Sheen started acting in 1974 at the age of nine, appearing in a small role alongside his father in the television movie The Execution of Private Slovik. His film career began in 1984 with a role in the Cold War teen drama Red Dawn. Charlie had his first major role in the Vietnam War drama Platoon in 1986. His bad boy behavior, however, is rumored to have started long before then, as he was expelled from high school just weeks before graduation for a combination of poor grades and a tendency to not show up.

Charlie Sheen has a long history of brawling and drunken or drug-fueled accidents. Here’s a few of the highlights:

In 1990, he accidentally shot his then-fiancee, Kelly Preston, in the leg and though it was a minor wound, it needed two stitches. Their relationship ended shortly after the incident.

In 1995, Charlie Sheen was named as one of many clients who visited brothels owned by Heidi Fleiss in her court case. When questioned about this, Sheen responded “I love sex and I can afford it”.

In 1998, Sheen tried injecting cocaine, accidentally giving himself an overdose. He was hospitalized, but discharged from the hospital quickly. His father Martin reported him for violation of parole. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and Charlie was sent to rehab.

In 2005, Denise Richards, Charlie Sheen’s then-wife, while she was still pregnant with their daughter Lola, Richards filed for divorce, accusing him of abusing drugs and alcohol and threatening Richards with violence.

In 2009, Charlie Sheen was arrested on charges of domestic violence, including second-degree assault and menacing, against his wife Brooke Mueller.

In 2010, Charlie Sheen took a break from Two and a Half Men to voluntarily enter a rehab facility.

Despite all of this, Charlie Sheen’s sitcom Two and a Half Men is America’s Number One Comedy, according to CBS. People are lining up in droves to watch the show, and during the Winter Olympics last year, a re-run of the show beat both American Idol and the Olympics.

The the two-toned bowling shirts with a retro style and feel that Charlie Sheen wears on Two and a Half Men are some of the hottest items in menswear this year. Charlie Sheen shirts are a must for the fashion conscious hipster.

In March of 2010, Sheen’s press representatives announced that he was leaving rehab and returning to work on the popular show. Charlie Sheen reportedly signed an agreement to return to the sitcom for another two years for a whopping $1.78 million per episode. It appears that we’ll be seeing Charlie Sheen and his shirts on television for quite some time.

One other reason why Two and a Half Men is so popular is because that Charlie Sheen’s role as Charlie Harper is seen as skewering his own foibles and reputation. Charlie Sheen has long had the distinction of being one of Hollywood’s bad boys, having done several stints in rehab and numerous times in court (both divorce and criminal). He’s a famous client of Hollywood Madam Heidi Fleiss, reportedly spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on her girls and services. He’s no stranger to domestic violence, or drug use. Just recently, in fact, after an altercation with his wife, he was formally charged with felony menacing, and third-degree assault and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors. He plead guilty to misdemeanor assault as part of a plea bargain where the other charges against him were dismissed.

And believe it or not, he is more popular than ever. The show is  ”America’s Number-One Comedy,” according to CBS, and he just signed an agreement to return to the sitcom for another two years for a reported $1.78 million per episode. During the Winter Olympics, Two and a Half Men went up against them as a repeat, and still drew more than 10 million viewers. That’s very impressive, and it means that the show has some serious fans. It obviously does, with those kinds of numbers or a re-run.

And you know those two-toned retro-style bowling shirts that Charlie Sheen wears on Two and a Half Men? They’re some of the most popular menswear in stores today. Charlie Sheen shirts are flying off the shelves, and it is all due to the popularity of the show.

The show has its detractors, who say it is too crude and too cliched, but other fans don’t seem to mind, and CBS is sure to keep the same winning formula for its number one show. Two and a Half Men will be back next season, just the same as it was before.