Biography: Harold Pinter was born in Hackney, London on October 10, 1930 to Jack and Frances Pinter. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Central School of Speech and Drama. He then performed under the name David Baron, touring Ireland with Anew McMaster's Shakespearean repertory company and others. In 1956 Pinter married Vivien Merchant, an actress in the company, with whom he had one son, Daniel. He began to direct more frequently in the 1970s, and was an associate director of the National Theatre in 1973. He married author Lady Antonia Fraser in 1980.

Film/TV Credits: Film credits include: "The Handmaid's Tale," "Mansfield Park," "Sleuth," "The Tailor of Panama," "The Last Tycoon," "The Servant," "The Comfort of Strangers," "Modesty Blaise," "The Trial," "The Quiller Memorandum," "National Theatre Live: No Man's Land," "The Pumpkin Eater," "Betrayal," "The Birthday Party," and "Accident." Television credits include: "Great Performances," "Wit," "Arena," "Charlie Rose," "Fifty Years on Stage," "Performance," "Gomorron," "Theatre Night," "Armchair Theatre," "Breaking the Code," "Omnibus," "Rogue Male," and "The Wednesday Play."

Other Awards: Appointed CBE in 1966. Received a Laurence Olivier Special Award for lifetime achievement in the theatre in 1996. Became a Companion of Honour in 2002. Received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005.

Trivia:
He wrote more than 30 plays between 1957 and 2000.
His first poem was published in Poetry London when he was 20 years old.
The marquees of Broadway theaters were dimmed in his honor on December 30, 2008.