Playwright, Actor Sam Shepard Dies At 73

NEW YORK (CBSLA.com/AP) -- Sam Shepard, actor and playwright, dies at 73, according to a family spokesman.

Shepard won the Pulitzer Prize for his play, "Buried Child", was nominated for an Oscar for his role in "The Right Stuff" and recently appeared on Netflix's "Bloodline".

Family spokesman Chris Boneau said Monday that Shepard died Thursday at his home in Kentucky from complications related to Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The taciturn Shepard, who grew up on a California ranch, was a man of few words who nevertheless produced 44 plays and numerous books, memoirs and short stories. His 1979 play "Buried Child" won the Pulitzer for drama.

GALLERY: 2017 Celebrity Deaths

His Western drawl and laconic presence made him a reluctant movie star, too. He appeared in dozens of films and recently starred in the first season of the Netflix series "Bloodline" as the patriarch of a prominent Florida Keys family who try to keep a web of secrets from destroying their lives.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)