Broadway dims its lights in memory of Sam Shepard

In accordance with The Broadway League, the Broadway theatres will dim their marquee lights tomorrow night in memory of actor, novelist and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard.

Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin commented:

"Sam Shepard was a prolific storyteller who created provocative, thoughtful, and exciting work for Broadway, off-Broadway, and film. His original voice was a definite draw for audiences and had an undeniable influence on other artists. He will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues."

Mr. Shepard was born in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, on November 5, 1943 and passed away on July 27, 2017, in Kentucky, at the age of 73. The lights will be dimmed at exactly 7:45pm tomorrow night for one minute.

Sam Shepard received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Buried Child in 1979, which later earned a Tony nomination for "Best Play" in 1996, after its Broadway premiere. He also earned Pulitzer Prize nominations for True West in 1983 (and a Tony nomination in 2000) and for Fool for Love in 1984 (which was also his most recent Broadway credit thanks to the Manhattan Theatre Club's 2015 production). He made his Broadway debut with his contributions for the musical revue Oh! Calcutta! in 1969 (which was later revived in 1976) and his first play to premiere on Broadway was Operation Sidewinder.

Mr. Shepard's screenwriting credits include Fool For Love, Zabriskie Point and Paris, Texas (for which he earned a BAFTA nomination). In addition, he wrote and served as director for Far North and Silent Tongue.

As an actor, he eanred an Oscar nomination for The Right Stuff in 1984 and received Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his performance as Dashiell Hammett in Dash and Lilly in 1999 and 2000, respectively. Other notable screen credits include Black Hawk Down, Swordfish, Mud, Fool for Love, Crimes of the Heart, Baby Boom, Steel Magnolias, Bright Angel, The Notebook, Black Hawk Down, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Brothers, Safe House, August: Osage County and, most recently, in the Netflix series Bloodline.