Sir Ronald Harwood ( né Horwitz; 9 November 1934 – 8 September 2020) was a South African-born British author, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for ''

The Dresser ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (for which he was nominated for an Oscar) and '' The Pianist'', for which he won the 2003

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay Film adaptation, adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include st ...

. He was nominated for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for '' The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'' (2007).

Early life and career

Harwood was born Ronald Horwitz in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, in what was then the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...

, the son of Isobel (née Pepper) and Isaac Horwitz. After attending Sea Point High School, Harwood moved from Cape Town to London in 1951 to pursue a career in the theatre. He changed his surname from Horwitz to Harwood after an English master told him it was too foreign and too Jewish for a stage actor. After training for the stage at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

, he joined the Shakespeare Company of Sir

Donald Wolfit Sir Donald Wolfit, KBE (born Donald Woolfitt; Harwood, Ronald"Wolfit, Sir Donald (1902–1968)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, January 2008; accessed 14 July 2009 20 April 1902 ...

. From 1953 to 1958, Harwood was Sir Donald's personal dresser. He would later draw on this experience when he wrote the stage play, ''

'', and the biography, ''Sir Donald Wolfit CBE: His life and work in the Unfashionable Theatre''. In 1959, after leaving the Donald Wolfit Company, he joined the 59 Theatre Company for a season at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

during which time he played the role of Pablo both in the stage debut of

Alun Owen Alun Davies Owen (24 November 1925 – 6 December 1994) was a Welsh playwright, screenwriter and actor, predominantly in television. However, he is best remembered by a wider audience for writing the screenplay of The Beatles' debut feature fi ...

's play ''The Rough and Ready Lot'' and in its 1959 television adaptation. In 1960, Harwood began a career as a writer and published his first novel, ''All the Same Shadows'' in 1961, the screenplay for '' Private Potter'' (1962) from his television drama, and the stage play, ''March Hares'' in 1964. Harwood continued at a prolific pace penning more than 21 stage plays, and 10 books. He also created more than 16 screen plays, but seldom wrote original material directly for the screen, usually acting as an adapter, sometimes of his own work (''The Dresser''). One of the recurring themes in Harwood's work was his fascination with the stage, its performing artists and artisans, as displayed in ''The Dresser'', ''After the Lions'' (about Sarah Bernhardt), ''Another Time'' (a semi-autobiographical piece about a gifted South African pianist), '' Quartet'' (about ageing opera singers), and his non-fiction book ''All the World's a Stage'', a general history of theatre. Harwood also had a strong interest in the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

period, especially the situation of individuals who either voluntarily collaborated with the Nazis or, alternatively, who faced strong pressure to do so and had, in each case, to work out their own personal combination of resistance, deception and compromise. His work focusing on this period includes the films ''

Operation Daybreak ''Operation Daybreak'' (also known as ''The Price of Freedom'' in the U.S. and ''Seven Men at Daybreak'' during production) is a 1975 war film based on the true story of Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of SS general Reinhard Heydrich in ...

'' (covering the assassination by the Czechoslovakian Resistance of Nazi leader

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...

), '' The Statement'' (a fictionalized account of the post-War life-on-the-run of French collaborator

Paul Touvier Paul Claude Marie Touvier (3 April 1915 – 17 July 1996) was a French Nazi collaborator during World War II in Occupied France. In 1994, he became the first Frenchman ever convicted of crimes against humanity, for his participation in the Ho ...

), '' The Pianist'' (an adaptation of the autobiography of the Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman covering his survival during the

Nazi occupation of Poland Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

), the play later adapted to film '' Taking Sides'' (focused on the post-War "de-Nazification" investigation of the German conductor

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

), the play '' Collaboration'' (about the composer Richard Strauss and his partnership with the Jewish writer Stefan Zweig), and the play ''An English Tragedy'' (dealing with the British fascist

John Amery John Amery (14 March 1912 – 19 December 1945) was a British fascist and Nazi collaborator during World War II. He was the originator of the British Free Corps, a volunteer Waffen-SS unit composed of former British and Dominion prisoners-o ...

). Harwood also wrote the screenplay for the films '' The Browning Version'' (1994) with Albert Finney, ''

Being Julia ''Being Julia'' is a 2004 comedy-drama film directed by István Szabó and starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons. The screenplay by Ronald Harwood is based on the novel ''Theatre'' (1937) by W. Somerset Maugham. The original film score was comp ...

'' (2004) with

Annette Bening Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominati ...

and

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...

