The first time Martin stepped on stage was as a freshman when he played the role of a yeoman court stenographer in “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” by Herman Wouk. After moving to New York in his early 20s, he realized his name wasn’t helpful as he tried to make it as an actor. People couldn’t pronounce it, and so he decided to change it.
Martin Sheen speaks during the GCAPP EmPOWER Party & 25th Anniversary Virtual Event on November 12, 2020 | Source: Getty Images
Martin Sheen speaks during the GCAPP EmPOWER Party & 25th Anniversary Virtual Event on November 12, 2020 | Source: Getty Images
For a new stage name, he took the names of two people he found inspirational: one was Robert Dale Martin, a casting director at CBS, and the other, Fulton J Sheen, the American archbishop. However, he still retained his birth name on his ID.
Meeting the Love of His Life
Martin is married to Janet Sheen, born July 8, 1944, in Ohio, as Janet Elizabeth Templeton. She is an actress with two acting credits to her name and a producer. Janet is known for “The Way,” “Kennedy,” and “Beverly Hills Brats.”
Martin and Janet met in the winter of 1960 after Janet arrived in New York from Ohio. She was the only daughter of an unwed mother and had spent her first six years with her grandparents in Kentucky.
Martin Sheen and Janet Sheen during “Insight” Gala Honors Jack Albertson – March 21, 1980, in Beverly Hills | Source: Getty Images
Martin Sheen and Janet Sheen during “Insight” Gala Honors Jack Albertson – March 21, 1980, in Beverly Hills | Source: Getty Images
Janet then moved to Cleveland, where she attended public schools before gaining two university scholarships. After they had started dating, they were still struggling to make ends meet when Janet got pregnant with their first son, Emilio.
They were young when they got married on December 23, 1961. It was a fifteen-minute ceremony at the altar of the church of St. Stephen. Their wedding was sandwiched between an 8 a.m. Mass and a funeral.
