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Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10
Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...
s for writing and directing, the most by any writer or director. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs. Shepard received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play '' Buried Child'' and was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while worki ...
for his portrayal of pilot
Chuck Yeager Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the ...
in the 1983 film '' The Right Stuff''. He received the
PEN/Laura Pels Theater Award The PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award, commonly referred to as the PEN/Laura Pels Theater Award, is awarded by the PEN America (formerly PEN American Center). It annually recognizes two American playwrights. A medal is given ...
as a master American dramatist in 2009. ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
'' magazine described Shepard as "the greatest American playwright of his generation." Shepard's plays are known for their bleak, poetic, surrealist elements,
black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...
, and rootless characters living on the outskirts of American society. His style evolved from the absurdism of his early
off-off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...
work to the realism of later plays like ''Buried Child'' and '' Curse of the Starving Class''.


Early life

Sam Shepard was born on November 5, 1943, in the
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
suburb of Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He was named Samuel Shepard Rogers III after his father, Samuel Shepard Rogers Jr. (1917–1984), but was called Steve Rogers. His father was a teacher and farmer who served in the United States Army Air Forces as a
bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...
pilot during World War II. Shepard characterized his father as "a drinking man, a dedicated alcoholic". His mother, Jane Elaine, was a teacher and a native of Chicago. Shepard worked on a
ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...
as a teenager. After graduating from
Duarte High School Duarte High School is a public high school located in Duarte, California and is part of Duarte Unified School District. Duarte High School currently has 950 students enrolled. Their mascot is the falcon. It was recognized as a California Distingu ...
in Duarte, California, in 1961, he briefly studied
animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...
at nearby Mt. San Antonio College. While at college, Shepard became enamored of
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
, and
abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...
. He dropped out to join the Bishop's Company, a touring repertory group.


