Born in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, Sam Shepard, the son of a career army father, spent his childhood on military bases across the United States and in Guam before the family settled on a farm in Duarte, California. He studied agriculture for a year, leaving to join a touring company of actors before landing in New York City where he began to gain recognition for writing plays. He first debuted in the 1970 movie Brand X, and then began appearing steadily following his 1978 role in Days of Heaven.
Sam Shepard died of Lou Gehrig's Disease at the age of 73
