Sam Shepard

Sam Shepard Headshot

Actor • Writer • Director

Birth Date: November 5, 1943

Death Date: July 27, 2017

Birth Place: Fort Sheridan, Illinois

Partners: Jessica Lange, Mia Kirshner

One of the most influential and celebrated playwrights of the late 20th century, Sam Shepard developed an extensive body of work that was preoccupied with the myth of the vanishing West and dysfunctional families on the verge of tragedy. More existentialist and surrealist than romantic and conventional, Shepard often wrote plays that incorporated symbolism and non-linear storytelling while being populated with drifters, fading rock stars and others living on the edge. He also employed eccentric, inventive language - and sometimes music - to explore the parallel fantasy of disappearing from the known world. After getting his start with one-acts like "Cowboy" and "Icarus' Mother," Shepard won numerous awards with full length plays like "Curse of the Starving Class" (1978) and "Buried Child" (1978), the latter of which earned him a Pulitzer Prize in Drama. His playwriting career reached its zenith with the popular "True West" (1980), after which Shepard began focusing more on acting with roles in "The Right Stuff" (1983) and "Steel Magnolias" (1989). By time he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 1994, Shepard was far and away one of the greatest playwrights of his generation, as well as a movie star whose rugged good looks and deep intelligence made him a modern descendent of the likes of Gary Cooper. Sam Shepard died on July 30, 2017 on his farm near Midway, Kentucky of complications from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). He was 73.

Born on Nov. 5, 1943 in Fort Sheridan, IL, Sam Shepard was raised on several military bases by his father, Samuel, an Army officer and former Air Force bomber during World War II, and his mother, Jane, a teacher. The family finally settled in Duarte, CA, where Shepard graduated from high school in 1961. Shepard's father was also an amateur jazz musician who taught his son how to play drums. But the old man was also a voracious drinker, which led to major battles between the two. Though Shepard had started to act and write poetry in high school, he briefly attended Mount Antonio Junior College with his eyes set on becoming a veterinarian. After a year, he left school and moved to New York City, where he roomed with Charles Mingus, Jr., the son of the famed jazz bassist, and embarked on a hedonistic life of booze, drugs and women, but continued to work in the theater. To earn a little cash, he worked as a bus boy at a jazz club that featured such future stars as Nina Simone, Woody Allen and Flip Wilson. Initially inclined to become an actor, Shepard joined the Bishop's Company, a traveling repertory theater that toured the boroughs and New England.

Back in New York, Shepard hunkered down and began writing a series of avant-garde one-act plays that were devoid of character motivation and conventional plotting. He eventually found his way through the exploding off-off-Broadway scene to Theatre Genesis, a ragtag group run by the headwaiter at a popular restaurant, Ralph Cook, in an upstairs room at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery. Though they had no money - Shepard resorted to picking up props off the street - they had a double-bill of the playwright's first produced plays, "Cowboys" (1964) and "The Rock Garden" (1964), up and running in a matter of weeks. After the University of Minnesota offered him a grant in 1966, Shepard won Obie Awards for "Chicago," "Icarus' Mother" and "Red Cross" - an unprecedented feat to win three in the same year. In 1967, Shepard wrote his first full-length play, "La Turista," an allegory on the Vietnam War about two American tourists in Mexico, and was honored again with his fourth Obie.

Following more Obies for "Melodrama Play" (1968) and "Cowboys #2" (1968), Shepard received grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Guggenheim Foundation. He put his music skills taught to him by his father to use by playing drums and guitar in the Holy Modal Rounders, in which he played for the next few years while continuing to write plays. Also at this time, Shepard made tentative steps toward screenwriting, having his first teleplay, "Fourteen Hundred Thousand" (NET, 1969), broadcast on television. He dipped his toe further in Hollywood's waters when he was one of several screenwriters on Michelangelo Antonioni's "Zabriskie Point" (1970). In 1971, after a high-profile relationship with singer-poet Patti Smith - despite being married to actress O-Lan Jones Dark - Shepard and his family moved to London, where he spent three years churning out some of his best work, including "The Tooth of Crime" (1972), which depicted two men representing many facets of the American character - rock stars, gangsters, gunslingers - who duel to the death in an unrelenting project that cut to the heart of violence. The play crossed the Atlantic for a U.S. production in 1973, winning Shepard yet another Obie.