Career


Writing

Shepard moved to New York City in 1963 and found work as a busboy at the
Village Gate The Village Gate was a nightclub at the corner of Thompson and Bleecker Streets in Greenwich Village, New York. Art D'Lugoff opened the club in 1958, on the ground floor and basement of 160 Bleecker Street. The large 1896 Chicago School structu ...
nightclub. The following year, the Village Gate's head waiter, Ralph Cook, founded the experimental stage company Theater Genesis, housed at
St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery is a parish of the Episcopal Church located at 131 East 10th Street, at the intersection of Stuyvesant Street and Second Avenue in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The property has bee ...
in Manhattan. Two of Shepard's earliest one-act plays, "The Rock Garden" and "Cowboys", debuted at Theater Genesis in October 1964. It was around this time that Steve Rogers adopted the professional name Sam Shepard. In 1965, Shepard's one-act plays ''Dog'' and ''The Rocking Chair'' were produced at
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...
. These were the first of many productions of Shepard's work at La MaMa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. In 1967,
Tom O'Horgan Tom O'Horgan (May 3, 1924 – January 11, 2009) was an American theatre and film director, composer, actor and musician. He is best known for his Broadway work as director of the hit musicals '' Hair'' and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. During his ...
directed Shepard's ''Melodrama Play'' alongside Leonard Melfi's ''Times Square'' and Rochelle Owens' ''Futz'' at La MaMa. In 1969,
Jeff Bleckner Jeff Bleckner (born August 12, 1943) is an American theatre and television director. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, Bleckner made his directorial debut off-Broadway with ''The Unseen Hand/Forensic and the Navigators'', an evening of one- ...
directed Shepard's play ''The Unseen Hand'' at La MaMa. ''The Unseen Hand'' later influenced Richard O'Brien's musical '' The Rocky Horror Show''. Bleckner then directed ''The Unseen Hand'' alongside ''Forensic and the Navigators'' at the nearby
Astor Place Theater Astor may refer to: People * Astor (surname) * Astor family, a wealthy 18th-century American family who became prominent in 20th-century British politics * Astor Bennett, a character in the Showtime television series ''Dexter'' * Ástor Piazzol ...
in 1970. Shepard's play ''Shaved Splits'' was directed at La MaMa in 1970 by Bill Hart. Seth Allen directed ''Melodrama Play'' at La MaMa the following year. In 1981, Tony Barsha directed ''The Unseen Hand'' at La MaMa. The production then transferred to the
Provincetown Playhouse The Provincetown Playhouse is a historic theatre at 133 MacDougal Street between West 3rd and West 4th Streets in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is named for the Provincetown Players, who converted the former ...
and ran for over 100 performances.
Syracuse Stage Syracuse Stage is a professional non-profit theater company in Syracuse, New York, United States. It is the premier professional theater in Central New York. It was founded in 1974 by Arthur Storch, who was its first artistic director. The com ...
co-produced ''
The Tooth of Crime ''The Tooth of Crime'' is a musical play written by Sam Shepard which made its premiere in London's Open Space Theatre on July 17, 1972. It tells the story of aging rock singer Hoss, doing battle with rival Crow. Plot The play is set in a vaguel ...
'' at La MaMa in 1983. Also in 1983, the Overtone Theatre and New Writers at the Westside co-produced Shepard's plays ''Superstitions'' and ''The Sad Lament of Pecos Bill on the Eve of Killing His Wife'' at La MaMa. John Densmore performed in his own play ''Skins'' and Shepard and Joseph Chaikin's play ''Tongues'', directed as a
double bill The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...
by Tony Abatemarco, at La MaMa in 1984. Nicholas Swyrydenko directed a production of '' Geography of a Horse Dreamer'' at La MaMa in 1985. Several of Shepard's early plays, including ''Red Cross'' (1966) and '' La Turista'' (1967), were directed by Jacques Levy. A patron of the Chelsea Hotel scene, he also contributed to Kenneth Tynan's ''
Oh! Calcutta! ''Oh! Calcutta!'' is an avant-garde, risque theatrical revue created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in the West End in 1970. It ran in Lond ...
'' (1969) and drummed sporadically from 1967 through 1971 with the band
The Holy Modal Rounders The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who began performing together on the Lower East Side of New York City in the early 1960s. Their unique blend of folk music reviv ...
, appearing on their albums ''
Indian War Whoop ''Indian War Whoop'' is the third studio album by the psychedelic folk duo the Holy Modal Rounders, released in 1967 through ESP-Disk. Side one deals with psychedelic guitar and fiddle jams to radically altered interpretations of traditional folk ...
'' (1967) and '' The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders'' (1968). After winning six
Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...
s between 1966 and 1968, Shepard emerged as a screenwriter with Robert Frank's '' Me and My Brother'' (1968) and
Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...
's '' Zabriskie Point'' (1970). '' Cowboy Mouth'', a collaboration with his then-lover
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...
, was staged at The American Place Theatre in April 1971, providing early exposure for Smith, who became a well-known musician. The story and characters in ''Cowboy Mouth'' were inspired by Shepard and Smith's relationship. After opening night, he abandoned the production and fled to New England without a word to anyone involved. Shortly thereafter, Shepard relocated with his wife and son to London. While in London, he immersed himself in the study of G.I. Gurdjieff's Fourth Way, a recurring preoccupation for much of his life. Returning to the United States in 1975, he moved to the 20-acre Flying Y Ranch in Mill Valley, California, where he raised a young colt named Drum and rode double with his young son on an
appaloosa The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's colo ...
named Cody. Shepard continued to write plays and served for a semester as Regents' Professor of Drama at the University of California, Davis. Shepard accompanied
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
on the Rolling Thunder Revue of 1975 as the screenwriter for '' Renaldo and Clara'' that emerged from the tour. However, because much of the film was improvised, Shepard's work was seldom used. ''Rolling Thunder Logbook'', his diary of the tour, was published in 1978. A decade later, Dylan and Shepard co-wrote the 11-minute song "
Brownsville Girl "Brownsville Girl" is a song from Bob Dylan's 1986 album, '' Knocked Out Loaded'', recorded in May of that year. It is notable for its length, over 11 minutes, and for being co-written by playwright Sam Shepard. The song is a reworked version of ...
", included on Dylan's 1986 album '' Knocked Out Loaded'' and on later compilations. In 1975, Shepard was named playwright-in-residence at the
Magic Theatre The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront. The Magic Theatre is well known and respected for its singular focus on the development and produ ...
in San Francisco, where he created many of his notable works, including his ''
Family Trilogy The ''Family Trilogy'' is a trio of plays by American playwright Sam Shepard. It includes ''Curse of the Starving Class'' (1976), ''Buried Child'' (1979), and '' True West'' (1980).Simard, Rodney. “American Gothic: Sam Shepard's Family Trilogy.� ...
''. One of the plays in the trilogy, '' Buried Child'' (1978), won the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
, and was nominated for five
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...
s. This marked a major turning point in his career, heralding some of his best-known work, including '' True West'' (1980), '' Fool for Love'' (1983), and '' A Lie of the Mind'' (1985). A comic tale of reunion, in which a young man drops in on his grandfather's Illinois farmstead only to be greeted with indifference by his relations, ''Buried Child'' saw Shepard stake a claim to the psychological terrain of classic American theater. ''True West'' and ''Fool for Love'' were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Some critics have expanded the trilogy to a quintet, including ''Fool for Love'' and ''A Lie of the Mind''. Shepard won a record-setting 10
Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...
s for writing and directing between 1966 and 1984. In 2010, '' A Lie of the Mind'' was revived in New York at the same time as Shepard's new play ''Ages of the Moon'' opened there. Reflecting on the two plays, Shepard said that the older play felt "awkward", adding, "All of the characters are in a fractured place, broken into pieces, and the pieces don't really fit together," while the newer play "is like a Porsche. It's sleek, it does exactly what you want it to do, and it can speed up but also shows off great brakes." The revival and the new play also coincided with the publication of Shepard's collection ''Day out of Days: Stories''. The book includes "short stories, poems and narrative sketches... that developed from dozens of leather-bound notebooks hepardcarried with him over the years."


