| by Dr. Jeffrey Lant Until a day or two ago, your salary was $1.8 million dollars a WEEK, with a plethora of lucrative side deals, too. You were the highest paid television personality... and had more of the same to come. Your face was (almost) as well known as the President's, and you had your own bully pulpit for odd comments, half-baked political opinions, bombast, and fatuity. You are Charlie Sheen and the world (particularly those glued to the tube) is fascinated by what you did this week... and why you did it. Some facts about Charlie. He was born Carlos Irwin Estevez, September 3, 1965 in New York City. He has a famous father (Martin Sheen), a less famous mother (Janet Templeton) and three siblings of various degrees of fame and fortune. Until he took up his true metier -- grandiloquence and self-parody --- he was an actor of increasing renown. His character roles in films have included Chris Taylor in the 1986 Vietnam War drama "Platoon," Jake Kesey ini the 1986 film "The Wraith", and Bud Fox in the 1987 film "Wall Street." He has also appeared in comedic films. On television, Sheen is known for his roles on two sitcoms: Charlie Crawford on "Spin City" and as Charlie Harper on "Two and a Half Men." His net worth, based on this oeuvre, is estimated to be $85 million. Unfortunately, Sheen is an example of a person who feels that success in his chosen field gives him the God-sanctioned right to run amuck, hurting others as he goes. Thus as his bank balance escalated, so did the number of illegal, immoral and just plain dumb incidents, with Charlie never wrong, always right, a textbook example of self-righteousness and self-delusion, and always giving pain. His legion of fans watched and shrugged. He made them laugh, and that was all they cared about. Item: Sheen has been married three times and has five children, including one with his former high school girlfriend, Paula Profit. These women can all testify to Sheen's disdain for women and his physical abuse. Sheen seems to operate on the assumption that to have a woman without mauling her (not to mention the psychological damage) is an insult to his machismo. To avenge this slur on his honor, he hurts them some more. Because fidelity is not part of his creed, Sheen also dabbles in female porno stars like Ginger Lynn and Heather Hunter. I suspect these tele-cuties are Sheen's favorites since they fulfill fantasies... and can be discarded as the industry delivers new delectations for his amusement. Item: In 1995 Sheen married, as his first wife, Donna Peele. It was that year, he also figured prominently in the Heidi Fleiss affair, no doubt justifying his wandering eye by pointing out just how many husbands were serviced (then embarrassed) by this notorious madam. Charlie had cash to burn and celebrity status. Women were playthings, casually acquired, often expensively thrown away. As Tina Turner said, "What's love got to do with it?" Charlie could calibrate his answer to a fine point. Item: On May 20, 1998 Sheen overdosed on self-injected cocaine and was hospitalized. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and Sheen was sent to rehab. Item: On June 15, 2002, two years after they met on the set of the movie (ironically) titled "Good Advice", Sheen married actress Denise Richards. In March, 2005, after bearing two daughters Richards filed for divorce citing Sheen's alcohol and drugs abuse and (now customary) threats of violence. In the custody dispute that followed, Richards was graphic in what passed for marital bliss chez Sheen. But Charlie was just getting started in his egregious avocation of selecting and injuring his victims. Another item: In 2009, Sheen was arrested and released from jail after posting an $8,500 bond. According to Debbie Kendrick of Pitkin County Jail, Sheen was charged with felony menacing as well as third-degree assault and criminal mischief. According to a story by Associated Press reporter Solomon Banda, he was "sentenced to 30 days in a rehabilitation center, 30 days of probation, and 36 hours of anger management" and will be unable legally to possess a gun for the rest of his life. While Charlie was perfecting his well-tempered skills for fracas and mayhem, his show "Two and a Half Men" (the lead part he garnered in 2003) soared in popularity, in part because of its crucial placement after "Everybody Loves Raymond" Monday nights. Charlie was now very, very rich... and very, very out of control. He enjoyed the combination... Charlie now took dead aim at the hand that was feeding him -- Warner Bros. He wanted them to know he didn't know the old adage about not biting it. Rather he did so frequently, belligerently, outrageously. After all, Charlie took everything personally, and was adept at the alchemy of turning good fortune into bile. Warner Bros. tolerated it most of the time. After all, Charlie was well and truly the golden boy. But Charlie demanded apologies for nothing and everything and took umbrage when he didn't get them, even if nothing had occurred to warrant such obeisance. What did he care for truth, justice, and the American way; he was the real Superman, and if he said he should get an apology, by goodness he meant to get it -- or else. Warner Bros., be it to their eternal credit, tried hard to appease the unappeasable Charlie. He made it more and more difficult, with more and more moments of rancor, physical violence, drug abuse. Early in 2011, Charlie decided to up the ante. On February 28, 2011, during a national television interview in his home he demanded an immediate 50% raise in his salary -- or else. His language, as always, was often less than Webster's Dictionary... but his menacing message was clear and was public to boot. Warner Bros. had enough and on March 7, 2011, CBS and Warner Bros. fired him... whereupon Charlie, always being Charlie, disseminated language- challenged e-mails and misspelled vituperations. The gravy train had stopped, perhaps forever. What is the message for all of us in this riveting drama? First, to avoid Charlie Sheen at all costs. He is very bad news, indeed. Then, when considering what he has done to so many, to do the reverse. It is a prescription for serenity and sainthood, neither of which Charlie Sheen will ever see, for all that he's named after a famous archbishop, camera-ready Fulton J. Sheen. He had his troubles, too. |
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