In 1974, Shepard returned to the United States, where he was set up as the playwright in residence at the Magic Theater in San Francisco, a post he held for the next 10 years. Meanwhile, he joined Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue, the singer-songwriter's traveling band of musicians who covered the northern hemisphere in the mid-1970s. Shepard was originally hired to write a movie about the tour, but instead produced a book later on called The Rolling Thunder Logbook. Despite his branching out into other avenues, playwriting remained his stock and trade. During this period, Shepard produced some of his best and most challenging work, including "Angel City" (1976), a satirical look at Hollywood that ironically attracted the attention of Tinseltown. He was brought aboard Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven" (1978) by writer Rudolph Wurlitzer, who knew Shepard from the Rolling Thunder Revue. In the film, Shepard played a successful, but dying farmer enamored with a young woman (Brooke Adams) who flees to Texas with her boyfriend (Richard Gere) after he kills his boss at the steel mill in Chicago. Despite a tumultuous shoot, "Days of Heaven" helped Shepard raise his profile.

Returning to the theater, Shepard wrote some of his finest work, including several plays that later proved to be his most famous and revered. He produced the first two of a series of plays about families tearing themselves apart, which debuted off-Broadway, unlocking a Pandora's Box of patricide, infanticide, fratricide and incest. With "Curse of the Starving Class" (1978), Shepard launched a darkly comic exploration of the American psyche through a dysfunctional family consisting of a drunken father, a tired mother, a rebellious daughter and an idealistic son. He followed with perhaps his best-known effort, "Buried Child" (1978), a more realistic postmodern examination of a family suffering from disillusionment of the American dream during an economic slowdown that breaks down traditional family values. Though both plays added to Shepard's Obie collection, "Buried Child" earned the playwright the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979. He also began his collaboration with actor-writer-director Joseph Chaikin of the Open Theater, with both contributing to "Tongues" (1978), a series of minimalist monologues regarding the concept of the voice set to music composed by Shepard with Skip LaPlante and Harry Mann. He further collaborated with Chaikin on "Savage/Love" (1979).

For the next installment of his family tragedy series that he started with "Curse of the Starving Glass," Shepard wrote "True West" (1980) using a more traditional comic narrative to depict a rivalry between two estranged brothers - one a Hollywood screenwriter; the other an aimless drifter and thief - who encounter each other at their mother's home after years of separation. First performed at the Magic Theater in San Francisco, "True West" was revived on numerous occasions and starred several high-profile actors over the years, including Gary Sinese, John Malkovich, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly. Meanwhile, thanks to his performance in "Days of Heaven," Shepard began landing other roles in features with greater regularity. Tall, lanky and brooding, he parlayed his weathered good looks into movie stardom playing primarily Western characters that represent a dichotomy for the artist. He had a small role in the Hollywood biopic "Frances" (1982), which introduced him to star and future companion, Jessica Lange, with whom he began a relationship while divorcing his wife, actress O-Lan Jones, in 1984.

Despite being involved in theater for almost two decades at this point, Shepard had shied away from directing anything he wrote. That changed with "Fool for Love" (1983), which depicted a pair of quarreling lovers at a Mojave Desert motel and earned him his 11th overall Obie award, but his first for Best Direction. Shepard next landed his mainstream breakthrough film role, playing unflappable pilot Chuck Yeager in the epic drama about the birth of America's space program, "The Right Stuff" (1983). Shepard's restrained and minimalist performance - which mirrored the real life Yeager - was hailed by critics and audiences, including the man he portrayed on film. After starring opposite Lange in the rural drama, "Country" (1984), Shepard scripted Wim Wenders' atmospheric American odyssey "Paris, Texas" (1984), which won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He next adapted his own play "Fool for Love" (1985) for director Robert Altman, in which he also starred as Eddie, a cowboy drifter who re-enters the life of his old waitress lover (Kim Basinger), rekindling both the passion and heated violence of their shared past.

