Sean Penn
Some folks can’t separate the actor from the activist. Neither can he
By BILL NEWCOTT
“HOW OLD WOULD YOU FEEL,” Sean Penn asked our Movies for
Grownups® Awards audience in Hollywood last February, “if I said
Spicoli is 50 in August?” That would be Jeff Spicoli, the high-school stoner Penn
played in the 1982 comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High. His comment not only
highlighted the passing of time but also reminded everyone of his vast range of
roles, from a 1974 cameo on Little House on the Prairie (directed by his dad, Leo)
to Oscars for Milk and Mystic River, plus indelible turns in such films as Carlito’s
Way and Dead Man Walking. Still, at times Penn’s memorable performances have
been overshadowed by gossip about his two marriages (to Madonna and Robin
Wright) and his strident political and social activism. Penn bristled at the recent
suggestion that his Haitian relief efforts were a publicity stunt, and he has a
point: when was the last time Penn—who in March said he wished rectal cancer
on some of his critics—seemed particularly concerned about his image?
August 17
MILESTONE
BIRTHDAYS
JULY
1
2
3
4
5
6
8
9
10
11
12
13
Jane Lynch
Age 50
Glee star
recently got
engaged to
her gal pal,
Lara Embry.
Ringo Starr
Age 70
Just released
his 16th post-
Beatles album,
the first he’s
produced
himself.
David
Duchovny
Age 50
Lost celeb
Jeopardy when
he missed the
final answer:
“Colonel Sanders.”
Arianna
Huffington
Age 60
Her liberal
Huffington Post
website gets
nearly 10
million visitors
monthly.
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
AUGUST
1
2
3
4
5
6
Antonio
Banderas
Age 50
Has a hot love
scene with 20-
years-younger
Autumn Reeser
in The Big Bang.
Sean Connery
Age 80
Please, please
find a way
to make a
James Bond-
at-80 movie!
8
9
Patti Austin
Age 60
Jazz songstress
shed 130
pounds via
gastric-bypass
surgery.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
27
28
29
30
31
Branford
Marsalis
Age 50
Sax legend
confesses he
didn’t even like
jazz until he
was 19.
