Sam Shepard

Acting

Sam Shepard

Born — Died

1943-11-05 — 2017-07-27

Place of birth

Fort Sheridan, Illinois, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

85 titles

Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any writer or director. Shepard received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for portraying pilot Chuck Yeager in the 1983 film The Right Stuff. He received the PEN/Laura Pels Theater Award as a master American dramatist in 2009. New York magazine described Shepard as "the greatest American playw…

Known for

Great Performances poster
6.1

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Great Performances

1971

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Black Hawk Down poster
7.4

When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, and the Americans suffer heavy casualties, facing intense fighting from the militia on the ground.

Black Hawk Down

2001

The Notebook poster
7.9

An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World War II, and is then passionately reunited, seven years later, after they have taken different paths.

The Notebook

2004

Bloodline poster
7.1

A dramatic thriller that explores the demons lurking beneath the surface of a contemporary American family. The Rayburns are hard-working pillars of their Florida Keys community. But when the black sheep son comes home for the 45th anniversary of his parents' hotel, he threatens to expose the Rayburns' dark secrets and shameful past, pushing his siblings to the limits of family loyalty.

Bloodline

2015

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In poster
6.8

An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

1968

Film credits

2010s · 18 titles

Killing Them Softly poster
6.0

Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.

Killing Them Softly

2012

Safe House poster
6.5

A dangerous CIA renegade resurfaces after a decade on the run. When the safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative escapes with him. Now, the unlikely allies must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants them dead.

Safe House

2012

In Dubious Battle poster
5.8

In the California apple country, 900 migratory workers rise 'in dubious battle' against the landowners. The group takes on a life of its own—stronger than its individual members, and more frightening. Led by the doomed Jim Nolan, the strike is founded on his tragic idealism—'courage, never submit, or yield'.

In Dubious Battle

2016

Out of the Furnace poster
6.6

Two brothers live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt, when a cruel twist of fate lands one in prison. His brother is then lured into one of the most violent crime rings in the Northeast.

Out of the Furnace

2013

August: Osage County poster
6.9

An intense look at the lives of the strong-willed daughters of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional mother who raised them.

August: Osage County

2013

Midnight Special poster
6.3

A father and son go on the run after the dad learns his child possesses special powers.

Midnight Special

2016

Cold in July poster
6.5

While investigating noises in his house one balmy Texas night in 1989, Richard Dane puts a bullet in the brain of a low-life burglar. Although he’s hailed as a small-town hero, Dane soon finds himself fearing for his family’s safety when Freddy’s ex-con father rolls into town, hell-bent on revenge.

Cold in July

2014

Fair Game poster
6.5

A devoted wife and mother leads a secret life as a CIA agent until her husband’s article exposes a scandal, putting her identity and loved ones at risk. As her world crumbles, she must navigate the fallout of her double life.

Fair Game

2010

Mud poster
7.1

Two teenage boys find a fugitive hiding out on an island in the Mississippi River and help him reunite with his lover and escape an avenging family and their armed posse.

Mud

2013

Darling Companion poster
5.0

Beth develops a deep bond with a dog she rescues. But when her self-absorbed husband loses the dog, the search takes some unexpected turns.

Darling Companion

2012

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese poster
7.0

Part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream, this film captures the troubled spirit of America in 1975 and the joyous music that Dylan performed during the fall of that year.

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese

2019

Ithaca poster
5.2

In a small town in California's San Joaquin Valley, 14-year-old Homer Macauley is determined to be the best and fastest bicycle telegraph messenger anyone has ever seen. His older brother has gone to war, leaving Homer to look after his widowed mother, his older sister and his 4-year-old brother, Ulysses. And so it is that as spring turns to summer, 1942, Homer Macauley delivers messages of love, hope, pain... and death... to the good people of Ithaca. And Homer Macauley will grapple with one message that will change him forever - from a boy into a man. Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan's 1943 novel, The Human Comedy, ITHACA is the quintessential wartime tale of the Home Front. It is a coming-of-age story about the exuberance of youth, the sweetness of life, the sting of death and the modesty and sheer goodness that lives in each and every one of us.

Ithaca

2015

Blackthorn poster
6.6

In Bolivia, Butch Cassidy (now calling himself James Blackthorn) pines for one last sight of home, an adventure that aligns him with a young robber and makes the duo a target for gangs and lawmen alike.

