American actor Sam Shepard was a versatile creative person. He actively worked on the composition of theatrical plays and dramas, tried himself as a director and screenwriter for some films. Sam Shepard played on Broadway, got roles in popular Hollywood films ("The Notebook", "Black Hawk Down", "Francis") and television series ("Klondike", "Bloodline").
Childhood and early years of Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard was born on November 5, 1943 in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, but grew up in southern California. He is the son of Samuel Shepard Rogers, a teacher, farmer and former US military pilot. His mother, Jane Elaine, was a teacher. The family moved from place to place several times, living in Utah and Florida, until they settled in Dewart, California. Sam's father started an avocado farm there. The boy had two sisters, Roxanne and Sandy.
The boy was sent to study at Dewart High School, near Los Angeles, after which Sam Shepard entered the Faculty of Agronomy at San Antonio College. According to the recollections of classmates, at school the boy was polite, quiet and sweet.
Soon, family relations became strained due to the father's addiction to alcohol. Once everything became so serious that due to a parental quarrel, Sam left home.
Sam Shepard went from job to job until he joined a traveling theater company. Arriving in New York, Sam found a job as an assistant waiter at a nightclub, where he met Ralph Cook, the head waiter of the establishment. He helped Sam get into the professional theater world.
Sam Shepard's career in film and theater
After working as a waiter, Sam Shepard used the opportunity to get a job at the Broadway theater. At first, he got small roles in one-act plays.
Participation in theatrical works on Broadway quickly brought him fame, primarily due to the incarnation of scandalous characters with abnormal remarks on the stage. Many viewers refused to buy tickets. But despite his controversial early career, Sam Shepard was honored with six awards for talented acting in two years of work, from 1966 to 1968.
Sam Shepard was a very creative person and made many useful contacts. He was friends with the Rolling Stones. Together with Allen Ginsberg, Sam Shepard co-wrote the independent film Me and My Brother (1969) and the drama Zabriskie Point (1970).
In the late 1970s, Shepard appeared on the big screen. In 1978, Sam Shepard starred in the drama Days of the Harvest. This was followed by work in the drama "The Tramp", the biographical drama "Francis", on the set of which the actor met his future common-law wife Jessica Lange.
Sam Shepard was nominated for the prestigious Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the pilot Chuck Yeager in The Drama Boys.
The most successful films of Sam Shepard were:
- Comedy melodrama about the life of six women "Steel Magnolias" (1989);
- the thriller "The Pelican Case" (1993) about a law student involved in her own investigation into the murder of two members of the US Supreme Court. Julia Roberts starred;
- thriller "Snowy Cedars" (1999) about the investigation of the mysterious death of a fisherman in a seaside town;
- melodrama "Indomitable Hearts" (2000) with Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz in the lead roles;
- military drama "Black Hawk Down" (2001) about the military events of 1993 in Mogadishu;
- melodrama "The Diary of Remembrance" (2004), based on the biographical novel by Nicholas Sparks. The main characters were performed by Hollywood stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams;
- crime thriller "Access Code Cape Town" (2012) with Denzel Washington;
- crime drama "Mad" (2012) about two teenagers who met a suspicious man with their strange history.
In addition to working in big movies, Sam Shepard worked in television. In 1999, the actor received an Emmy award for his talented acting in the TV series Dash and Lilly, directed by the famous American actress Katie Bates. In 2014, Sam Shepard starred in the Discovery Channel's Klondike, and from 2015 to 2017, the actor played a role in the mystical drama Bloodline.
Sam Shepard has written 44 theatrical plays in his lifetime, and in 1979 he won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for his drama Buried Child.
Shortly before his death in 2017, the actor completed work in the psychological thriller "Never Been Here" with Mireille Inos in the lead female role. In the same year, Sam Shepard released his book.
Sam Shepard's personal life
In 1969, the actor married actress, stage producer and composer O-Lan Jones. The couple had a son in 1970, who was named Jess Mojo Shepard. At this time, Sam Shepard had an affair with the American singer, poet, artist and composer Patti Smith. Shepard worked with her on several projects. Upon completion of the novel, in the early 1970s, the actor moved with his family to London.
In 1975 he returned to the United States, and six years later, Sam Shepard on the set met Oscar-winning actress Jessica Lange. They started a relationship, and in 1984 Shepard officially divorced his first wife O-Lan for a civil marriage with Lang. Sam and Jessica had a daughter, Anna Jane (1985) and a son, Samuel Walker (1987). In 2009, the actors' family divorced.
Sam Shepard passed away on July 27, 2017 at the age of 73 at his home in Kentucky.
