Sam Shepard died at age 73 on Thursday.
The actor, playwright and filmmaker passed away in his Kentucky home following complications from ALS, a degenerative disease. Here are 12 things to remember him by.
- Shepard had an illustrious career that spanned 54 years, writing 44 plays, as well as various books, essays and memoirs.
- He was a Fort Sheridan, Illinois native and the son of a World War II hero and a teacher.
- The playwright worked in a ranch during his teenage years and briefly studied agriculture in the Los Angeles area.
- His theater career began as a busboy at The Village Gate.
- Shepard then went on to work in the Off-Off-Broadway scene.
- He came into his own in the late 1960s, writing several successful plays, netting him six Obie Awards, which are given to outstanding Off-Broadway plays.
- In 1975, he became the playwright-in-residence at the Magic Theatre, including his masterpieces which comprised his Family Trilogy.
- Buried Child was the second in the trio and the most successful one, earning him the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play explores the disappointing reality of the so-called “American Dream.”
- Shepard also made it to the big screen, directing and writing films such as Far North and Silent Tongue.
- He did plenty of teaching as well, becoming a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1986, as well as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in the same year.
- One of his lifelong friends was actor and comedian Johnny Dark–a documentary called Shepard & Dark was made about their friendship, which included their 50-year correspondence.
- Perhaps his most iconic film role as an actor was in The Right Stuff, a 1983 space epic where he starred alongside Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Dennis Quaid and Fred Ward.
RIP Sam Shepard.
