Actor, writer Sam Shepard charged with DUI

NORMAL, Ill., Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Sam Shepard, the writer and actor who won a Pulitzer Prize for his play "Buried Child," was charged with drunken driving Saturday in Illinois.

Police in Normal, Ill., stopped Shepard for speeding at about 2 a.m., the Bloomington Pantagraph reported. Lt. Mark Kotte said Shepard drove his Chevy Tahoe over the curb as he came to a stop.

"The way he pulled up upon the curb, it appeared he was driving under the influence," Kotte said.

Shepard was released from the McLean County Jail Saturday after posting bail.

Shepard told police he had been at a bar, Fat Jack's, in Bloomington, Ill., and was on his way to a Best Western hotel in Normal when he was pulled over. Tyler Holloway, who owns the bar, told the Pantagraph Shepard has stopped there several times while driving between his home in Kentucky and Minnesota and Montana.

Although Shepard has played a number of pilots, including ace test pilot Chuck Yeager in "The Right Stuff," he reportedly fears flying.

Shepard lives with his longtime partner, Jessica Lange, and their two children.