Blackthorn

2011

Inhale poster
6.0

A couple goes to dangerous lengths to find a lung donor for their daughter.

Inhale

2010

California Typewriter poster
6.9

A story about people whose lives are connected by typewriters. A meditation on creativity and technology featuring Tom Hanks, John Mayer, Sam Shepard, David McCullough and others.

California Typewriter

2017

Savannah poster
6.0

Savannah is the true story of Ward Allen, a romantic and bombastic character who rejects his plantation heritage for the freedom of life on a river. Ward navigates the change of early 20th century America on the wrong side of the law and society, his long-time friend, a freed slave named Christmas Moultrie, at his side. Master of Shakespeare, and the shotgun that provides Savannah's markets with fowl, Ward fights for his rights as a hunter. His charisma and eloquent rhetoric win the heart of a society woman who defies her father to marry him. An elderly Moultrie tells the story of life on the river with his friend to a little boy, who passes the legendary Ward Allen down to the next generation.

Savannah

2013

Never Here poster
4.9

An artist whose work involves capturing images of strangers begins to believe she herself is being observed.

Never Here

2017

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction poster
6.9

An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction

2013

2000s · 22 titles

Black Hawk Down poster
7.4

When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, and the Americans suffer heavy casualties, facing intense fighting from the militia on the ground.

Black Hawk Down

2001

The Notebook poster
7.9

An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World War II, and is then passionately reunited, seven years later, after they have taken different paths.

The Notebook

2004

Charlotte's Web poster
6.2

Wilbur the pig is scared of the end of the season, because he knows that come that time, he will end up on the dinner table. He hatches a plan with Charlotte, a spider that lives in his pen, to ensure that this will never happen.

Charlotte's Web

2006

Brothers poster
7.3

When his helicopter goes down during his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan, Marine Sam Cahill is presumed dead. Back home, brother Tommy steps in to look over Sam’s wife, Grace, and two children. Sam’s surprise homecoming triggers domestic mayhem.

Brothers

2009

Swordfish poster
6.3

Rogue agent Gabriel Shear is determined to get his mitts on $9 billion stashed in a secret Drug Enforcement Administration account. He wants the cash to fight terrorism, but lacks the computer skills necessary to hack into the government mainframe. Enter Stanley Jobson, a n'er-do-well encryption expert who can log into anything.

Swordfish

2001

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford poster
7.1

Outlaw Jesse James is rumored to be the 'fastest gun in the West'. An eager recruit into James' notorious gang, Robert Ford eventually grows jealous of the famed outlaw and, when Robert and his brother sense an opportunity to kill James, their murderous action elevates their target to near mythical status.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

2007

The Accidental Husband poster
5.6

Emma, a radio host, is about to be married to Richard, her perfect match. But right before her wedding, she learns she's already married to Patrick, a charming but irresponsible fireman. Furthermore, Patrick has a secret: he has arranged this little trick because Emma advised Patrick's ex-fiancée to end their relationship. However, Patrick may find that the trick is on him, for he soon begins to fall in love with his uptight adversary.

The Accidental Husband

2008

Felon poster
7.1

A family man convicted of killing an intruder must cope with life afterward in the violent penal system.

Felon

2008

Bandidas poster
6.1

When a ruthless robber baron takes away everything they cherish, a rough-and-tumble, idealistic peasant and a sophisticated heiress embark on a quest for justice, vengeance…and a few good heists.

Bandidas

2006

All the Pretty Horses poster
5.7

The year is 1949. A young Texan named John Grady finds himself without a home after his mother sells the ranch where he has spent his entire life. Lured south of the border by the romance of cowboy life and the promise of a fresh start, Cole and his pal embark on an adventure that will test their resilience, define their maturity, and change their lives forever.

All the Pretty Horses

2000

Stealth poster
5.5

Deeply ensconced in a top-secret military program, three pilots struggle to bring an artificial intelligence program under control ... before it initiates the next world war.

Stealth

2005

The Pledge poster
6.6

A police chief, about to retire, pledges to help a woman find her daughter's killer.

