The Right Stuff actor Sam Shepard is dead at 73
ACTOR and playwright Sam Shepard has died at the age of 73.
The star, who was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Chuck Yeager in the 19 3 film The Right Stuff, died at his home in Kentucky.
Last night a spokesman said the actor died from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that causes the cells which control muscles to die.
Born in 1943 in Illinois, Shepard featured in many films including Black Hawk Down, The Notebook, Days of Heaven and Steel Magnolias.
He wrote more than 40 plays, including the Pulitzer Prizewinning Buried Child in 1979.
He was in a relationship with Oscar-winner Jessica Lange for almost 30 years and had two children with her. He also had another child with his former wife, actress O-Lan Jones.