Cygnet Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and actor Sam Shepard has died. May he rest in peace. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_OBIT_SAM_SHEPARD_BAOL-?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Link to comment
JMcN Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I'm so sorry to read that Sam Shepard has passed away. RIP Link to comment
dirac Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 RIP. I didn’t know he had Lou Gehrig’s disease – apparently it was not publicly mentioned till now. Quote Shepard's plays are chiefly known for their bleak, poetic, often surrealist elements, black humor and rootless characters living on the outskirts of American society. His style has evolved over the years, from the absurdism of his early Off-Off-Broadway work to the realism of Buried Child and Curse of the Starving Class (both 1978). It didn’t hurt that he was good-looking, and that his looks matched up with the way he wrote. The wonderful TV production of “True West” with John Malkovich and Gary Sinise is available in its entirety on You Tube. Link to comment
pherank Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I've always enjoyed his acting too, his general demeanor in roles seemed quintessentially American, but never in a 'larger than life' manner - something more vague was constantly nagging away at him. Link to comment
dirac Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Very true, pherank. He could even bring something to generic roles like the dreamboat vet(erinarian) in "Baby Boom." Link to comment
kfw Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 True West was the first Shepard I ever encountered - the original, Steppenwolf Theater production with Malkovich and Sinise, but on a little black and white TV. It's on YouTube now and it's still my favorite, but Fool for Love and Paris, Texas aren't far behind. Shepard lived (and drank) around here for quite awhile and I saw him a couple of times, but I've never been one to approach celebrities and he didn't exactly exude approachability, LOL. RIP. I hope he's found it. Link to comment
sandik Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 4 hours ago, kfw said: RIP. I hope he's found it. Me too. Link to comment
Peg Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 He was so gifted. The most beautiful remembrance I've seen thus far is by Patti Smith: My Buddy http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/my-buddy-sam-shepard Link to comment
miliosr Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 8 hours ago, Peg said: He was so gifted. The most beautiful remembrance I've seen thus far is by Patti Smith: My Buddy http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/my-buddy-sam-shepard Shepard played a pivotal role in Smith's life, as she recounted in her award-winning memoir, Just Kids: Before Sam left New York City [in 1971] for Nova Scotia, he gave me some money in an envelope. It was for me to take care of myself. He looked at me, my cowboy with Indian ways. "You know, the dreams you had for me weren't my dreams," he said. "Maybe those dreams are meant for you." Link to comment
pherank Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 The Patti Smith piece is indeed lovely. Link to comment
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