Samuel Shepard Rogers, professionally known as Sam Shepard, was born to Jane Elaine (Schook),a teacher, and Samuel Shepard Rogers, a teacher and farmer who also served in the army. As the eldest son of a US Army officer and World War II bomber pilot, Shepard spent his early childhood moving from base to base across the United States, eventually settling in Duarte, California.
Shepard began acting and writing while in high school, and he worked as a ranch hand in Chino. He graduated high school in 1961 and then spent a year studying agriculture at Mount San Antonio Junior College, intending to become a veterinarian. However, in 1962, he joined the Bishop's Company Repertory Players, a touring theater company, and left home to tour with them.
He spent nearly two years with the company, eventually settling in New York City. There, he began writing plays and performing with an off-off-Broadway group. His writing gained recognition, and he won three consecutive OBIE awards. Shepard also dabbled in rock music, playing drums for the Holy Modal Rounders.
In 1971, he moved to London, where he continued to write. Back in the United States by 1974, he became the playwright in residence at San Francisco's Magic Theater and continued to work as a respected playwright throughout the 1970s and 1980s. During this time, he also worked in Hollywood, writing for films such as Zabriskie Point (1970) and acting in films like The Right Stuff (1983).
Shepard's role as Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff brought him to the attention of a wider audience. He continued to write, act, and direct in both film and theater throughout his career. Sam Shepard died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, on July 27, 2017, in Kentucky.
