – Yorkshire Post – Pinter’s tragic death a poignant reminder of true meaning of celebrity, Nick Ahad
8 January – New Statesman – ‘‘You want to free the world from oppression? “, Ariel Dorfman
7 January – Times Literary Supplement – Harold Pinter: Exit a master, Peter Stothard
6 January, Expresso (Portugal) – Harold Pinter (1930-2008), José Cutileiro
6 January – New York Observer – Harold Pinter enters the silence of the long pause, John Heipern
6 January – Village Voice – Harold Pinter (1930–2008) and Eartha Kitt (1927–2008), Michael Feingold
5 January – The Stage – Pinter’s passing and other West End notes…, Mark Shenton
5 January – Guardian – Why The Servant is one of the best memorials to Pinter, Peter Bradshaw
5 January – Guardian – The playwrights under Pinter’s influence, Josie Rourke
5 January – National Post (Canada) – Pinter helped lead the troops into battle, Robert Cushman
5 January – World Socialist Web Site – Harold Pinter: Independent and critical to the last, Paul Bond
4 January – St Petersburg Times – Fond memories of late playwright Harold Pinter, a friend, Frank Gillen
4 January – Analítica (Venezuela) – Harold Pinter (1930-2008), Francisco Arias Solis
4 January – El Espectador (Venezeuala) – La muerte de Pinter, Manuel Drezner
4 January – The Stamford Times – Harold Pinter found meaning in silence, Chris Jones
4 January – Irish Independent – Comfort from the good ghosts
4 January – The Independent – Pinter’s funeral – more final reckoning than reconciliation, Sarah Sands
2 January – Official London Theatre Guide – Lights dimmed for Pinter
2 January – Ham & High – Hampstead Theatre leads tribute to playwright Pinter
2 January – Socialist Worker – Speaking truth about power, Anthony Arnove
2 January Del Teatro – Harold Pinter (1930-2008), Maria Grazia Gregori
2 January – Broadway World – Pinter’s Funeral A Well Directed Memorial
1 January – Telegraph – Harold Pinter was dedicated to helping persecuted writers, Carole Seymour Jones
1 January – New York Times – Pinter’s Funeral is Held in London
1 January – Press Association – Pinter’s funeral held
1 January – Guardian – Goodnight, sweet prince: Shakespearean farewell to Pinter, Michael Billington
1 January – Daily Mail – Pinter ends it all with a double plot
December 2008 – Red Pepper – In words and silences, Hilary Wainwright
December 2008 – Red Pepper – Thank you Harold, Hilary Wainwright
31 December – New York Times – Pinter’s funeral is held in London, Dave Itzoff
31 December – Telegraph – Harold Pinter directs his own funeral, Stephen Adams
31 December – Time – Harold Pinter, Richard Zoglin
31 December – The Villager – A pause to remember Pinter — Rest without peace, Jerry Tallmer
31 December – El Mundo (Spain) – El dramaturgo y Premio Nobel Harold Pinter recibe sepultura en una ceremonia familiar
31 December – Nouvel Observateur – Harold Pinter inhumané à Londres
31 December – BBC News – Friends bid Pinter final farewell
31 December – Associated Press – Playwright Harold Pinter buried in London
31 December – The Sun – Final farewell for top playwright
31 December – Press Association – Funeral held for playwright Pinter
31 December – Totally Jewish – Playwright Pinter Mourned, Zeddy Lawrence
31 December – Geelong Advertiser (Australia) – The Harold Pinter I knew, Stephen Quinn
31 December – Guardian – ‘Harold was a joy’, Shomit Dutta
31 December – Press Association – Broadway lights tribute for Pinter
31 December – Het Belang van Limburg (Belgium) – Nobelprijswinnaar Harold Pinter (78) overlijdt
31 December – Ham & High – Playwright Pinter first made his mark at Hampstead Theatre, Susanna Wilkey
31 December – Bexley Times – The Caretaker, the cricket and those poems…, Jules Cooper
31 December – Evening Standard – The Funeral, written, cast and directed by Harold Pinter, Louise Jury
30 December – The Economist – Harold Pinter
30 December – Reuters – Broadway to dim lights for Harold Pinter, Michelle Nichols
30 December – Cyberpresse (Canada) – Broadway éteint ses lumières en hommage à Harold Pinter
30 December – MRzine – Harold Pinter – Friend of the Kurds, Citizen of the World, Amir Hassanpour
