Editing Sam Shepard (section)

==Career==

===Writing===
[[File:Sam Shepard.jpg|thumb|left|Shepard at age 21]]
Shepard moved to New York City in 1963 and found work as a busboy at the [[Village Gate]] nightclub. The following year, the Village Gate's head waiter, Ralph Cook, founded the experimental stage company [[Theatre Genesis|Theater Genesis]], housed at [[St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery]] in Manhattan. Two of Shepard's earliest [[one-act play]]s, ''The Rock Garden'' and ''Cowboys'', debuted at Theater Genesis in October 1964. It was around this time that he adopted the professional name Sam Shepard.<ref name="Botting">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/theatreofprotest0000bott |url-access=registration |title=The Theatre of Protest in America |publisher=Harden House |first=Gary |last=Botting |year=1972 |access-date=December 14, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730204911/http://www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu/research/a-z/shepard.html |archive-date=July 30, 2017 }}</ref>

In 1965, Shepard's one-act plays ''Dog'' and ''The Rocking Chair'' were produced at [[La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/occurrences/147 |title=Production: 'Two One-Act Plays by Sam Shepard' (1965) |date=2015 |website=La MaMa Archives Digital Collections |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> These were the first of many productions of Shepard's work at La MaMa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. In 1967, [[Tom O'Horgan]] directed Shepard's ''Melodrama Play'' alongside [[Leonard Melfi]]'s ''Times Square'' and [[Rochelle Owens]]' ''Futz'' at La MaMa.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/1589 |title=Production: ''Times Square'', ''Melodrama Play'', and ''Futz'' (1967) |date=2015 |website=La MaMa Archives Digital Collections |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> In 1969, [[Jeff Bleckner]] directed Shepard's play ''The Unseen Hand'' at La MaMa.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/634 |title=Production: ''Unseen Hand, The'' (1969) |date=2015 |website=La MaMa Archives Digital Collections |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> Bleckner then directed ''The Unseen Hand'' alongside ''Forensic and the Navigators'' at the nearby [[Astor Place Theatre]] in 1970.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/635 |title=Production: Two By Sam Shepard (1970) |date=2015 |website=La MaMa Archives Digital Collections |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref>

Shepard's play ''Shaved Splits'' was directed at La MaMa in 1970 by Bill Hart.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/748 |title=Production: ''Shaved Splits'' (1970) |date=2015 |website=La MaMa Archives Digital Collections |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> Seth Allen directed ''Melodrama Play'' at La MaMa the following year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/995 |title=Production: ''Melodrama Play'' (1971) |date=2015 |website=La MaMa Archives Digital Collections |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> In 1981, Tony Barsha directed ''The Unseen Hand'' at La MaMa. The production then transferred to the [[Provincetown Playhouse]] and ran for over 100 performances.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/2370 |title=Production: ''Unseen Hand, The'' (1981) |date=2015 |website=La MaMa Archives Digital Collections |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> [[Syracuse Stage]] co-produced ''[[The Tooth of Crime]]'' at La MaMa in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/2492 |title=Production: ''Tooth of Crime, The'' (1983) |date=2015 |website=La MaMa Archives Digital Collections |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> Also in 1983, the Overtone Theatre and New Writers at the Westside co-produced Shepard's plays ''Superstitions'' and ''The Sad Lament of Pecos Bill on the Eve of Killing His Wife'' at La MaMa.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/2545 |title=Production: ''Superstitions'' and ''The Sad Lament of Pecos Bill on the Eve of Killing His Wife'' (1983) |date=2015 |website=La MaMa Archives Digital Collections |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> [[John Densmore]] performed in his own play ''Skins'' and Shepard and [[Joseph Chaikin]]'s play ''Tongues'', directed as a [[double bill]] by Tony Abatemarco, at La MaMa in 1984.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/2674 |title=Production: ''Tongues'' and ''Skins'' (1984) |date=2015 |website=La MaMa Archives Digital Collections |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref> Nicholas Swyrydenko directed a production of ''[[Geography of a Horse Dreamer]]'' at La MaMa in 1985.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/2790 |title=Production: ''Geography of a Horse Dreamer'' (1985) |date=2015 |website=La MaMa Archives Digital Collections |access-date=August 29, 2018}}</ref>

