Shepard, Alan Bartlett, Jr., 1923-98, American astronaut, b. East Derry, N.H., grad. Annapolis, 1944. He served on a destroyer during World War II and later had extensive experience as a test pilot. On May 5, 1961, under the U.S. space program Project Mercury, he became the first American to be launched into space. His flight was a suborbital trip of 302 mi (486 km) down the Atlantic missile range. He reached a height of 115 mi (185 km) and performed several maneuvers of his capsule, Freedom 7, during the 15-min flight. In 1971, he commanded the Apollo 14 lunar landing, becoming the fifth person to walk on the moon. In 1974, Shepard retired from both NASA and the U.S. navy (as a rear admiral) to enter private industry. With Deke Slayton, another original Mercury astronaut, he wrote Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon (1994).

Shepard, Sam, 1943-, American playwright and actor, b. Fort Sheridan, Ill., as Samuel Shepard Rogers 7th. A product of the 1960s counterculture, Shepard combines wild humor, grotesque satire, myth, and a sparse, haunting language evocative of Western movies to create a subversive pop art vision of America. His settings are often a kind of nowhere land on the American Plains, his characters are typically loners and drifters caught between a mythical past and the mechanized present, and his works often concern deeply troubled families. His many plays include Curse of the Starving Class (1977), Buried Child (1978; Pulitzer Prize), True West (1980), A Lie of the Mind (1985), States of Shock (1991), Simpatico (1994), The Late Henry Moss (2000), and The God of Hell (2004). Also involved in motion pictures, Shepard wrote the screenplays for The Right Stuff (1983), in which he played the part of Chuck Yeager, and Paris, Texas (1984); wrote and directed Far North (1989) and Silent Tongue (1994); and has acted in a number of other films. His other work includes the stories, meditations, and reminiscences collected in Motel Chronicles (1982), Cruising Paradise (1996), and Great Dream of Heaven (2002).

orig. Samuel Shepard Rogers

(born Nov. 5, 1943, Fort Sheridan, Ill., U.S.) U.S. playwright and actor. He worked as an actor and rock musician before turning to playwriting; his early one-act dramas and experimental plays were performed Off-Broadway in the 1960s, winning several Obie Awards. His successful full-length plays, noted for their often surreal images drawn from the American West, science fiction, and popular culture, include The Tooth of Crime (1972), Curse of the Starving Class (1976), Buried Child (1979, Pulitzer Prize), True West (1980), Fool for Love (1983; film, 1985), and Simpatico (1996). He wrote the screenplay for Paris, Texas (1984) and acted in numerous movies, including Days of Heaven (1978) and The Right Stuff (1983).

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(born Nov. 18, 1923, East Derry, N.H., U.S.—died July 21, 1998, Monterey, Calif.) U.S. astronaut. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the Pacific during World War II. In 1959 he became one of the original seven Mercury program astronauts. In May 1961, 23 days after Yury A. Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth, Shepard made a 15-minute suborbital flight that reached an altitude of 115 mi (185 km). He later commanded the Apollo 14 flight (1971), the first to land in the lunar highlands. Retiring from NASA and the navy in 1974, he entered private business.

Learn more about Shepard, Alan B(artlett), Jr. with a free trial on Britannica.com.

orig. Samuel Shepard Rogers

(born Nov. 5, 1943, Fort Sheridan, Ill., U.S.) U.S. playwright and actor. He worked as an actor and rock musician before turning to playwriting; his early one-act dramas and experimental plays were performed Off-Broadway in the 1960s, winning several Obie Awards. His successful full-length plays, noted for their often surreal images drawn from the American West, science fiction, and popular culture, include The Tooth of Crime (1972), Curse of the Starving Class (1976), Buried Child (1979, Pulitzer Prize), True West (1980), Fool for Love (1983; film, 1985), and Simpatico (1996). He wrote the screenplay for Paris, Texas (1984) and acted in numerous movies, including Days of Heaven (1978) and The Right Stuff (1983).

Learn more about Shepard, Sam with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born Nov. 18, 1923, East Derry, N.H., U.S.—died July 21, 1998, Monterey, Calif.) U.S. astronaut. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the Pacific during World War II. In 1959 he became one of the original seven Mercury program astronauts. In May 1961, 23 days after Yury A. Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth, Shepard made a 15-minute suborbital flight that reached an altitude of 115 mi (185 km). He later commanded the Apollo 14 flight (1971), the first to land in the lunar highlands. Retiring from NASA and the navy in 1974, he entered private business.

Learn more about Shepard, Alan B(artlett), Jr. with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Shepard may refer to:

• Shepard, Alberta, a hamlet in Canada
• Shepard (comics), a character in the Marvel Comics Universe
• Shepard (name)
• Shepherd, a common typo

See also

• Shepherd (disambiguation)
• Sheppard
• Shepard tone
• Shepard Settlement, New York
• Shepard Industrial, Calgary
• Shepard Middle School
• Shepard's method
• Shepard's Citations