30 December – Show and Stay – Pinter: Tribute to a Genius
30 December – Le Magazine Littéraire – Harold Pinter s’est éteint
30 December – Themen der Zeit – Zum Tod von Harold Pinter
30 December – Guardian, Pinter’s poetry got under the skin
30 December – Miami Herald – The world Pinter unlocked, Ariel Dorfman
29 December – Swans Commentary – Harold Pinter: 1930-2008, Charles Marowitz
29 December – Spectator – Pinter told Me His Favourite Line From Literature, Michael Henderson
29 December – Entertainment Weekly – Remembering Harold Pinter, Thom Geier
29 December – The Stage – A Pinteresque pause…. Mark Shenton
29 December – Irish Independent – Pinter’s voice will be missed, David Marlborough
29 December – Daily Times (Pakistan) – Pinteresque and Huntingtonian, Ejaz Haider
29 December – San Fransisco Chronicle – Harold Pinter knew better than to expain, Carey Perloff
29 December – The Stage – Obituary: Harold Pinter, Ned Chaillet
29 December – Globe and Mail (canada) – Ode to a master
29 December – Guardian – We’ll miss Pinter who fought oppression with words, Lucy Popescu
29 December – Times Literary Supplement – Harold Pinter 1930–2008 Great playwright, Nobel laureate and TLS cricketer
29 December – London Theatre Guide – Tributes paid to Harold Pinter
29 December – Torreveija – Harold Pinter: Un rebelde con muchas causas, Manuel P. Garcia
29 December – Junge Welt – Zum Tod von Harold Pinter, Karin Lembke
28 December – BBC Today programme – Gambon pays tribute to Pinter
28 December – Irish Independent – Pinter’s Irish sojourns marked by his poetry and Colgan’s tribute, Jerome Reilly
28 December – Irish Independent – Unflagging in his principles and unrivalled in his genius, Emer O’Kelly
28 December – Independent on Sunday – Pinter, a man of passion, peace… and pauses, Janie Dee
28 December – The Observer – A fair cricketer, a good actor and a playwright of rare power and originality, Sir Richard Eyre
28 December – The Observer – Pinter was powerful and passionate, but often misguided, Nick Cohen
28 December – Sunday Times – A non-conformist who knew when to stand up and be counted, Gus Van Sant
28 December – Sunday Times – Harold Pinter: in the shadow of a giant, Dominic Dromgoole
28 December – BBC Today programme – Gambon pays tribute to Pinter
28 December – Citta’ Della Spezia – Il Cielo sopra La Spezia-Goodbye Harold, messaggero di Pace, Marco Ursano
28 December – La Opinón – Harold Pinter pierde su última batalla
28 December – Synday Zaman, Turkey – Pinter and Silence, A Finkel
28 December – El Univerdal, Venezuela – Harold Pinter eterno
28 December – The Argus – Harold Pinter could be honoured in Sussex, Paul Holden
28 December – Sunday Herald – A magician of theatre passes, Mark Brown
28 December – Sunday Times – Harold Pinter: a difficult but …lovely man who knew how to apologise, John Peter
28 December – Scotland on Sunday – Silence may be golden, but so was Pinter’s right to speak out, Michael Gove
27 December – BBC News – West End pays tribute to Pinter
27 December – Charter 97, Belarus – Our Friend Harold Pinter
27 December – Guardian – The finest dramatist of his generation and a man with a great heart, Michael Billington
27 December – Guardian – Playwright Harold Pinter’s last interview, Andy Bull
27 December – Come Don Chisciotte – Harold Pinter, 1930-2008
27 December – Guardian – Theatrical world applauds life and art of our greatest modern playwright, Esther Addley
27 December – The Financial Times – British dramatist leaves a gap far greater than all of his famous pauses, Alastair Macaulay
27 December – The Daily Telegraph – The last time I saw Harold Pinter, Charles Spencer
27 December – The Telegraph – Harold Pinter – and George Orwell; two of a kind, Dominic Cavendish
27 December – The Independent – For Pinter, the outsider came first, Jonathan Heawood
27 December – Village Voice, NY – The Ultimate Silence: Harold Pinter (1930-2008), Michael Feingold
27 December – Globe and Mail (Canada) – Remembering the ‘sum of so many reflections’, J Kelly Nestruck
27 December – Svenska Dagbladet – Pausens mästare är borta, Theresa Benér
