Hello and thank you for downloading our history program witness with me Louis Hidalgo.

On the 22nd of December 1989, the great Irish playwright and novelist Samuel Beckett died.

Beckett, whose play waiting for Godo had revolutionised post-wall theatre, was one of the most influential

writers of the 20th century.

I've been talking to fellow playwright and film director Israel Horovitz, who was Samuel Beckett's friend.

I think in this life we have our fathers of choice and our fathers of chance

then Beckett was definitely my father of choice and I suspect he was for other people.

Israel Horovitz first met Samuel Beckett in the 1960s

when Horovitz was just starting out as a playwright and Beckett was already a celebrated writer.

It was a friendship that would last until Beckett's death more than 20 years later.

The influence he... later.

The influence he had on me wasn't about writing plays like Beckett plays because I don't,

but I had never met anyone who had the kind of integrity that he had who had this amazing self-knowledge.

I mean he really knew who he was and what his job was.

And Beckett was one of the few people I've ever met

who just really knew that as long as he was alive

his purpose was to write.

What do you doing? Pale of awareness.

Hey of awareness,

eh? Of climbing heaven. pale for weariness. Eh?

Of climbing heaven and gazing on the likes of us.

Your boots, what are you doing with your boots?

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