Several of Shepard's early plays, including ''Red Cross'' (1966) and ''[[La Turista]]'' (1967), were directed by [[Jacques Levy]]. A patron of the [[Hotel Chelsea|Chelsea Hotel]] scene, he also contributed to [[Kenneth Tynan]]'s ''[[Oh! Calcutta!]]'' (1969) and drummed sporadically from 1967 through 1971 with the band [[The Holy Modal Rounders]], appearing on their albums ''[[Indian War Whoop]]'' (1967) and ''[[The Moray Eels Eat The Holy Modal Rounders]]'' (1968). After winning six [[Obie Award]]s between 1966 and 1968, Shepard emerged as a screenwriter with [[Robert Frank]]'s ''[[Me and My Brother (film)|Me and My Brother]]'' (1968) and [[Michelangelo Antonioni]]'s ''[[Zabriskie Point (film)|Zabriskie Point]]'' (1970).

''[[Cowboy Mouth (play)|Cowboy Mouth]]'', a collaboration with his then-lover [[Patti Smith]], was staged at [[The American Place Theatre]] in April 1971, providing early exposure for Smith, who would become a well-known musician. The story and characters in ''Cowboy Mouth'' were inspired by Shepard and Smith's relationship. After opening night, he abandoned the production and fled to New England without a word to anyone involved.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma95/blackbrn/cmouth.html |title=Portrait of the Artist: Sam Shepard and the Anxiety of Identity |chapter=III. Cowboy Mouth |first=John |last=Blackburn |date=May 1, 1996 |website=University of Virginia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151206225941/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma95/blackbrn/cmouth.html |archive-date=December 6, 2015 }}</ref>

Shortly thereafter, Shepard relocated with his wife and son to London. While in London, he immersed himself in the study of [[G.I. Gurdjieff]]'s [[Fourth Way]], a recurring preoccupation for much of his life. Returning to the United States in 1975, 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/san-rafael-daily-independent-journal-aug-19-1963-p-13/ |title=The Flying Y Ranch |date=August 19, 1963 |page=13 |newspaper=[[San Rafael Daily Independent Journal]] |quote=The Flying Y Ranch above Mill Valley is a popular place throughout the year with 4-H groups and Southern Marin Horsemen's Assn. members... |via=NewspaperARCHIVE.com |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.mvhistory.org/history-of/history-of-homestead-valley/where-is-homestead-valley/ |title=Where is Homestead Valley? |first=Chuck |last=Oldenburg |date=July 2001 |website=Mill Valley Historical Society |access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.mvhistory.org/history-of/history-of-homestead-valley/4-h-valley-riders/ |title=4-H Valley Riders |first=Chuck |last=Oldenburg |date=August 2013 |website=Mill Valley Historical Society |access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref><!-- <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.corporationwiki.com/California/Mill-Valley/flying-y-ranch-owners-association/41530436.aspx |title=Flying 'Y' Ranch Owners Association in Mill Valley CA – Company Profile |website=Corporation Wiki |access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://patch.com/california/millvalley/then-and-now-flying-y-ranch-and-the-dipsea |title=Then and Now: Flying Y Ranch and the Dipsea |first=Tim |last=Amyx |date=June 21, 2011 |website=Patch.com |access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/blog-385663.html |title=A Horseback Ride With Ferlinghetti |first=Michael |last=Meteyer |date=March 29, 2009 |website=Travel Blog.org |access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dipseabook.com/hike-dipsea.html |title=Dipsea – The Greatest Race, Centennial Edition by Barry Spitz |website=DipseaBook.com |access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/marinij/obituary.aspx?n=lenard-walton&pid=184045112 |title=Obituary: Lenard Walton |date=February 7, 2017 |newspaper=[[Marin Independent Journal]] |access-date=August 16, 2018 |via=Legacy.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mvhistory.org/vignette-no-school-bus/ |title=No School Bus |date=February 19, 2015 |website=Mill Valley Historical Society |access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.millvalleylibrary.net/historyroom/collections/items/show/110 |title=Lucretia Hanson Little History Room – Mill Valley Historical Society 2002 Spring Review |website=Mill Valley Library.net |access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/sandy-young-obituary?pid=145404850 |title=Obituary: Sandy Young |date=September 17, 2010 |newspaper=[[East Bay Times]] |access-date=June 13, 2019 |via=Legacy.com}}</ref> --><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sam-shepard.com/jesseshepard.html |title=Jesse Mojo Shepard |website=Sam Shepard.com |access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Sam-Shepard-s-kid-in-writing-game-Like-his-2668747.php |title=Sam Shepard's kid in writing game / Like his father's, Jesse's stories are filled with horses |first=Heidi |last=Benson |date=February 21, 2003 |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |access-date=August 16, 2018}}</ref> Shepard continued to write plays and served for a semester as Regents' Professor of Drama at the [[University of California, Davis]].