27 December – The Toronto Star – Playwright spoke truth to power
27 December – The Independent – Harold Pinter: True star of the screen, Geoffrey MacNab
27 December – Welt Online – Nobel-winning playwright Harold Pinter dead at 78
27 December – The Guardian – Dear editor: Pinter’s missives to the Guardian
27 December – Irish Times – A writer whose dream of a political theatre found a home here, Fintan O’Toole
27 December – Hurriyet – Pinter remembered for work on Kurdish rights in Turkey
27 December – Mediapart – Goodbye Harold Pinter, ou le courage de le dire
27 December – Sueddeutsche – Der Fremde hinter der T ür, Christopher Schmidt
27 December – Der Westen – Harold Pinter: Die Welt auf die Bühne gebracht, Frank Dietschreit
27 December – The Nation, NY – Pinter: Bare-Knuckled Citizen Playwright, Margarate Spillane
27 December – The Washington Post – The World that Pinter Unlocked, Ariel Dorfman
27 December – Cyberpresse – Les acteurs du théâtre québécois saluent Harold Pinter, Martin Croteau
27 December – Khaleej Times – Conscience Keeper of Our Age
27 December – denik.cz – Zemřel britský dramatik Harold Pinter
27 December – AFP – Dario Fo pays tribute to fellow playwright Harold Pinter
27 December – The Hindu – Tributes pour in for Harold Pinter
26 December – France Diplomatie – Décès de Harold Pinter : disparition d’une grande conscience européenne, Bruno Le Maire
26 December – Il Sole 24 Ore – Addio a Harold Pinter, drammaturgo nobel e uomo d’impegno
26 December – Radio France – Nobel-winning playwright Harold Pinter dies, Sarkozy salutes “a great dramatist”
26 December – Chicago Tribune – Harold Pinter: An appreciation, Chris Jones
26 December – Sydney Morning Herald – Festival rocked by Pinter’s death, Clare Morgan
26 December – Socialist Worker – Harold Pinter 1930-2008, Mark Brown
26 December – BBC News – Stars mourning playwright Pinter
26 December – The Australian – Harold Pinter, master of artful pauses
26 December – Sysvenskan – “Hans temperament var fighterns”, Eva Ström
26 December – La Jornada – Murió Harold Pinter, feroz crítico del establishment
26 December – Correio da Manha – José Saramago reage à morte de Harold Pinter
26 December – Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg – Berliner Akademie trauert um Harold Pinter
26 December – BBC News – Papers mark the passing of Pinter
26 December – AFP – Tributes for playwright Pinter
26 December – The New York Times – Harold Pinter, Playwright of the Pause, Dies at 78, Mel Gussow and Ben Brantley
26 December – LA Times – Harold Pinter, influential playwright and Nobel winner, dies at 78, Mary Rourke
26 December – Herald Sun – Former Czech president and playwright Vaclav Havel honours Harold Pinter
26 December – Le Monde – Harold Pinter, le dramaturge engagé
26 December – L’Express – Harold Pinter a quitté la scène
26 December – Sunday Mirror – Carol Ann Duffy on literary titan Harold Pinter
26 December – The Times – A sad last meeting with Harold Pinter, Benedict Nightingale
26 December – The Times – British theatre will never be the same without Harold Pinter, Dominic Maxwell
25 December – BBC World Service – Pinter’s legacy
25 December – Al Jazeera – British playwright Pinter dies
25 December – Le Figaro – Mort de Harold Pinter
25 December – First Post – Harold Pinter 1930-2008, Michael Coveney
25 December – The Daily Mail – Theatreland in mourning as Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter dies aged 78, Sam Greenhill
25 December – BBC News – Obituary: Harold Pinter
25 December – Algemeen Dagblad – Toneelschrijver Pinter heeft taalgebruik beïnvloed
25 December – ABC.es – Adiós a Harold Pinter, el autor airado, Juan Ignacio García Garzón
25 December – Dagens Nyheter – Harold Pinter är död, Clas Svahn
25 December – The Times – Obituary: Harold Pinter
25 December – Washington Post – In Words and Silences, A Writer of Rare Power
25 December – Associated press – Wife says Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter dies at 78, Paisley Dodds
25 December – The Telegraph – ‘World’s leading playwright’ Harold Pinter dies, Murray Wardrop
25 December – The Guardian – Obituary, Michael Billington
