Sam Shepard Dead - Actor & Playwright Passes Away at 73

Sam Shepard, famous playwright as well as an accomplished actor and director, passed away at his home in Kentucky on Sunday (July 30) after battling ALS, the New York Times reports. He was 73.

A gifted playwright, he wrote forty-four in his lifetime, along with essays, books of short stories, and memoirs. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for the play Buried Child. In addition to his career as a writer, Sam was an accomplished actor and he was nominated for an Oscar for his work in 1983′s The Right Stuff.

Recently, Sam was featured in the Netflix series Bloodline in the role of Robert Rayburn. Other notable works include August: Osage County, Black Hawk Down, The Notebook, The Pelican Brief, and dozens more.

Our thoughts are with Sam‘s loved ones during this difficult time. He is survived by his two kids and his sisters.