Sail Away: The World Marks the Passing of A Literary Icon

Sam Shepard, whose writing defined a generation, died on Thursday at his home in Kentucky. He was 73. Perhaps most widely known for his roles in film, including an Oscar nominated performance in The Right Stuff, Mr. Shepard's lasting legacy will be his contribution to American Theatre, where he will be remembered as one of the most important playwrights of the 20th Century.

Shepard's writing embraced a poetic, surreal and often absurdist tone that examined characters living on the fringes of American society. In 1979, Shepard won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for his play Buried Child. Other major works include Curse of the Starving Class (1978), True West (1980) and Fool for Love (1983). In total, Shepard published more than fifty plays, and acted in well over fifty films. Aside from his Oscar nomination and the Prize for Buried Child, he was nominated two additional times for the Pulitzer, received two Tony Award nominations, nine Obie Awards, and countless other awards an honors.

Sam Shepard is survived by his children — Jesse, Hannah and Walker Shepard — and his sisters, Sandy and Roxanne Rogers.

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