Sam Shepard, acclaimed writer and actor, dies at 73 It is with great sadness that we report (via The New York Times) that acclaimed actor and Pulitzer-winning writer Sam Shepard passed away this past Thursday, July 27, due to complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Shepard was best known to movie fans for his Academy Award-nominated role portraying pilot Chuck Yeager in 1983’s The Right Stuff.