Dayton, Ohio has a lot of attractive features and city icons and landmarks that entice numerous tourists every year. And while they are busy enjoying the accommodations of the hotels Dayton and the sights and sounds of this city, they may also be interested in knowing that some famous personalities have sprung from there. Martin Sheen is one of these and was born in Dayton in August of 1940. At his birth he was officially named Ramon Estevez and was born to parents of Irish and Spanish descent.

Sheen spent many of his early developmental years in Ohio and attended the Chaminade High School. Interestingly, his mother who had immigrated from Ireland actually fought in the Irish War for Independence, due primarily to her family’s strong connections to the Irish Republican Army. However, in the United States the Estevez family lived in the South Park neighborhood of Dayton on Brown Street.

Sheen has had an extremely successful career as an actor and has appeared in numerous films. He gained high critical recognition for his work in Apocalypse Now and has played a diverse assortment of characters since then. He has also worked in television and starred in the series West Wing. In it he played the fictional Democratic President Josiah Bartlet. The award winning series also starred Rob Lowe, Jimmy Smits, Alan Alda and Stockard Channing. Sheen has stated that one of his strongest acting influences came from James Dean, who was well known for his method acting. He has also starred in the films Wall Street, JFK, The Believers and Love Happens among a great many others. Sheen is also known for his political activism and has campaigned for both Howard Dean and John Kerry. It was reported by the New York Times that Sheen was asked to run for the Senate and represent the state of Ohio. Sheen, however, declined the suggestion.

Related posts:

1. New Yorker Gabe Kaplan