Shepard accompanied [[Bob Dylan]] on the [[Rolling Thunder Revue]] of 1975 as the screenwriter for ''[[Renaldo and Clara]]'' that emerged from the tour. However, because much of the film was improvised, Shepard's work was seldom used. ''Rolling Thunder Logbook'', his diary of the tour, was published in 1978. A decade later, Dylan and Shepard co-wrote the 11-minute song "[[Brownsville Girl]]", included on Dylan's 1986 album ''[[Knocked Out Loaded]]'' and on later compilations.

In 1975, Shepard was named [[Artist-in-residence|playwright-in-residence]] at the [[Magic Theatre]] in San Francisco, where he created many of his notable works, including his ''[[Family Trilogy]]''. One of the plays in the trilogy, ''[[Buried Child]]'' (1978), won the [[Pulitzer Prize]], and was nominated for five [[Tony Award]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/31/entertainment/sam-shepard-dies/index.html |title=Sam Shepard, playwright and actor, dead at 73 |last1=Chan |first1=Stella |last2=Thomas |first2=Megan |date=August 1, 2017 |work=CNN |access-date=June 13, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802032536/http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/31/entertainment/sam-shepard-dies/index.html |archive-date=August 2, 2017 }}</ref> This marked a major turning point in his career, heralding some of his best-known work, including ''[[True West (play)|True West]]'' (1980), ''[[Fool for Love (play)|Fool for Love]]'' (1983), and ''[[A Lie of the Mind]]'' (1985). A comic tale of reunion, in which a young man drops in on his grandfather's Illinois farmstead only to be greeted with indifference by his relations, ''Buried Child'' saw Shepard stake a claim to the psychological terrain of classic American theater. ''True West'' and ''Fool for Love'' were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40777076 |title=Sam Shepard: US actor and playwright dies aged 73 |date=July 31, 2017 |work=BBC News |access-date=June 13, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802065837/http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40777076 |archive-date=August 2, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sam-shepard-dead-broadway-dim-lights-memory-aug-2-1025722 |title=Broadway to Dim Lights in Memory of Sam Shepard |first=Ashley |last=Lee |date=August 1, 2017 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801224004/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sam-shepard-dead-broadway-dim-lights-memory-aug-2-1025722 |archive-date=August 1, 2017 }}</ref> Some critics have expanded the trilogy to a quintet, including ''Fool for Love'' and ''A Lie of the Mind''. Shepard won a record-setting ten [[Obie Award]]s for writing and directing between 1966 and 1984.

In 2010, ''A Lie of the Mind'' was revived in New York at the same time as Shepard's new play ''Ages of the Moon'' opened there.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/theater/reviews/19lie.html |title=Theater Review: Home Is Where the Soul Aches |first=Ben |last=Brantley |date=February 19, 2010 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=June 13, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225161908/http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/theater/reviews/19lie.html |archive-date=February 25, 2010 }}</ref> Reflecting on the two plays, Shepard said that the older play felt "awkward", adding, "All of the characters are in a fractured place, broken into pieces, and the pieces don't really fit together," while the newer play "is like a [[Porsche]]. It's sleek, it does exactly what you want it to do, and it can speed up but also shows off great brakes."<ref name="NYT02">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/theater/13shepard.html |title=Getting Faster With Age: Sam Shepard's New Velocity |last=Healy |first=Patrick |date=February 13, 2010 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 13, 2010 }}</ref> The revival and the new play also coincided with the publication of Shepard's collection ''Day out of Days: Stories''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/books/review/Kirn-t.html?ref=theater |title=Sam Shepard: The Highwayman – Review of ''Day out of Days: Stories'' by Sam Shepard |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |first=Walter |last=Kirn |date=January 17, 2010 |access-date=February 13, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100218065244/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/books/review/Kirn-t.html?ref=theater |archive-date=February 18, 2010 }}</ref> The book includes "short stories, poems and narrative sketches... that developed from dozens of leather-bound notebooks [Shepard] carried with him over the years."<ref name="NYT02" />

