SAM SHEPARD had his first New York plays, Cowboys and Rock Garden, produced by Theatre Genesis in 1963. For several seasons, he worked with Off Off-Broadway theatre groups including La MaMa and Caffe Cino. Eleven of his plays have won Obie Awards including Chicago and Icarus's Mother (1965); Red Cross and la Turista (1966); Forensic and the Navigators and Melodrama Play (1967); The Tooth of Crime (1972); Action (1974) and Curse of the Starving Class (1976). Mr. Shepard was awarded a Pulitzer Prize as well as an Obie Award for his play Buried Child (1979). The critically acclaimed production of True West, starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise opened in New York in 1984. Fool for Love (1982) received the Obie for Best Play as well as for Direction. A Lie of the Mind (1985) won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award in 1986, the 1986 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Play. States of Shock premiered at the American Place Theatre in 1991 and a new play, Simpatico transferred to the Royal Court Theatre after its premiere in 1994 at the New York Shakespeare Festival. A new play, When the World Was Green (Chef's Fable), written with his long-time collaborator, Joseph Chaikin and commissioned by Seven Stages in Atlanta, premiered at the Olympic Arts Festival and will open in New York this fall. A revived Buried Child under the direction of Gary Sinise opened on Broadway in April 1996 and won a Tony Award Nomination. Signature Theatre Company devoted its ’96-’97 season to his work. Mr. Shepard wrote the screenplays for Zabriskie Point; Wim Wender’s Paris, Texas; Robert Altman’s Fool for Love, a film version of his play of the same title. As writer/director, Mr. Shepard filmed Far North and Silent Tongue in 1988 and 1992 respectively. As an actor he has appeared in the films Days of Heaven, Resurrection, Raggedy Man, The Right Stuff, Frances, Country, Fool for Love, Crimes of the Heart, Baby Boom, Steel Magnolias, Bright Angel, Defenseless, Voyager, Thunderheart, The Pelican Brief and Safe Passage. In 1986, Mr. Shepard was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1992, he received the Gold Medal for Drama from the Academy and in 1994 he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.