Sam Shepard (born November 5, 1943) is an American playwright, writer and actor.
He was born Samuel Shepard Rogers in Fort Sheridan, Illinois. His works are known for being especially frank and often absurd, and particularly for having an authentic sense of the style and sensibility of the gritty modern American west. Shepard is also a well respected actor of stage and motion pictures.
Among his many works, Buried Child is considered one of his most prominent and received a Pulitzer Prize in 1979. Among his other works for the stage are Curse of the Starving Class in 1978, True West in 1980 and A Lie of the Mind in 1985.
Shepard currently lives with his common-law wife, actress Jessica Lange.
Major works
1964 Cowboys
1967 La Turista
1969 Oh! Calcutta! (contributed sketches)
1971 Mad Dog Blues
1979 Buried Child
1978 Curse of the Starving Class
1980 True West
1985 A Lie of the Mind
1993 Simpatico
2000 The Late Henry Moss
2004 The God of Hell