Actor and playwright Sam Shepard dies from ALS complications

Actor and Pulitzer-winning playwright Sam Shepard has died from complications related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a representative for his family said on Monday. Shepard, 73, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1979 for his play Buried Child, died last week at home in Kentucky on Thursday, surrounded by his family, spokesman Chris Boneau said in a statement to Reuters.