Shepard made another triumphant return to the stage as writer and director with "A Lie of the Mind" (1986), a gritty three-act play about two families suffering the consequences of severe spousal abuse that was first staged off-Broadway at the Promenade Theater. Once again, the playwright earned several awards and accolades, including a Drama Desk Award and a New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best New Play. As his career progressed, Shepard began exploring other avenues of creative expression with more frequency, which left less time to focus on the theater. While early in his career he had at least one play - if not several - released just about every year, Shepard began writing fewer plays by the late 1980s, although the material he did produce was as challenging and engaging as ever. After producing the lesser-known "A Short Life of Trouble" (1987) and co-starring in the comedy "Baby Boom" (1987) opposite Diane Keaton, Shepard made his feature directorial debut with "Far North" (1988), an elliptical drama he wrote about the return of a citified woman (Jessica Lange) to her dour, repressive rural home in Minnesota, where she reverts to her childhood role of trying to prove herself to her injured father (Charles Durning).

Following a small, but noticeable role in "Steel Magnolias" (1989), Shepard co-starred in contemporary Western "Bright Angel" (1991), a desolate road movie about a Montana teenager (Dermot Mulroney) and a transient woman (Lili Taylor) who embark on a journey of self discovery after escaping their separate, but similarly troubled paths. After writing blackmail drama "Simpatico" (1993) for the stage, Shepard made a return behind the camera for metaphysical Western-cum-Greek tragedy "Silent Tongue" (1994), which featured Alan Bates and the late River Phoenix. Following his induction into the Theater Hall of Fame in 1994, Shepard reunited with Chaikin for "When the World Was Green" (1996), a play commissioned for the Olympic Arts Festival in Atlanta and reprised for the Signature Theater Company's 1996-97 season that showcased several of his plays. Though Shepard declared the retrospective a bust, the offerings represented a cross-section of his work from old to new, demonstrating his range as a playwright. He was much more satisfied with a 1996 restaging of "Buried Child" on Broadway, directed by Gary Sinese, which earned a Tony Award nomination. Meanwhile, he published Cruising Paradise: Tales (1997), a collection of 40 short stories that explored the themes of solitude and loss.

As the new millennium approached, Shepard found himself in demand more as an actor, which gave him greater exposure to audiences, but unfortunately also limited his stage output for a spell. On the small screen, he starred as famed noir writer Dashiell Hammett in the made-for-television biopic, "Dash and Lily" (A&E, 1999). He next played a sheriff of an Old West town that actual turns out to be "Purgatory" (TNT, 1999). Following a co-starring role in "Snow Falling on Cedars" (1999) and a big screen adaptation of "Simpatico" (1999), Shepard played the Ghost of Hamlet's father in a contemporary adaptation of "Hamlet" (2000), which he followed with a supporting turn in "All the Pretty Horses" (2000). Back on the stage, he wrote "The Late Henry Moss" (2001), a work that covered the old ground of brothers struggling through a volatile relationship, which debuted at the Magic Theater. Continuing to act more than write, Shepard was seen in numerous onscreen projects, including "Black Hawk Down" (2001), "Swordfish" (2001) and "The Pledge" (2001).

