Sam Shepard obit

Sam Shepard, Actor and
Pulitzer-Winning
Playwright, Is Dead at 73

He was not on the list.

Sam Shepard, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Oscar-nominated actor, died on Thursday at his home in Kentucky. He was 73.

Chris Boneau, a spokesperson for Shepard's family, tells CNN he died of complications of ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Shepard authored more than 40 plays, winning the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1979 for his play "Buried Child," which explored the breakdown of the traditional American family. The Broadway production of the drama was nominated for five Tony Awards in 1996.

Shepard, a native of Fort Sheridan, Illinois, received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for his portrayal of pilot Chuck Yeager in the 1983 astronaut drama "The Right Stuff."

His other notable on-screen work includes performances in "Steel Magnolias," "Black Hawk Down" and most recently, the Netflix drama "Bloodline." He was the long-time partner of Jessica Lange. 

Shepard is survived by three children and two sisters.

"The family requests privacy at this difficult time," Boneau said in a statement to CNN.

As actor

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1970      Brand X                Unknown           

1978      Renaldo and Clara            Rodeo   Also co-writer

1978      Days of Heaven The Farmer        

1980      Resurrection      Cal Carpenter   

1981      Raggedy Man     Bailey   

1982      Frances                 Harry York          

1983      The Right Stuff Chuck Yeager    

1984      Country                Gilbert "Gil" Ivy

1985      Fool for Love      Eddie     Also writer

1986      Crimes of the Heart         Doc Porter          

1987      Baby Boom         Dr. Jeff Cooper

1989      Steel Magnolias                Spud Jones         

1990      Bright Angel       Jack       

1991      Voyager               Walter Faber      Also narrator

1991      Defenseless        Detective Beutel              

1992      Thunderheart    Frank Coutelle  

1993      The Pelican Brief               Thomas Callahan             

1994      Safe Passage      Patrick Singer    

1997      The Only Thrill   Reece McHenry               

1998      Curtain Call         Will Dodge         

1999      Snow Falling on Cedars Arthur Chambers             

2000      Hamlet Ghost   

2000      All the Pretty Horses       J.C. Franklin       

2001      The Pledge          Eric Pollack        

2001      Swordfish            James Reisman

2001      Black Hawk Down             William F. Garrison         

2002      Leo         Vic         

2003      Blind Horizon     Sheriff Jack Kolb               

2004      The Notebook   Frank Calhoun  

2005      Don't Come Knocking     Howard Spence                Also co-writer

2005      Stealth George Cummings          

2006      Bandidas              Bill Buck              

2006      Walker Payne    Syrus    

2006      The Return          Ed Mills               

2006      Charlotte's Web                Narrator               Voice

2007      The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford        Frank James      

2008      The Accidental Husband                Wilder Lloyd      

2008      Felon     Gordon Camrose             

2009      Brothers               Hank Cahill         

2010      Fair Game           Sam Plame         

2010      Inhale    James Harrison

2011      Blackthorn          Butch Cassidy    

2012      Shepard & Dark                 Himself                 Documentary

2012      Darling Companion          Sheriff Morris   

2012      Safe House          Harlan Whitford               

2012      Killing Them Softly           Dillon   

2012      Mud       Tom Blankenship             

2013      Savannah             Mr. Stubbs         

2013      August: Osage County    Beverly Weston               

2013      Out of the Furnace          Gerald "Red" Baze          

2014      Cold in July          Ben Russell        

2015      Ithaca    Willie Grogan    

2016      Midnight Special               Calvin Meyer     

2016      In Dubious Battle              Mr. Anderson   

2017      Never Here         Paul Stark            (final film role)

2019      Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese      Himself                

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1995      The Good Old Boys          Snort Yarnell      Television film

1996      Lily Dale               Pete Davenport                Television film

1999      Streets of Laredo              Pea Eye Parker 3 episodes

1999      Purgatory            Sheriff Forrest / Wild Bill Hickok                 Television film

1999      Dash and Lilly     Dashiell Hammett            Television film

2000      One Kill                 Major Nelson Gray           Television film

2000      Great Performances       Narrator               Voice, Episode: "Kurosawa"

2001      After the Harvest              Caleb Gare          Television film

2001      Shot in the Heart              Frank Gilmore Sr.             Television film

2007      Ruffian Frank Whiteley Television film

2010      Tough Trade       (Role unknown)                Pilot

2014      Klondike               Father Judge      3 episodes

2015–2017          Bloodline             Robert Rayburn                 7 episodes

As writer

Film

Year       Title       Notes

1969      Me and My Brother         Co-writer

1970      Zabriskie Point   Co-writer

1972      Oh! Calcutta!     Sketch contributions

1978      Renaldo and Clara            Co-writer

1981      Savage/Love      Short film

1982      Tongues               Short film

1984      Paris, Texas         Co-writer

1985      Fool for Love     

1988      Far North             Also director

1994      Silent Tongue     Also director

1994      Curse of the Starving Class          

1999      Simpatico           

2005      Don't Come Knocking     Co-writer

2007      Fool for Love      Short film

Television

Year       Title       Notes

1974      ITV Saturday Night Theatre          Episode: "Geography of a Horse Dreamer"

1984      American Playhouse       Episode: "True West"

1986      Den sultende klasses forbannelse             Norwegian adaptation of Curse of the Starving Class

1991      Autèntic oest     Spanish adaptation of True West

1991      Loucos Por Amor              Portuguese adaptation of Fool for Love

1995      O Verdadeiro Oeste        Portuguese adaptation of True West

1996      Pazzo d'amore   Italian adaptation of Fool for Love

2002      True West           Adaptation of True West

2004      See You in My Dreams   Adapted from Cruising Paradise and Motel Chronicles