The Pledge

2001

The Return poster
6.0

Joanna Mills has a successful career but feels her personal life is spinning out of control. She has few friends, an estranged father, and a crazy ex-boyfriend who is stalking her. Joanna begins having terrifying visions of a woman's murder, and it seems that she is the killer's next target. Determined to solve the mystery and escape her apparent fate, Joanna follows her visions to the victim's hometown and finds that some secrets just do not stay buried.

The Return

2006

Blind Horizon poster
5.8

Left for dead in the remote Southwest, Frank is found clinging to life and in a state of amnesia. As he recovers, ominous memories begin to flash back...

Blind Horizon

2003

Don't Come Knocking poster
6.2

Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his selfish and failed life with alcohol, drugs and young women. If he were to die now, nobody would shed a tear over him, that's the sad truth. Until one day Howard learns that he might have a child somewhere out there...

Don't Come Knocking

2005

Ruffian poster
8.0

Ruffian is an American made-for-television movie that tells the story of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame Champion thoroughbred filly Ruffian who went undefeated until her death after breaking down in a nationally televised match race at Belmont Park on July 6, 1975 against the Kentucky Derby winner, Foolish Pleasure. Made by ESPN Original Entertainment, the film is directed by Yves Simoneau and stars Sam Shepard as Ruffian's trainer, Frank Whiteley. The producers used four different geldings in the role of Ruffian. Locations for the 2007 film included Louisiana Downs in Shreveport, Louisiana and Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

Ruffian

2007

Hamlet poster
5.8

Modern day adaptation of Shakespeare's immortal story about Hamlet's plight to avenge his father's murder in New York City.

Hamlet

2000

Leo poster
6.1

A young mother is plagued by a tragic mistake and alienates her little boy. A brilliant writer is released from prison after serving a 15-year sentence and begins working at Vic's Diner. Their stories converge when the man must overcome obstacles of the past to save the little boy and ultimately himself.

Leo

2002

Patti Smith: Dream of Life poster
6.1

An intimate portrait of poet, painter, musician and singer Patti Smith that mirrors the essence of the artist herself.

Patti Smith: Dream of Life

2008

Walker Payne poster
4.8

A small-town father is forced to make difficult, heartbreaking decisions in order to save his two daughters.

Walker Payne

2006

Trudell poster
5.7

A chronicle of legendary Native American poet/activist John Trudell's travels, spoken word performances, and politics.

Trudell

2005

One Kill poster
7.2

A divorced female marine officer with two small children begins an affair with a senior officer.

One Kill

2000

1990s · 11 titles

The Pelican Brief poster
6.6

A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.

The Pelican Brief

1993

Thunderheart poster
6.4

A young mixed-blood FBI agent is assigned to work with a cynical veteran investigator on a murder on a poverty-stricken Sioux reservation.

Thunderheart

1992

Snow Falling on Cedars poster
6.1

In the 1950s, a Japanese-American fisherman is suspected of killing his neighbour at sea. For Ishmael, a local reporter, the trial strikes a deep emotional chord when he finds his ex-lover is linked to the case. As he investigates the killing, he uncovers some startling clues that lead him to a shocking discovery.

Snow Falling on Cedars

1999

Curtain Call poster
5.1

A bachelor afraid of marriage angers his long-time girlfriend by buying a splendid townhouse just for himself, only to find it haunted by the ghosts of a famous theatrical couple, who teach him about love and commitment.

Curtain Call

1998

The Good Old Boys poster
6.7

An aging cowboy must choose between his desire to remain free and the responsibilities of maintaining a family.

The Good Old Boys

1995

Purgatory poster
7.2

An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven... or screw up and go to Hell.

Purgatory

1999

Safe Passage poster
5.9

Recently estranged from her husband, and mother of seven sons, Mag Singer stands poised to pursue a whole new way of life. But when one of her children is involved in an explosion while on duty in the Middle East, Mag must rexamine everything she cherishes.

Safe Passage

1994

Defenseless poster
4.9

A Los Angeles lawyer defends her former college roommate, whose husband — her lover — has been slain.

Defenseless

1991

Bright Angel poster
4.8

In Montana, naive teenager George longs to escape from his broken home before his dysfunctional parents push him over the edge. When George meets pretty drifter Lucy, she easily convinces him and his friend Claude to join her on a road trip to Montana in hopes of breaking her brother out of jail.