, and

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

's version of '' Oliver Twist'' (2005) with

Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and tw ...

. He won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for the script of '' The Pianist'', having already been nominated for ''

'' in 1983. Harwood received his third

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2007 for his adaptation of the memoir by

Jean-Dominique Bauby Jean-Dominique Bauby (; 23 April 1952 – 9 March 1997) was a French journalist, author and editor of the French fashion magazine ''Elle''. Early life and career Bauby was born in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, and grew up in the 1st arrondi ...

, '' The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'', for which he also won a BAFTA and the

Prix Jacques Prévert du Scénario The Prix Jacques Prévert du Scénario is a French film award created in 2007 by the French Screenwriters Guild (''La Guilde Française des Scénaristes''), a trade association which represents more than 350 screenwriters working in the film, televi ...

in 2008, for Best Adaptation. In 2008, Harwood was also awarded the

Humanitas Award The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing, and is given to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist P ...

in recognition of ''The Diving Bell and the Butterfly''.

Recognition

Harwood was president of the

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associat ...

Club from 1989 to 1993, and of

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...

from 1993 to 1997. He was chairman of the Royal Society of Literature from 2001 to 2004, and was president of the Royal Literary Fund since 2005. He was made Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 1974, Knight (Chevalier) of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1996, and Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 1999. In 2003, he was appointed a member at the Department of Language and Literature of the

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...

. He was awarded a DLitt degree from

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

in 2002, honoured with a

Doctor Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad ho ...

from the

Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts The Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (commonly referred to as NATFIZ) is a performing, cinematic and media arts institution of higher education based in Sofia. It is the first Bulgarian university in the field of theatr ...

(

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, Bulgaria) in 2007, made an Honorary Fellow of the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

(London, England) in 2007, and an Honorary Fellow of the

University of Chichester , mottoeng = By teaching, we learn , type = Public , established = 2005 , administrative_staff = 600 , vice_chancellor = Jane Longmore , city = Chichester, West Sussex , country = England, UK ...

in 2009. Harwood was knighted in the

2010 Birthday Honours The 2010 Birthday Honours for the Commonwealth realms were announced to celebrate the Queen's Birthday on 7 June 2010 in New Zealand, on 12 June 2010 in the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Sai ...

. National Life Stories conducted an oral history interview (C1173/02) with Harwood in 2005–2007 for its An Oral History of Theatre Design collection held by the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

.National Life Stories, 'Harwood, Ronald (5 of 18) An Oral History of Theatre Design', The British Library Board, 2007
Retrieved 1 February 2018 The British Library also acquired the papers of Ronald Harwood in 2004 consisting of manuscripts and papers, correspondence, and press cuttings. He was named chairman of the

Yvonne Arnaud Theatre The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre is a theatre located in Guildford, Surrey, England. Named after the actress Yvonne Arnaud, it presents a series of locally produced and national touring productions, including opera, ballet and pantomime. The theatre ...

in Guildford in 2008. In June 2013, he was awarded an honorary degree from the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

by the Duchess of Rothesay. He received the National Jewish Theatre Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. In May 2017 an authorized biography of Harwood, ''Speak Well of Me'' by

W. Sydney Robinson W. Sydney Robinson (born 16 April 1986) is a British biographer and book reviewer. He was educated at Harrow School, the University of Manchester and the University of Cambridge, where he was a Research Associate between 2013 and 2015. Biographer ...

, was published by Oberon Books.

Personal life

He attended the Seapoint Boys' High School in that area of Cape Town. He moved to England in 1951. In 1959, he married Natasha Riehle (1938–2013), a descendant of Russian nobility. They had three children: Antony (born 1960), Deborah (born 1963), and Alexandra (born 1966). The actor Sir

Antony Sher Sir Antony Sher (14 June 1949 – 2 December 2021) was a British actor, writer and theatre director of South African origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a four-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982 a ...

was his first cousin, once removed. Harwood was the brother of South African dance critic Eve Borland. and the successful businessman Ralph Horwitz. Harwood died from natural causes at his home in Sussex on 8 September 2020, at age 85.

Bibliography

Stage plays

*''March Hares'' (Liverpool, 1964) *''Country Matters'' (69 Theatre Company,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, 1969) *'' The Good Companions'' (musical by André Previn and Johnny Mercer), libretto (

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

, 1974) *'' The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold'', adapted from

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

's novel ( Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and the

Round House Roundhouse may refer to: Architecture and buildings Types * Roundhouse (dwelling), a kind of house with circular walls, prehistoric and modern, all over the world ** Atlantic roundhouse, an Iron Age stone building found in the northern and weste ...