===Acting===
Shepard began his film acting career when cast in a major role as the land baron in [[Terrence Malick]]'s ''[[Days of Heaven]]'' (1978), opposite [[Richard Gere]] and [[Brooke Adams (actress)|Brooke Adams]].<ref name="bbc.com"/> This led to other film roles, including that of Cal, [[Ellen Burstyn]]'s character's love interest in ''[[Resurrection (1980 film)|Resurrection]]'' (1980), and, most notably, Shepard's portrayal of [[Chuck Yeager]] in ''[[The Right Stuff (film)|The Right Stuff]]'' (1983). The latter performance earned Shepard an Academy Award nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]. By 1986, ''[[Fool for Love (1985 film)|Fool for Love]]'' was adapted by [[Robert Altman]] with Shepard in the lead role; ''A Lie of the Mind'' was being performed [[Off Broadway]] (with [[Harvey Keitel]] and [[Geraldine Page]]); and Shepard was working steadily as a film actor. Together, these achievements put him on the cover of ''Newsweek''.

Over the years, Shepard taught extensively on playwriting and other aspects of theater. He gave classes and seminars at various theater workshops, festivals, and universities. Shepard was elected to the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]] in 1986, and was elected a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1986.<ref name="AAAS">{{cite web |url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterS.pdf |title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter S |website=[[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=April 22, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730204911/http://www.thewittliffcollections.txstate.edu/research/a-z/shepard.html |archive-date=July 30, 2017 }}</ref> In 2000, Shepard demonstrated his gratitude to the Magic Theatre by staging ''[[The Late Henry Moss]]'' as a benefit for the theater, in San Francisco. The cast included [[Nick Nolte]], [[Sean Penn]], [[Woody Harrelson]], and [[Cheech Marin]]. The limited, three-month run was sold out. In 2001, Shepard played General [[William F. Garrison]] in the film ''[[Black Hawk Down (film)|Black Hawk Down]]''. Although he was cast in a supporting role, Shepard enjoyed renewed interest in his talent for screen acting.

Shepard performed [[Spalding Gray]]'s final monologue ''Life Interrupted'' for the audiobook version, released in 2006. In 2007, Shepard contributed banjo to Patti Smith's cover of [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]]'s song "[[Smells Like Teen Spirit]]" on her album ''[[Twelve (Patti Smith album)|Twelve]]''. Although many artists had an influence on Shepard's work, one of the more significant was [[Joseph Chaikin]], a veteran of [[The Living Theatre]] and founder of [[The Open Theater]].<ref name="Botting" /> The two worked together on various projects, and Shepard has stated that Chaikin was a valuable mentor.

In 2011, Shepard starred in the film ''[[Blackthorn (film)|Blackthorn]]''. His final film appearance is ''[[Never Here]]'', which premiered in June 2017 but had been filmed in 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.backstage.com/casting/you-were-never-here-50117/ |title=Feature Films: 'You Were Never Here' |date=November 2014 |magazine=[[Backstage (magazine)|Backstage]] |access-date=June 13, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802081105/https://www.backstage.com/casting/you-were-never-here-50117/ |archive-date=August 2, 2017 }}</ref> Shepard also appeared in the television series ''[[Bloodline (TV series)|Bloodline]]'' from 2014 to 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sam-shepard.com/bloodline.html |title=Bloodline |website=The Sam Shepard Web Site |access-date=June 13, 2019}}</ref>

===Directing===
At the beginning of his career, Shepard did not direct his own plays. His early plays had a number of different directors, but were most frequently directed by Ralph Cook, the founder of [[Theatre Genesis]]. Later, while living at the Flying Y Ranch, Shepard formed a successful playwright-director relationship with [[Robert Woodruff (director)|Robert Woodruff]], who directed the premiere of ''[[Buried Child]]'' (1982). During the 1970s, Shepard decided that his vision for his plays required him to direct them himself. He directed many of his own plays from that point onward. With only a few exceptions, he did not direct plays by other playwrights. He also directed two films but reportedly did not see film directing as a major interest.