Sam Shepard (1943-2017) was a playwright, actor, author, screen writer, and director whose work is performed on and off Broadway and in other theatres across the US. In 1979, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Buried Child. In 1983, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in The Right Stuff. His other famous works include True West, A Lie of the Mind, and Curse of the Starving Class.