, London, 1977, *''A Family'' ( Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and the

Theatre Royal, Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foot ...

, 1978) *''

'' (The Royal Exchange, Manchester and Queen's Theatre, 1980;

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

, 2005) *''After the Lions'' (The Royal Exchange, Manchester , 1982) *''Tramway Road'' (

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

,1984) *''The Deliberate Death of a Polish Priest'' (

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

, 1985) *''Interpreters'' (Queen's Theatre, 1985) *''J J Farr'' (

Theatre Royal, Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audien ...

and Phoenix Theatre, 1987) *'' Ivanov'', translation of

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's play ( Strand Theatre,1989) *''Another Time'' (Bath and

Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c.1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the archit ...

,1989) *''Reflected Glory'' (Darlington and

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each ...

, 1992) *''Poison Pen'', about the death of composer

Peter Warlock Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occult practices, was used for all his published ...

(the Royal Exchange, Manchester, 1993)) *'' Taking Sides'', about the conductor

(

Minerva Theatre, Chichester The Minerva Theatre is a studio theatre seating, at full capacity, 310. It is run as part of the adjacent Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, and was opened in 1989.Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 sea ...

, 2009) *''The Handyman'' (Minerva Theatre, Chichester, 1996) *'' Quartet'' (

Albery Theatre Albery is a name. It may refer to: ;People by given name *Albery Allson Whitman (1851−1901), African American poet, minister and orator ;People by surname: *A. S. Albery, British politician *Bronson Albery (1881−1971), English theatre director ...

, 1999) *''Goodbye Kiss/Guests'', double bill about the South African diaspora (

Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. T ...

, 2000) *''Mahler's Conversion'' (

, Guildford and

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

, 2001) *''See U Next Tuesday'', adaptation of Francis Veber's ''Diner de Cons'' (Gate Theatre, Dublin, 2002 and Albery Theatre, 2003) *''An English Tragedy'', based on the true story of the British fascist

(Palace Theatre

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

, 2008) *''Collaboration'', based on the relationship between the composer Richard Strauss and the writer Stefan Zweig (

, 2009) *'' Taking Tea With Stalin''

Screenplays

*'' Private Potter'' (1962) *''

The Barber of Stamford Hill ''The Barber of Stamford Hill'' is a 1962 British drama film directed by Casper Wrede from a screenplay adapted by Ronald Harwood from his own 1960 television play of the same name, made at Shepperton Studios. Actor John Bennett (then aged ...

'' (1962) *'' A High Wind in Jamaica'' (1965, based on the novel '' A High Wind in Jamaica'' by Richard Hughes) *''

Drop Dead Darling ''Drop Dead Darling'' (US title: ''Arrivederci, Baby!'') is a 1966 British-American black comedy film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Tony Curtis, Rosanna Schiaffino, Lionel Jeffries and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Plot A man goes around marrying wealth ...

'' (1966, sugggested by ''The Careful Man'' by Richard Deming) *''

Diamonds for Breakfast ''Diamonds for Breakfast'' is the fourth studio album by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 1980 by the West German label Ariola Records. The album turned out a commercial success and spawned two European hit singles, "Fabulous (Lover, Love Me ...

'' (1968) *'' Eyewitness'' (1970, based on the novel ''The Eyewitness'' by Mark Hebden) *''

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich ''One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich'' (russian: links=no, italics=yes, Один день Ивана Денисовича, Odin den' Ivana Denisovicha, ) is a short novel by the Russian writer and Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, first p ...

'' (1970, based on the novel ''

'' by

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repres ...

) *''

'' (1975, based on the non-fiction-book ''Seven Men at Daybreak'' by

Alan Burgess Alan Burgess (1 February 1915 – 10 April 1998) was an English Royal Air Force pilot and author who wrote several biographical and non-fiction books between the 1950s and the 1970s. He wrote biographies of Gladys Aylward, and Flora Sandes, and ...

) *''Evita Peron'' (1981, television film, based on the non-fiction-books ''Evita, First Lady'' by John Barnes, and ''Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron'' by Nicholas Fraser) *''

'' (1983) (also producer) *'' The Doctor and the Devils'' (1985, based on an earlier screenplay by Dylan Thomas) *''

Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

'' (1987, TV film) *''

Countdown to War ''Countdown to War'' is a television film made in 1989 as a co-production by Granada Television and PBS. It recounts the events that occurred between 15 March 1939, when the German army commanded by Adolf Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia and created ...

