This Is the Play That Won Sam Shepard a Pulitzer Prize

This week, beloved actor and playwright Sam Shepard died of complications from ALS at the age of 73. His passing was met with an outpouring of emotion from famous fans who have long been inspired by his work; in addition to starring in classic films like The Right Stuff, Steel Magnolias, Black Hawk Down, and The Notebook, Shepard also penned over 40 plays, as well as a handful of books, short stories, memoirs, and essays. It was one of these projects that won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1979.

Shepard took home the Pulitzer Prize for drama thanks to his play Buried Child in 1979. It follows a family during the rural economic slowdown of the 1970s and depicts the disillusionment with the American Dream. It launched Shepard into fame as a playwright, and Buried Child's Broadway production in 1996 also garnered five Tony Award nominations. Shepard was also nominated for two more Drama Prize Pulitzer awards: in 1983 for True West and again the following year for Fool For Love.