Actor, writer, Sam Shepard arrested for drunken driving

New York, January 4:Illinois police on Saturday nabbed Hollywood actor and playwright Sam Shepard for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding 15-20 mph over the limit.

Shepard was northbound in the 700 block of North Main Street around two Saturday morning when officers clocked him on radar going 46 mph in a 30 mph zone and pulled him over, according to Normal police Lt. Mark Kotte.

The 65-year-old Pulitzer Prize-winning actor was driving 16 mph over the 30 mph speed limit, Kotte said.

A breath test indicated Shepard's blood-alcohol level was double the legal limit. He blew an impressive 0.175 which is roughly twice the legal limit.

“The way he pulled up on the curb, it appeared he was driving under the influence,” Kotte said.

Shepard was arrested at the scene on preliminary charges of speeding and drunken driving and was taken to McLean County jail, where he later posted a $300 bond and was released from the jail later Saturday. Jail authorities said he had no court date scheduled.

According to the Bloomington, Illinois, Pantagraph, Shepard told police that he had been at a tavern in nearby Bloomington and was heading to a hotel. The newspaper said the actor told the cops that he was on his way to his home in Kentucky from Minnesota.

Born Nov 05, 1943 in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, Shepard is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, an Oscar-nominated actor, and a director and screenwriter. The multi-talented star won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for drama for his play "Buried Child." He worked as an actor and rock musician before turning to playwriting.

After the end of his relationship with the singer and musician Patti Smith, Shepard met Oscar-winning actress Jessica Lange on the set of a movie they both starred in, Frances, and they have been together ever since. They have two children, Hannah Jane (born 1985) and Walker Samuel Shepard (born 1987).