'' (1989, TV film) *'' A Fine Romance'' (1991, based on the play '' Tchin-Tchin'' by

François Billetdoux François Billetdoux (7 September 1927 – 26 November 1991) was a French dramatic author and novelist. Biography His works describe the world with a fierce humor of a somewhat burlesque style, which sometimes turns into black humor. Billetdoux w ...

) * '' The Browning Version'' (1994, based on the play '' The Browning Version'' by

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...

) * ''

Cry, the Beloved Country ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder. American publisher Benn ...

'' (1995, based on the novel ''

'' by Alan Paton) * '' Taking Sides'' (2001) * '' The Pianist'' (2002, based on the memoir '' The Pianist'' by Władysław Szpilman) * '' The Statement'' (2003, based on the novel '' The Statement'' by Brian Moore) * ''

'' (2004, based on the novel ''

Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

'' by

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

) * '' Oliver Twist'' (2005, based on the novel '' Oliver Twist'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

) * '' The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'' (2007, based on the memoir '' The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'' by

) * ''

Love in the Time of Cholera ''Love in the Time of Cholera'' ( es, El amor en los tiempos del cólera) is a novel written in Spanish by Colombian Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez and published in 1985. Edith Grossman's English translation was published by ...

'' (2007, based on the novel ''

'' by

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

) * '' Australia'' (2008) * '' Quartet'' (2012)

Books and published works

*''All the Same Shadows'' (novel) Cape (1961) *''George Washington September Sir!'' (novel) Avon (1961) *''The Guilt Merchants'' (novel) Cape (1963) *''The Girl in Melanie Klein'' (novel) Secker & Warburg (1969) *''Sir Donald Wolfit: His Life and Work in the Unfashionable Theatre'' (biography) Secker & Warburg (1971) *''Articles of Faith'' (novel – winner of the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize) Secker & Warburg (1973) *''The Genoa Ferry'' (novel) Secker & Warburg (1976) *''César and Augusta'' (novel about the composer César Franck) Secker & Warburg (1978) *''One. Interior. Day. Adventures in the Film Trade'', Secker & Warburg (1978) *''New Stories 3: An Arts Council Anthology'' (with Francis King) Hutchinson (1978) *''The Dresser'' (play) Grove Press (1981) *''A Night at the Theatre'' (editor), Methuen (1982) *''The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold'' (play) Amber Lane (1983) *''After the Lions'' (play) Amber Lane (1983) *''All the World's a Stage'' (theatre history), Secker & Warburg (1984) *''The Ages of Gielgud, an Actor at Eighty'', Hodder & Stoughton (1984) *''Tramway Road'' (play) Amber Lane (1984) *''The Deliberate Death of a Polish Priest'' (play) Amber Lane (1985) *''Interpreters'' (play) Amber Lane (1986) *''Mandela'' (a Channel Four book), Boxtree (1987) *''Dear Alec: Guinness at 75'' (editor), Hodder & Stoughton (1989) *''Another Time'' (play) Amber Lane (1989) *''Reflected Glory'' (play) Faber (1992) *''Home'' (novel) Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1993) *''The Collected Plays of Ronald Harwood'', Faber (1993) *''The Faber Book of the Theatre'' (editor) Faber (1994) *''Harwood Plays: Two (Contemporary Classics)'', Faber (1995) *''The Handyman'' (play) Faber (1997) *''Quartet/Equally Divided'' (plays) Faber (1999) ) *''Mahler's Conversion'' (play) Faber (2001) *''The Pianist/Taking Sides'' (screenplays) Faber (2003) *''An English Tragedy'' (play) Faber (2006) *''Ronald Harwood's Adaptations: From Other Works Into Films'', Guerilla Books (2007)

References

External links

* *
AUSTRALIA: a Baz Luhrmann film

part of the BAFTA Screenwriters on Screenwriting series * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harwood, Ronald 1934 births 2020 deaths 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century South African male writers 21st-century English writers 21st-century South African male writers Alumni of Sea Point High School Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners South African Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English Jews English male screenwriters English male stage actors English people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent English screenwriters Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature South African Knights Bachelor Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts South African knights South African Jews South African dramatists and playwrights South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African male stage actors South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Writers from Cape Town Presidents of the English Centre of PEN

Early life and career

Recognition

Personal life

Bibliography

Stage plays

Screenplays

Books and published works

See also

References

Further reading

External links