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).

Death
Shepard died on July 27, 2017 at his home in Midway, Kentucky from complications of ALS, aged 73.