As time wore on and the world became more darkly complex, Shepard's writing started becoming more political as a reflection of the times. With "The God of Hell" (2004), the playwright sought to tackle what he deemed "Republican fascism" by depicting a peaceful Wisconsin dairy farmer and his wife whose lives are destroyed by an overzealous and patriotic government employee. On the big screen, he co-starred in the psychological thriller "Blind Horizon" (2004), playing a busy small-town sheriff in New Mexico who is warned by a mysterious man (Val Kilmer) without any memory that the president will be assassinated. Following a small role in "The Notebook" (2004), Shepard teamed up with Wim Wenders again, writing the script for "Don't Come Knocking" (2005), the director's dark drama about a man (Shepard) trying to turn over a new leaf. He next played the commander of a top secret Navy squadron in "Stealth" (2005), followed by a supporting role in the Mexican Western "Bandidas" (2006). After narrating the endearing "Charlotte's Web" (2006), Shepard earned a SAG nomination for his performance in "Ruffian" (ABC, 2007). He played Frank James in "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" (2007), subsequently unveiled the play "Kicking a Dead Horse" (2007), starring Stephen Rea, and later appeared in Jim Sheridan's war-vet drama "Brothers" (2009).

In 2010, Shepard separated from Lange after decades together, though the two managed to keep the split under wraps for a while. After a small part in the tense, real-life-based drama "Fair Game" (2010), he made the unlikely move of taking on a lead role for "Blackthorn" (2011), a Western where he played an aged Butch Cassidy who must confront his outlaw past. Before long, Shepard turned up in numerous high-profile films, with a brief appearance in the crime movie "Killing Them Softly" (2012), featuring Brad Pitt, and a small role in the thriller "Safe House" (2012). Following a notable supporting part in the Southern Gothic tale "Mud" (2012), where he played a reluctant father figure to Matthew McConaughey's trouble-prone title character, he portrayed another flawed patriarchal role in the film adaptation of Tracy Letts's acclaimed play "August: Osage County" (2013), which found him acting opposite Meryl Streep. Supporting roles in Scott Cooper's thriller "Out of the Furnace" (2013), Texas-set crime drama "Cold in July" (2014), Meg Ryan's directorial effort "Ithaca" (2015) and science ficion thriller "Midnight Special" (2016) were followed by a recurring role on dysfunctional family thriller "Bloodline" (Netflix 2015-17). Shepard's final screen appearances came in James Franco's John Steinbeck adaptation "In Dubious Battle" (2016) and Mireille Enos-starring thriller "Never Here" (2017). Sam Shepard died on July 30, 2017 on his farm near Midway, Kentucky of complications from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). He was 73.

