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Birth
Sam Shepard was born in Fort Sheridan, Illinois on November 5th of 1943. -
High School graduation
Sam graduated from Duarte High School in Duarte, California, in 1961. -
First one act play
In 1965, Shepard's one-act plays Dog and The Rocking Chair were produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. -
Shepard’s fear of flying
Shepard cited his fear of flying as a source for a character in his 1966 play Icarus's Mother. He went through an airliner crash in the film Voyager, and apparently vowed never to fly again after a turbulent trip on an airliner returning from Mexico in the 1960s. -
Shepard’s play got directed by Tom O’Horogan
In 1967, Tom O'Horgan directed Shepard's Melodrama Play alongside Leonard Melfi's Times Square and Rochelle Owens' Futz at La MaMa. -
Shepard’s play was directed by Jeff Bleckner
In 1969, Jeff Bleckner directed Shepard's science fiction play The Unseen Hand at La MaMa. -
Shepard’s first marriage
From 1969 to 1984, he was married to actress O-Lan Jones, with whom he had one son, Jesse Mojo Shepard (born 1970). -
Shepard’s play was directed by Bill Hart
Shepard's play Shaved Splits was directed at La MaMa in 1970 by Bill Hart. -
Returning to the U.S.
Shepard, After returning to the United States in 1975 from an unexpected trip to New England, he moved to the 20-acre Flying Y Ranch in Mill Valley, California, where he raised a young colt named Drum and rode double with his young son on an appaloosa named Cody. -
Shepard accompanying Bob Dylan
Shepard accompanied Bob Dylan on the Rolling Thunder Revue of 1975 as the screenwriter for Renaldo and Clara that emerged from the tour. -
Named playwright-in-residence
In 1975, Shepard was named playwright-in-residence at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, where he created many of his notable works, including his Family Trilogy. -
Nominated for a Tony Award
One of the plays in the trilogy, Buried Child (1978), won the Pulitzer Prize, and was nominated for five Tony Awards. -
Beginning of Shepard’s acting career
Shepard began his film acting career when cast in a major role as the doomed land baron in Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven (1978). -
Won best supporting actor
Shepard's portrayal of Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff (1983) earned Shepard an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. -
Shepard’s past with Jessica Lange
Shepard met Academy Award-winning actress Jessica Lange on the set of the film Frances, in which they were both acting. He moved in with her in 1983, and they were together for 26 years; they separated in 2009. They had two children, Hannah Jane Shepard (born 1986) and Samuel Walker Shepard (born 1987) -
Shepard appeared with his son at a reading
In 2003, Shepard's elder son, Jesse, wrote a book of short stories, and Shepard appeared with him at a reading at City Lights Bookstore. -
Shepard was arrested for drunk driving
In the early morning hours of January 3, 2009, Shepard was arrested and charged with speeding and drunk driving in Normal, Illinois. -
Shepard’s final performance
His final film appearance is “Never Here”, which premiered in June 2017 but had been filmed in the fall of 2014. -
Shepard was arrested again for drunk driving
On May 25, 2015, Shepard was arrested again, this time in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for aggravated drunk driving.Those charges were later dismissed as having no likelihood of success at trial. -
Passed
Sam Shepard sadly passed in Midway, Kentucky on July 27, 2017.