Friedrich Dürrenmatt.

His father was a Protestant pastor, exposing him early to theological and philosophical questions. He completed his schooling and enrolled at the University of Zurich in 1941, studying philosophy, German literature, and natural sciences, later continuing at the University of Bern.

Dürrenmatt first gained international attention with his 1956 play The Visit, which was adapted for Broadway and earned him a 1959 Tony Award nomination for Best Play. His 1958 screenplay for It Happened in Broad Daylight, based on his own novel, became a landmark German-language crime film. In 1978 he appeared as an actor in End of the Game, playing Lamont Friedrich. His 2001 novel The Pledge was adapted into a film starring Jack Nicholson. He won the Georg Büchner Prize in 1986, the Austrian State Prize for European Literature, and the Schiller Memorial Prize.

Dürrenmatt was married twice: first to actress Lotti Geißler from 1946 until her death in 1983, and then to filmmaker Charlotte Kerr from 1984 until his own death. He had three children: Ruth, Peter, and Barbara. His only sibling, Verena Dürrenmatt, also lived in Switzerland. The family resided in Neuchâtel, where he spent his later years writing and directing.

Dürrenmatt’s play The Visit remains a staple of world theatre, and his use of grotesque satire and moral ambiguity influenced playwrights like Peter Weiss. Posthumously, his works continue to be adapted for film and stage. The Dürrenmatt Centre in Neuchâtel, established in 2000, preserves his literary estate and archives.