Martin was born in 1940, in Dayton, Ohio to his parents Mary-Ann Phelan and Francisco Estévez Martínez. His mother is Irish and father is Spanish. His parents met on their citizenship school.
While his mother was giving birth to him, his left arm got paralyzed, as his left shoulder was crushed with forceps. He recovered after a long time. As their economical status was not good, he doesn’t consider his family poor, as they were connected with love.
He had lost his mother at the age of ten, and after that he had come closer with his father, while they were struggling and grieving over his mother.
As he was attending the high school, he had worked as a caddy on a golf court in Ohio. He had always interested with being an actor, as he loved his drama lessons at school.
To follow his dreams, he had received help from Alfred Drapp and went to New York with the money Drapp had gave to Sheen.
At his 20s, he decided to change his name, because people were having hard time to spell it and it was causing problems to achieve his dreams.
He had choosed his name from the people who he found inspirational, casting director of CBS Robert Dale Martin and the American Archbishop, Fulton J. Sheen.
His wife, Janet Sheen was born in 1944, in Ohio. Her birth name was Janet Elizabeth Templeton. They had met in 1960, when Janet moved to New York.
After they had started dating, and having difficulties with life, she became pregnant with their son, Emilio. They got married in 1961, at the church of St. Stephen.
As they were struggling with their finances, they got kicked from their house, and moved in with Martins’s father and brothers.
After a while they left to their new apartment. While she was pregnant with their second son, she gave birth at home while waiting for an ambulance. Their son, Ramon, came faster than the ambulance. And later at the hospital it is stated that both mother and the baby was healthy.
As he was filming the legendary movie, Apocalypse Now, he had suffered from a heart attack. He was moved to Makati Medical Center in Manila, in Philippines, where the movie was shooting. His wife, Janet was with him, as he was being carried at the corridor of the hospital, she said to him that it is all a movie.
And on that day, as he stated, their marriage turned into something that is more solid than anything.
“I completely fell apart. My spirit was exposed. I cried and cried. I turned gray- my eyes, my beard, all gray.” Martin had stated about his status after the heart attack.
In 2015, he received quadruple-bypass heart surgery, and again his wife was with him through the whole process.
Janet stood by his side through all the crisis he had. When he was having problems with alcohol, Janet was there to lift him up.
“I was fortunate enough to marry the scariest woman I’d ever met. She did not lie. It was impossible.” Martin stated on their 60th anniversary.
“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.”
As he had an incredibly supportive wife, he is supportive of his children, as his wife was to him. Their children are following their father’s footsteps in the industry too.
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