On August 3, 1940, Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez was born. He played in “The Subject Was Roses” and “Badlands.”
The versatile actor gained fame in 1979 as Captain Benjamin Willard in “Apocalypse Now.”
One of America’s most recognized, accomplished, and colorful actors, he has won Emmys, SAGs, and Golden Globes.
Child of Immigrants Wants to Act
The mystery actor was born to Irish mother Mary-Ann Phelan and Spanish father Francisco Estévez Martínez. His parents met in Ohio during citizenship school.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, he is one of ten children. A set of forceps crushed his left shoulder at birth, paralyzing his left arm for a lengthy period and limiting his left arm’s lateral movement.
He didn’t consider his family impoverished because everyone they knew lived like them. Though it was hard, losing his mother before his 11th birthday made him strong, tolerant, and respectful of his father.
At six or seven years old, Martin started going to the movies and realized he wanted to be an actor.
He caddied at a Dayton, Ohio, exclusive golf club for nine years while in high school. He helped his father and had amazing experiences.
The actor is Martin Sheen. He only cared about the dramatics club, where he performed in high school plays. Father Alfred Drapp mentored Sheen and provided him money for New York.
Martin made his stage debut as a freshman in Herman Wouk’s “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” as a yeoman court stenographer. After going to New York in his early 20s, he found his name didn’t benefit him as an actor. He changed it because others couldn’t pronounce it.
He named his new stage name after CBS casting director Robert Dale Martin and American archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who inspired him. His ID still showed his birth name.
Meeting his soulmate
Martin married Ohio-born Janet Elizabeth Templeton Sheen, born July 8, 1944. She is a producer and two-time actress. Janet did “The Way,” “Kennedy,” and “Beverly Hills Brats.”
Martin and Janet met in winter 1960 after Janet moved from Ohio to New York. The sole daughter of an unmarried mother, she spent her first six years with her grandparents in Kentucky.
After moving to Cleveland, Janet attended public schools and received two university scholarships. When Janet was pregnant with Emilio, their first son, they were still struggling to make ends meet after dating.
They married young on December 23, 1961. The altar ceremony at St. Stephen’s church lasted 15 minutes. Their wedding happened between an 8 a.m. Mass and a burial.
They then held an impromptu brunch event at a neighboring Jewish deli with 12 Living Theatre friends. There was no better day for the newlyweds.
Not Making Ends Meet
They lost their home due to financial issues. They lived with Martin’s father and brothers after packing a suitcase.
After finding a cheap apartment, he lived in Paul Newman’s building. The building was their home for two years. When their second son, Ramón, was born quickly, they had to deliver him alone without going to the hospital.
Janet bled after the baby got stuck in the birth canal. Martin called an ambulance, but the baby arrived first.
Martin thought they would have twins until Janet corrected him before the placenta came out. Mercifully, mother and son were fine when they arrived at the hospital.
Scariest Woman yet the Best Wife
His wife helped Martin stay grounded after he grew emaciated and had a heart attack while filming “Apocalypse Now” in the Philippines. He was evacuated to Makati Medical Center in Manila after the heart attack. Janet muttered, “It’s only a movie,” as he was rushed down the corridor in a gurney.
She was right, and he recovered and their marriage was solidified that day. He survived the heart attack mentally, and Janet was helping him recover.
The heart attack harmed Martin. He admitted “I broke down. My spirit was shown. Crying ensued. I turned gray- my eyes, my beard, all gray.” His wife was beside him through it all and slept on the floor while he was in intensive care.
However, Martin knew he needed to do a lot of work to get out this, and part of that was taking responsibility for the part he played in his health complications.
In December 2015, when he underwent quadruple-bypass heart surgery, his wife was there trying to make him laugh. She was always telling him not to take himself so seriously. When he was a struggling alcoholic and troubled in many areas, his wife had her work cut out for her. However, he didn’t get sober until ten years after his first heart attack.
Martin and Janet celebrated their 60th anniversary during COVID-19. When he was asked how he had managed to stay married to the same woman for so long. He said, “I was fortunate enough to marry the scariest woman I’d ever met. She did not lie. It was impossible.”
The actor always admired his wife’s honesty and believed that it was what had kept him grounded and allowed for their marriage to continue 61 years. On top of the honesty, the family always tried their best to stay together. Whenever Martin went shooting away from home the children knew they would be yanked out of school.
For him, he had never encountered a person with more honesty in his life. He couldn’t keep up with her, so it took him a long time to be as even and direct as she is. He said
“And that’s the relationship. I honestly don’t have a clue who she is because when I get to the point where I’ve caught up with her, she’s gone.”
Supportive Dad to His Offspring
Emilio, Ramón, Carlos (Charlie Sheen), and Renée have a loving and caring father in Martin. Film director, screenwriter, and producer Emilio was part of the mid-1980s “Brat Pack.”
Ramón, an actor and theater director, appeared in “Cadence,” “A State of Emergency,” and other 1980s and 1990s films. Carlos, better known as Charlie, is the highest-paid TV actor who starred in “Platoon,” “Wall Street,” and “Two and a Half Men” the CBS sitcom.
Renée, his last child, began acting and writing in 1986 in “Babies Having Babies.” She appeared in “Shattered Spirits” and “Heathers.”
Martin never thought his kids would follow him. He was surprised to see Emilio on the movie set, where he found his son has potential. He also prevented them from getting roles by pleading.