Acting

Shepard began his film acting career when cast in a major role as the land baron in
Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include ''Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay ...
's ''
Days of Heaven ''Days of Heaven'' is a 1978 American romantic period drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick, and starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard and Linda Manz. Set in 1916, it tells the story of Bill and Abby, lovers who travel ...
'' (1978), opposite
Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...
and Brooke Adams. This led to other important film roles, including that of Cal,
Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...
's character's love interest in ''
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
'' (1980), and, most notably, Shepard's portrayal of
Chuck Yeager Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the ...
in '' The Right Stuff'' (1983). The latter performance earned Shepard an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. By 1986, '' Fool for Love'' was adapted by
Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New ...
with Shepard in the lead role; ''A Lie of the Mind'' was being performed
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
(with Harvey Keitel and
Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acad ...
); and Shepard was working steadily as a film actor. Together, these achievements put him on the cover of ''Newsweek''. Over the years, Shepard taught extensively on playwriting and other aspects of theater. He gave classes and seminars at various theater workshops, festivals, and universities. Shepard was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
in 1986, and was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1986. In 2000, Shepard demonstrated his gratitude to the Magic Theatre by staging ''
The Late Henry Moss Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any writ ...
'' as a benefit for the theatre, in San Francisco. The cast included Nick Nolte,
Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
,
Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
, and
Cheech Marin :''The surname'' Marin ''is of Spanish language origin. In Spanish, it is spelled'' Marín'', with an acute accent on the'' í. Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin (born July 13, 1946) is an American actor, musician, comedian, and activist who gain ...
. The limited, three-month run was sold out. In 2001, Shepard played General
William F. Garrison William F. "Bill" Garrison (born 27 June 1944) is a retired major general of the United States Army who commanded United States forces during Operation Gothic Serpent, the military operation launched in 1993 to capture Somali warlord Mohamed ...
in the film '' Black Hawk Down''. Although he was cast in a supporting role, Shepard enjoyed renewed interest in his talent for screen acting. Shepard performed
Spalding Gray Spalding Gray (June 5, 1941 – January 11, 2004) was an American actor, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and performance artist. He is best known for the autobiographical monologues that he wrote and performed for the theater in the 1980s a ...
's final monologue ''Life Interrupted'' for the audiobook version, released in 2006. In 2007, Shepard contributed banjo to Patti Smith's cover of
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...
's song "
Smells Like Teen Spirit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, ''Nevermind'' (1991), released on DGC Records. The unexpected success of the song propelled ''Neve ...
" on her album '' Twelve''. Although many artists had an influence on Shepard's work, one of the more significant was Joseph Chaikin, a veteran of
The Living Theatre The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group in the United States. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actress Judith Malina and painter ...
and founder of
The Open Theater The Open Theater was an experimental theatre group active from 1963 to 1973. Foundation The Open Theater was founded in New York City by a group of former students of acting teacher Nola Chilton, together with director Joseph Chaikin (formerly of ...
. The two worked together on various projects, and Shepard has stated that Chaikin was a valuable mentor. In 2011, Shepard starred in the film ''
Blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...
''. His final film appearance is ''
Never Here ''Never Here'' is an American thriller film directed and written by Camille Thoman. The film stars Mireille Enos. It premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 18, 2017 and will be distributed by Vertical Entertainment. It marked the fina ...
'', which premiered in June 2017 but had been filmed in 2014. Shepard also appeared in the television series '' Bloodline'' from 2014 to 2017.


