ON THIS DAY AUGUST 17 2023

This Day in History: August 17

Featured Event

1807





The first serviceable steamboat—the Clermont, designed by American engineer Robert Fulton—embarked on its maiden voyage.

Featured Biography

Sean Penn
American actor





Sean Penn, in full Sean Justin Penn, (born August 17, 1960, Santa Monica, California, U.S.), American film actor and director known for his versatility and intense performances.
The son of show-business parents, Penn chose to forgo college and instead joined the Los Angeles Repertory Theater. After a few television appearances, including a role in an episode of Barnaby Jones (1979), he moved to New York City in 1980. Well-received performances in the Off-Broadway Heartlands and the film Taps (both 1981) paved the way for Penn’s fame-making role as the underachieving surfer Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). He followed with a variety of roles that showcased his intensity and versatility—including a teenage delinquent in Bad Boys (1983), a punk rocker-burglar in Crackers (1984), a World War II marine about to ship out in the romance Racing with the Moon (1984), and a spy selling U.S. government secrets to the KGB in The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)—garnering favourable notices from critics even when the vehicle he performed in was not as well liked. Penn’s career took a downturn, however, during his relationship with pop star Madonna, whom he married in 1985. There were frequent confrontations with paparazzi, a number of them combative, and Penn spent a month in jail in 1987. The marriage ended in 1989—but not before the couple had costarred in Shanghai Surprise (1986), a film reviled by most critics.



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