Samuel Shepard Rogers III was born on 5 November 1943, in Ford Sheridan, Illinois USA, and is a screenwriter, director, author, actor, and playwright, best known for authoring over 44 plays. He’s also written other projects, but notably won a Pulitzer Prize for his play “Buried Child”. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Sam Shepard? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that is at $8 million, mostly earned through his success both on and off camera. He’s been nominated for an Academy Award for his work in “The Right Stuff”, and has been called “the greatest American playwright of his generation”. All of these have ensured the position of his wealth.
Sam Shepard Net Worth $8 million
In his teens, Shepard worked on a ranch, and attended Duarte (California) High School. After matriculating, he attended Mt. San Antonio College, studying agriculture before deciding to leave school and join a touring repertory group called the Bishop’s Company.
Sam persevered trying his hand at theatre, and would make appearances in several Off-Off-Broadway productions, his efforts in stage plays proved fruitful, winning him six Oble Awards from 1966 to 1968. This elevated his status as a potential screenwriter, and then he started to work on “Me and My Brother”. Some of his early works include “La Turista”, “Oh! Calcutta!” and “Indian War Whoop”. He tried writing various genres, working on the science fiction “The Unseen Hand” and the stage musical “The Rocky Horror Show”, but he decided to abandon the production of “Cowboy Mouth” after the opening night, and went to the University of California, Davis to work as a Regents’ Professor of Drama. He continued to improve his writing during this time and eventually became the playwright-in-residence at the Magic Theatre. His net worth was well advanced.
During his time there, he would produce many well-known works including “Buried Child” which would win him a Pulitzer Prize. Other projects he worked on include “A Lie of the Mind”, “Fool for Love” and “True West”. He was gaining popularity as one of the best playwrights of the time and would continue working on several more productions. In 1978, he tried his hand at an acting career in “Days of Heaven” opposite Richard Gere, and this would lead to more acting projects including “Resurrection” and “The Right Stuff” which would earn him an Academy Award nomination. He continued working both as an actor and playwright, gaining recognition in both careers.
While improving upon his career, Sam would occasionally teach and conduct seminars on theatre. He would continue to write noteworthy plays such as “The Late Henry Moss”, and would appear in the film “Black Hawk Down” which was a box office hit. Among his latest projects are a revival of “A Lie of the Mind” and “Ages of the Moon”. He has released a collection called “Day out of Days: Stories” too, which features a lot of his written work over the years.
For his personal life, it is known that Sam was married to actress O-Lan Jones from 1969 to 1984 and they have a son. In 1970, he had an affair with Patti Smith but it ended after a year. After his marriage to Jones, he met actress Jessica Lange and moved in with her in 1983. They lived together for nearly 30 years and had two children, but separated in 2009.
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