Sam Shepard

A quadruple threat as an actor, director, screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (for "Buried Child"), Sam Shepard was born Nov. 5, 1943, in Fort Sheridan, Ill. After a nomadic upbringing, he headed for New York City and soon had a pair of plays produced; in the early 1970s, Shepard was the resident playwright at San Francisco's Magic Theater.

His acting career kicked into gear with impressive turns in Days of Heaven (1978) and Raggedy Man (1981). In 1983, his performance as test pilot Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff brought Shepard not only stardom but an Oscar nod as Best Supporting Actor. His other noteworthy films include Baby Boom (1987), Steel Magnolias (1989), The Pelican Brief (1993) and Black Hawk Down (2001).

No stranger to the small screen, the lanky actor copped Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his work in the made-for-TV movie Dash and Lilly (1999).

In Dubious Battle

2017 R

Helmed by actor James Franco, this cinematic adaptation of John Steinbeck's Depression-era novel follows a pair of young activists who pose as California apple pickers to organize the workers and incite a strike over pay cuts.