Peter Levin Shaffer was born in Liverpool, England on May 15, 1926. He received a degree in history from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1950. He wrote a mystery novel entitled How Doth the Little Crocodile? with his fraternal twin Anthony Shaffer. It was published under the joint pseudonym Peter Anthony as were several more mystery novels.
Peter Shaffer's first play, The Salt Land, was produced on television by the BBC in 1954. His first Broadway play Five Finger Exercise opened in 1959 and was adapted into a movie. His other Broadway plays included The Private Ear, The Public Eye, Black Comedy, White Lies, and Lettice and Lovage. His plays Equus and Amadeus both won Tony awards and were adapted into movies. He won an Academy Award for his film adaptation of Amadeus. His play The Royal Hunt of the Sun was also adapted into a movie. He was knighted in 2001. He died on June 6, 2016 at the age of 90.
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