Directing

At the beginning of his career, Shepard did not direct his own plays. His early plays had a number of different directors, but were most frequently directed by Ralph Cook, the founder of Theatre Genesis. Later, while living at the Flying Y Ranch, Shepard formed a successful playwright-director relationship with Robert Woodruff, who directed the premiere of '' Buried Child'' (1982). During the 1970s, Shepard decided that his vision for his plays required him to direct them himself. He directed many of his own plays from that point onward. With only a few exceptions, he did not direct plays by other playwrights. He also directed two films but reportedly did not see film directing as a major interest.


Personal life

When Shepard first arrived in New York City, he roomed with Charlie Mingus, Jr., a friend from high school and the son of jazz musician
Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians an ...
. Shepard then lived with actress Joyce Aaron. From 1969 to 1984, he was married to actress
O-Lan Jones O-Lan Jones (born May 23, 1950) is an American actress, composer, and theater producer. She played religious fanatic Esmeralda in ''Edward Scissorhands''. Early and personal life Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. Her first name comes ...
, with whom he had one son, Jesse Mojo Shepard (born 1970). From 1970 to 1971, Shepard was involved in an extramarital affair with musician
Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...
, who remained unaware of Shepard's identity as a multiple
Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...
-winning playwright until it was divulged to her by
Jackie Curtis Jackie Curtis (February 19, 1947 – May 15, 1985) was an American actress, writer, singer, and Warhol superstar. Early life and career Jackie Curtis was born in New York City to John Holder and Jenevive Uglialoro. She had one sibling, half-br ...
. Smith said: "Me and his wife still even liked each other. I mean, it wasn't like committing adultery in the suburbs or something." Canadian singer-songwriter
Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her st ...
wrote two songs about her affairs with Shepard during Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour of 1975. In "
Coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
", from her eighth studio album ''
Hejira The Hijrah or Hijra () was the journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the epoch of the Lunar Hijri and Solar Hijri calendars; its da ...
'', she recounts Shepard's seduction of her at a period while he was both married and having an extramarital affair with the tour manager Christine O’Dell with the lines: "He's got a woman at home, another woman down the hall, but he seems to want me anyway." Meanwhile, in "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter", written during the same tour, Mitchell referenced the closeness between their birthdays, calling them "twins of spirit". Shepard met actress Jessica Lange on the set of the 1982 film '' Frances'', in which they were both acting. He moved in with her in 1983, and they were together for 27 years; they separated in 2009. They had two children, Hannah Jane Shepard (born 1986) and Samuel Walker Shepard (born 1987). In 2003, Shepard's elder son, Jesse, wrote a book of short stories, and Shepard appeared with him at a reading at City Lights Bookstore. In 2014 and 2015, Shepard dated actress Mia Kirshner. After a turbulent trip on an airliner returning from Mexico in the 1960s, he apparently vowed never to fly again. Despite this longstanding aversion to flying, Shepard allowed Chuck Yeager to take him up in a jet plane in 1982 in preparation for playing the pilot in the film '' The Right Stuff''. Shepard cited his fear of flying as a source for a character in his 1966 play '' Icarus's Mother''. His character went through an airliner crash in the film ''
Voyager Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications * LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics * NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation * Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...
''. In the early morning hours of January 3, 2009, Shepard was arrested and charged with speeding and drunk driving in Normal, Illinois. He pleaded guilty to both charges on February 11, 2009, and was sentenced to 24 months probation, alcohol education classes, and 100 hours of community service. On May 25, 2015, Shepard was arrested again in
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...
, for aggravated drunk driving. Those charges were later dismissed as having no likelihood of success at trial. His 50-year friendship with Johnny Dark, stepfather to
O-Lan Jones O-Lan Jones (born May 23, 1950) is an American actress, composer, and theater producer. She played religious fanatic Esmeralda in ''Edward Scissorhands''. Early and personal life Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. Her first name comes ...
, was the subject of the 2013 documentary ''Shepard & Dark'' by Treva Wurmfeld. A collection of Shepard and Dark's correspondence, ''Two Prospectors'', was also published that year.


