Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (born 15 May 1926) is an English dramatist, author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.
Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in Liverpool, the son of Reka (née Fredman) and Jack Shaffer, who was a realtor. He is the twin brother of another playwright, Anthony Shaffer.
He was educated at St Paul's School (London) and subsequently he gained a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge to study hi...
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Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (born 15 May 1926) is an English dramatist, author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.
Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in Liverpool, the son of Reka (née Fredman) and Jack Shaffer, who was a realtor. He is the twin brother of another playwright, Anthony Shaffer.
He was educated at St Paul's School (London) and subsequently he gained a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge to study history. Shaffer was a Bevin Boy coal miner during WW2 and took a number of jobs including bookstore clerk, and assistant at the New York Public Library, before discovering his dramatic talents.
Shaffer's first play, The Salt Land (1954), was presented on the BBC. Encouraged by this success, Shaffer continued to write and established his reputation as a playwright in 1958 with the production of Five Finger Exercise which opened in London under the direction of John Gielgud and won the Evening Standard Drama Award. When Five Finger Exercise moved...
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