Credits

Patti Smith, la poésie du punk

Self
Show
2021

Never Here

Actor
Paul Stark
Movie
2017

Buried Child

Writer
Show
2016

Midnight Special

Actor
Calvin Meyer
Movie
2016

In Dubious Battle

Actor
Mr. Anderson
Movie
2016

California Typewriter

Self
Movie
2016

BloodlineStream

Actor
Robert Rayburn
Series
2015
62%

Ithaca

Actor
Willie Grogan
Movie
2015

Klondike

Actor
Father Judge
Show
2014

Cold in JulyStream

Actor
Ben Russell
Movie
2014
84%

MudStream

Actor
Tom Blankenship
Movie
2013
97%

Savannah

Actor
Mr. Stubbs
Movie
2013

Out of the FurnaceStream

Actor
Gerald "Red" Baze
Movie
2013
53%

August: Osage CountyStream

Actor
Beverly Weston
Movie
2013
66%

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

Actor
Movie
2012

Safe HouseStream

Actor
Harlan Whitford
Movie
2012
53%

Darling Companion

Actor
Sheriff Morris
Movie
2012

Killing Them SoftlyStream

Actor
Dillon
Movie
2012
74%

Blackthorn

Actor
James Blackthorn/Butch Cassidy
Movie
2011

Fair Game

Actor
Sam Plame
Movie
2010

Inhale

Actor
James Harrison
Movie
2010

BrothersStream

Actor
Hank Cahill
Movie
2009
64%

The Accidental Husband

Actor
Wilder
Movie
2008

Patti Smith: Dream of Life

Actor
Movie
2008

Felon

Actor
Gordon Camrose
Movie
2008

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert FordStream

Actor
Frank James
Movie
2007
77%

Ruffian

Actor
Frank Whiteley
Movie
2007

Bandidas

Actor
Bill Buck
Movie
2006

Charlotte's WebStream

Narrator
Movie
2006
79%

Walker Payne

Actor
Syrus
Movie
2006

The Return

Actor
Ed Mills
Movie
2006

Don't Come Knocking

Actor
Howard Spence
Movie
2005

Don't Come Knocking

Writer
Movie
2005

Trudell

Actor
Movie
2005

StealthStream

Actor
Capt. George Cummings
Movie
2005
13%

The NotebookStream

Actor
Frank Calhoun
Movie
2004
54%

Blind Horizon

Actor
Sheriff Jack Kolb
Movie
2004

This So-Called Disaster

Self
Movie
2003

Leo

Actor
Vic
Movie
2002

Shot in the Heart

Actor
Frank Gilmore Sr.
Movie
2001

The PledgeStream

Actor
Eric Pollack
Movie
2001
78%

After the Harvest

Actor
Caleb Gare
Movie
2001

Swordfish

Actor
Senator Reisman
Movie
2001

Black Hawk DownStream

Actor
Garrison
Movie
2001
77%

Kurosawa

Narrator
Movie
2001

One Kill

Actor
Movie
2000

HamletStream

Actor
Ghost
Movie
2000
58%

All the Pretty Horses

Actor
J.C. Franklin
Movie
2000

Purgatory

Actor
Sheriff Forrest/Wild Bill Hickock
Movie
1999

Dash and Lilly

Actor
Dashiell Hammett
Movie
1999

Snow Falling on Cedars

Actor
Arthur Chambers
Movie
1999

Simpatico

Writer (Play)
Movie
1999

Curtain Call

Actor
Will Dodge
Movie
1998

The Only Thrill

Actor
Reece McHenry
Movie
1997

Lily Dale

Actor
Pete Davenport
Movie
1996

Streets of LaredoStream

Actor
Cpl. Pea Eye Parker
Miniseries
1995

The Good Old Boys

Actor
Tarnell
Movie
1995

Silent Tongue

Director
Movie
1994

Safe Passage

Actor
Patrick Singer
Movie
1994

The Pelican BriefStream

Actor
Thomas Callahan
Movie
1993
54%

Thunderheart

Actor
Frank Coutelle
Movie
1992

Defenseless

Actor
Det. Beutel
Movie
1991

Voyager

Actor
Walter Faber
Movie
1991

Bright Angel

Actor
Lucy
Movie
1990

Steel MagnoliasStream

Actor
Spud Jones
Movie
1989
67%

Far North

Director
Movie
1988

Far North

Screenwriter
Movie
1988

Baby BoomStream

Actor
Dr. Jeff Cooper
Movie
1987
67%

Crimes du coeur

Actor
Movie
1986

Crimes of the Heart

Actor
Doc Porter
Movie
1986

Fool for Love

Actor
Eddie
Movie
1985

Les amants terribles

Actor
Movie
1985

Country

Actor
Gil Ivy
Movie
1984
100%

Paris, TexasStream

Writer
Movie
1984
94%

The Right StuffStream

Actor
Capt/Col. Chuck Yeager, Test Pilot
Movie
1983
96%

FrancesStream

Actor
Harry York
Movie
1982
67%

Raggedy Man

Actor
Bailey
Movie
1981

Resurrection

Actor
Cal
Movie
1980

Days of HeavenStream

Actor
The Farmer
Movie
1978
93%

Renaldo and Clara

Screenwriter
Movie
1978

Zabriskie Point

Writer
Movie
1970
66%

Brand X

Actor
Movie
1970