Bright Angel

1990

The Only Thrill poster
5.0

A small-town store owner with a comatose wife shares a long-term relationship with his seamstress.

The Only Thrill

1997

Voyager poster
6.2

April 1957: Rational engineer Faber's plane crashes in Mexico, where he learns that he became a father in 1938. He takes a ship from NYC to France and meets cute, young Sabeth. Is it fate?

Voyager

1991

1980s · 8 titles

Steel Magnolias poster
7.2

A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship and welcome her into the fold.

Steel Magnolias

1989

Baby Boom poster
6.4

J.C. Wiatt is a talented and ambitious New York City career woman who is married to her job and working towards partner at her firm. She has a live-in relationship with Steven, a successful investment broker who, along with J.C., agreed children aren't part of the plan. J.C.'s life takes an unexpected turn when a distant relative dies and the will appoints her the caretaker of their baby girl, Elizabeth. The baby's sudden arrival causes Steven to leave, breaking off their relationship. Juggling power lunches and powdered formula, she is soon forced off the fast track by a conniving colleague and a bigoted boss. But she won't stay down for long. She'll prove to the world that a woman can have it all and on her own terms too!

Baby Boom

1987

The Right Stuff poster
7.4

At the dawn of the Space Race, seven test pilots set out to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings momentous challenges.

The Right Stuff

1983

Crimes of the Heart poster
6.1

Three sisters try to come to grips with the meaning of their mother's suicide.

Crimes of the Heart

1986

Frances poster
6.9

The true story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.

Frances

1982

Resurrection poster
6.5

The story of a woman who survives the car accident which kills her husband, but discovers that she has the power to heal other people. She becomes an unwitting celebrity, the hope of those in desperate need of healing, and a lightning rod for religious beliefs and skeptics.

Resurrection

1980

Raggedy Man poster
5.7

A divorced mother of two boys is stuck working as a telephone operator in a small Texas town during World War II. Her friendship with a Navy sailor on shore leave causes gossip in town.

Raggedy Man

1981

Country poster
6.5

Jewell and Gil are farmers. They seem to be working against the odds, producing no financial surplus. Gil has lost hope of ever becoming prosperous, but Jewell decides to fight for her family.

Country

1984

Series credits

Great Performances poster
6.1

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Great Performances

1971

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Bloodline poster
7.1

A dramatic thriller that explores the demons lurking beneath the surface of a contemporary American family. The Rayburns are hard-working pillars of their Florida Keys community. But when the black sheep son comes home for the 45th anniversary of his parents' hotel, he threatens to expose the Rayburns' dark secrets and shameful past, pushing his siblings to the limits of family loyalty.

Bloodline

2015

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In poster
6.8

An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

1968

Klondike poster
7.1

The lives of two childhood best friends, Bill and Epstein, in the late 1890s as they flock to the gold rush capital in the untamed Yukon Territory. This man-versus-nature tale places our heroes in a land full of undiscovered wealth, but ravaged by harsh conditions, unpredictable weather and desperate, dangerous characters including greedy businessmen, seductive courtesans and native tribes witnessing the destruction of their people and land by opportunistic entrepreneurs.

Klondike

2014

Streets of Laredo poster
6.3

Captain Woodrow Call, now retired from the Rangers, is a bounty hunter. He is hired by an eastern rail baron to track down Joey Garza, a new kind of killer, only a boy, who kills from a distance with a rifle.

Streets of Laredo

1995

Behind the camera

Paris, Texas poster
8.1

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.

Paris, Texas

1984

Zabriskie Point poster
7.0

Anthropology student Daria, who's helping a property developer build a village in the Los Angeles desert, and dropout Mark, who's wanted by the authorities for allegedly killing a policeman during a student riot, accidentally encounter each other in Death Valley and soon begin an unrestrained romance.

Zabriskie Point

1970

Don't Come Knocking poster
6.2

Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his selfish and failed life with alcohol, drugs and young women. If he were to die now, nobody would shed a tear over him, that's the sad truth. Until one day Howard learns that he might have a child somewhere out there...

Don't Come Knocking

2005

Silent Tongue poster
4.7

Mad with grief after the death of his Kiowa wife, Roe awaits death under a tree with her body beside him. She begins to haunt him because he won't bury her. His father, who bought him the wife, thinks her sister might reason with Roe.

