Peter Shaffer, Tony & Oscar-Winning Writer of Equus & Amadeus, Dies at the Age of 90

Peter Shaffer, a Tony and Oscar winner whose works included Equus and Amadeus, died on June 6 at the age of 90. His death was confirmed to the Associated Press by his agent, Rupert Lord. Shaffer was visiting Ireland with his friends and family at the time of his passing.

Shaffer was born in Liverpool on May 15, 1926 to Jack Shaffer, a realtor, and Reka Fredman Shaffer. At the age of 18, he worked in England’s coal mines during the last year of World War II and the immediate aftermath. He went on to attend Cambridge University, where he studied history and graduated in 1950.

Before writing plays, Shaffer collaborated with his fraternal twin, Anthony, to write a series of mystery novels, beginning with 1951’s Woman in the Wardrobe; the two penned this and two more works under the combined pen name of Peter Anthony. Peter also wrote his first radio play, The Prodigal Father, that year. Anthony, who died in 2001, was also a playwright and screenwriter, whose works included Sleuth and The Wicked Man.

Shaffer’s early theatrical works include Five Finger Exercise, which premiered in London in 1958 and subsequently transferred to Broadway’s Music Box Theatre. He followed this up with the double bill of The Private Ear and The Public Eye, which starred Maggie Smith and Kenneth Williams. Shaffer’s last play to open on Broadway, Lettice and Lovage, won Smith a Tony Award.

Once the Royal National Theatre was founded in 1963, Shaffer wrote the remainder of his repertoire to be first presented by them. The partnership began with 1964’s The Royal Hunt of the Sun.

Nine years later, Equus premiered in London. In 1975, it transferred to Broadway; the production ran for over 1,200 performances and won Shaffer his first Tony Award. The play, about a psychiatrist examining a boy with a religious obsession with horses, was revived with Thea Sharrock at the helm at London’s Gielgud Theatre in 2007. At the production’s Broadway opening night in 2008, Shaffer told Broadway.com of its return: “Everything dates in time. That’s not a reason for withholding it at all. I was suddenly possessed with the desire to see the play again for myself.”

Following the success of Equus, Shaffer premiered Amadeus, exploring the bitter rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Mozart, in 1979. The play moved to Broadway in December of 1980 and went on to win the Tony for Best Play and, like Equus, ran in New York for nearly three years. In 1985, Shaffer won an Academy Award for adapting the play for the film incarnation. He was also nominated for an Oscar in 1978 for the Equus movie.

Shaffer is survived by his brother Brian, nephews Milo and Mark and nieces Cressida and Claudia.