Death

Shepard died on July 27, 2017, at his home in Midway, Kentucky, aged 73, from complications of
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most commo ...
(ALS). Patti Smith paid homage to their long collaboration in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
''. Fellow actor
Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...
learned of Shepard's death during a television interview and was shocked by the news, ending the interview saying: "See you in the next one, Sam."


Archives

Sam Shepard's papers are split between the Wittliff Collections of Southwestern Writers at Texas State University, comprising 27 boxes (13 linear feet) and the
Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...
at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, comprising 30 document boxes (12.6 linear feet).


Bibliography


Plays


Collections

* 1973: ''Hawk Moon'', Black Sparrow Press; * 1983: ''Motel Chronicles'',
City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) and ...
; * 1984: ''Seven Plays'',
Dial Press The Dial Press was a publishing house founded in 1923 by Lincoln MacVeagh. The Dial Press shared a building with '' The Dial'' and Scofield Thayer worked with both. The first imprint was issued in 1924. Authors included Elizabeth Bowen, W. ...
, 368 pages; * 1984: ''Fool for Love and Other Plays'',
Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...
, 320 pages; * 1996: ''The Unseen Hand: and Other Plays'',
Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...
, 400 pages; * 1996: ''Cruising Paradise'',
Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...
, 255 pages; * 2003: ''Great Dream of Heaven'', Vintage Books, 160 pages; * 2004: ''Rolling Thunder Logbook'',
Da Capo Press Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books. History Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional of ...
, 176 pages (reissue); * 2004: ''Day Out of Days: Stories'', Knopf, 304 pages; * 2013: ''Two Prospectors: The Letters of Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark'',
University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Te ...
, 400 pages;


Novels

* 2017: ''The One Inside'', Knopf, 172 pages; * 2017: ''Spy of the First Person'', Knopf, 96 pages (published posthumously);


Filmography


Awards and nominations


See also

* List of members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Department of Literature * List of playwrights from the United States


References


Further reading

* Radavich, David. "Back to the (Plutonian) Midwest: Sam Shepard's ''The God of Hell''". ''New England Theatre Journal'' 18 (2007): 95–108. * Radavich, David. "Rabe, Mamet, Shepard, and Wilson: Mid-American Male Dramatists of the 1970s and '80s". ''The Midwest Quarterly'' XLVIII: 3 (Spring 2007): 342–58. * * * *


External links

*
The Flying Y Ranch

Sam Shepard Papers
at the
Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...
, University of Texas at Austin
Sam Shepard
at Bucknell University * * * * * *
Carol Benet collection of Sam Shepard research materials, 1970–1995
Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Shepard's page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Sam 1943 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights American male film actors American male screenwriters American male short story writers American male stage actors Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Deaths from motor neuron disease Neurological disease deaths in Kentucky Male actors from Illinois Male Western (genre) film actors Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Mt. San Antonio College alumni People from Fort Sheridan, Illinois Postmodern writers Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Theatre of the Absurd 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from Illinois The Holy Modal Rounders members