Silent Tongue

1994

Silent Tongue poster
4.7

Mad with grief after the death of his Kiowa wife, Roe awaits death under a tree with her body beside him. She begins to haunt him because he won't bury her. His father, who bought him the wife, thinks her sister might reason with Roe.

Silent Tongue

1994

Oh! Calcutta! poster
3.4

Based on the controversial off-Broadway musical comedy revue, "Oh! Calcutta!" is a series of musical numbers about sex and sexual mores. Most of the skits feature one or more performers in a state of undress, simulating sex, or both. The show sparked considerable controversy at the time because it featured extended scenes of total nudity, both male and female. The title is taken from a painting by Clovis Trouille, itself a pun on "O quel cul t'as!" French for "What an arse you have!".

Oh! Calcutta!

1972

Curse of the Starving Class poster
4.6

Curse of the Starving Class is a play by Sam Shepard, considered the first of a series on family tragedies. Drama about a dirt-poor 1950's-era farm family. Dad's a foul talking drunk and Mom is desperately trying to save what's left of their family life.

Curse of the Starving Class

1994

Me and My Brother poster
6.5

Julius Orlovsky, after spending years in a New York mental hospital, emerges catatonic and must rely on his brother Peter, who lives with poet Allen Ginsberg. When Julius wanders off in the middle of filming, Frank hires and actor (Joseph Chaikin) to play the character and begins a fictional version of his psychological portrait. Then, as suddenly as he vanished, Julius turns up in an institution where he and Peter must face their relationship.

Me and My Brother

1969

Far North poster
6.5

After generations of being apart, an accident brings a family back together and they begin to cope with their original issues.

Far North

1988

Far North poster
6.5

After generations of being apart, an accident brings a family back together and they begin to cope with their original issues.

Far North

1988

See You in My Dreams poster
8.0

Joe, an overwrought rancher is striving from his harsh upbringing, trying make a better life for his family. When his business falters, Joe fears his son, at the age of 15, will follow in his footsteps, and decides to drive him from home.

See You in My Dreams

2004

Renaldo and Clara poster
7.9

Filmed in the autumn of 1975 prior to and during Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour – featuring appearances and performances by Ronee Blakley, T-Bone Burnett, Jack Elliott, Allen Ginsberg, Arlo Guthrie, Ronnie Hawkins, Roger McGuinn, Joni Mitchell, Mick Ronson, Arlen Roth, Phil Ochs, Sam Shepard, and Harry Dean Stanton – the film incorporates three distinct film genres: concert footage, documentary interviews, and dramatic fictional vignettes reflective of Dylan's song lyrics and life.

Renaldo and Clara

1978

True West poster
8.2

A screenwriter gets conned out of selling a script to a Hollywood producer by his brother, who pitches his own idea for a movie. This video recording of the 1982 Steppenwolf Theatre Company production was later broadcast by PBS.

True West

1984

Fool for Love poster
5.7

A woman is waiting in a motel for her boyfriend, when an old flame turns up and tries to take her back to the life she is trying to leave behind.

Fool for Love

1985

True West poster
7.3

Filmed play about two very different brothers, one a criminal and the other a screen-writing family man who becomes appalled by his wayward brother's relationship with a producer.

True West

2002

Buried Child poster
NR

Sam Shepard's Pulitzer Prize-winning play in a production by The New Group. Dodge and Halie try to hang on to their farmland and their sanity while caring for their two wayward grown sons. When their grandson arrives, no one seems to recognize him and a secret must be kept.

Buried Child

2016

True West poster
NR

A screenwriter gets conned out of selling a script to a Hollywood producer by his brother, who pitches his own idea for a movie. The damaged relationship between two estranged brothers striving for success is deconstructed in this comedic and tension-filled production at the Tricycle Theatre, London, captured for screen by Digital Theatre.

True West

2016

Savage/Love poster
9.0

A prelude to Tongues (1982) which languishes over love and its effect on people.

Savage/Love

1981

No artwork available
6.0

A performance piece written by Sam Shepard, enacted by Joseph Chaikin and directed by Shirley Clarke, a dying man reflects on his life while delivering his own last rites.

Tongues

1982