Sam Shepard

Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, and television and movie director.  He is the author of several books.  He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child. Shepard was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of pilot Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff (1983).

 Early years 
Born Samuel Shepard Rogers IV in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, he worked on a ranch as a teenager. His father, Samuel Shepard Rogers, Jr., was a teacher and farmer.  His father was in the United States Army Air Forces as a bomber pilot during World War II. His mother, Jane Elaine (née Schook), was a teacher and from Chicago, Illinois. After high school, Shepard went to college for a little while.  He quit to join a travelling theater group. He was also a drummer for the different late-1960s rock band The Holy Modal Rounders.  The band was in the movie Easy Rider (1969).

 Awards and honors 
 Year Nominated work(s) Category Result1966Chicago, Icarus's Mother,  Red CrossObie Award for Best Distinguished Play(s)1967La Turista1968Forensic and the Navigator, Melodrama Play1973The Tooth of Crime1975ActionObie Award for Best Playwriting1977Curse of the Starving ClassObie Award for Best New American Play1979Buried ChildObie Award for Best PlaywritingPulitzer Prize for Drama1980HimselfObie Award for Sustained Achievement1984Fool for LoveObie Award for Best New American PlayObie Award for Best DirectionThe Right StuffAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor1985Paris, TexasBAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay1986A Lie of the MindDrama Desk Award for Outstanding PlayNew York Drama Critics' Circle for Best PlayOuter Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play1992HimselfAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters – Gold Medal for Drama1994American Theatre Hall of Fame1996Buried ChildTony Award for Best Play1997Hallmark Hall of Fame: "Lily Dale"Lone Star Film & Television Award for Best TV Supporting Actor1999Dash and LillyEmmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie2000Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV FilmTrue WestTony Award for Best Play2001Black Hawk DownPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Acting Ensemble2008RuffianSAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries

Death
Shepard died on July 27, 2017 at his home in Midway, Kentucky from complications of ALS, aged 73.Playwright, Director and Actor Sam Shepard Passes Away at 73

Bibliography
 Bibliography Year Title Notes1964CowboysThe Rock Garden1965ChicagoIcarus's Mother4-H Club1966Red Cross1967La TuristaCowboys #2Forensic & the Navigators1969The Unseen HandOh! Calcutta!contributed sketches1970The Holy GhostlyOperation Sidewinder1971Mad Dog BluesBack Bog Beast BaitCowboy Mouthwith Patti Smith1972The Tooth of Crime1974Geography of a Horse Dreamer1975Action1976Suicide in B FlatAngel City1977Inacoma1978Buried ChildCurse of the Starving ClassTongueswith Joseph Chaikin1980True West1981Savage Lovewith Joseph Chaikin1983Fool for Love1985A Lie of the Mind1987A Short Life of Trouble1991States of Shock1993Simpatico1994Safe Passage1998Eyes for Consuela2000The Late Henry Moss2004The God of Hell2007Kicking a Dead Horse2009Ages of the Moon

 Filmography 
 Actor 
 As actor Year Title Role1963Apples In the Tree1965Rusakai1970Brand X1978Renaldo and ClaraRodeoDays of HeavenThe Farmer1980ResurrectionCal Carpenter1981Raggedy ManBailey1982FrancesHarry York1983The Right StuffChuck Yeager1984Paris, TexasunconfirmedCountryGil Ivy1986Crimes of the HeartDoc Porter1987Baby BoomDr. Jeff Cooper1989Steel MagnoliasSpud Jones1990Bright AngelJack1991VoyagerWalter Faber1992ThunderheartFrank Coutelle1993The Pelican BriefProfessor Thomas Callahan1994Safe PassagePatrick Singer1995Streets of LaredoPea Eye Parker1999Snow Falling on CedarsArthur ChambersPurgatorySheriff Forrest/Wild Bill Hickock2000HamletThe GhostAll the Pretty HorsesJ.C. Franklin2001Black Hawk DownMaj. Gen. William F. GarrisonAfter the HarvestCaleb GareKurosawaNarratorShot in the HeartFrank GilmoreSwordfishSenator James ReismanThe PledgeEric Pollack2003Blind HorizonSheriff Jack Kolb2004The NotebookFrank Calhoun2005Don't Come KnockingHowardBandidasBill BuckStealthCapt. George Cummings2006Walker PayneSyrusThe ReturnEd MillsCharlotte's Web(Narrator)2007RuffianFrank WhiteleyThe Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert FordFrank James2008The Accidental HusbandWilderFelonGordon Camrose2009BrothersHank Cahill2010InhaleJames HarrisonFair GameSam Plame2011BlackthornButch Cassidy2012Safe HouseHarlan WhitfordKilling Them SoftlyTBA

 Screenwriter 
 As screenwriter Year Title Director1968Me and My BrotherRobert Frank1970Zabriskie PointMichelangelo Antonioni1984Paris, TexasWim Wenders1985Fool for LoveRobert Altman1988Far NorthHimself1994Silent Tongue2005Don't Come KnockingWim Wenders

 Director 
 As director Year Title Notes1988Far Northalso screenplay1994Silent Tongue

 References 

Other websites


Category:Screenwriters from Illinois
Category:American movie directors
Category:American television directors
Category:American movie actors
Category:American television actors
Category:Actors from Illinois
Category:American playwrights
Category:Deaths from motor neurone disease
Category:1943 births
Category:2017 deaths