Santa Barbara Discussion Thread

[j swift]

 

I just noticed two amusing Dane Witherspoon related issues about this post.  First, note how much shorter he is than Robin Wright in the upper right corner photo.  Then, consider how short their relationship must have been if she brought another date to the premier and Dane was fired four months after the show started, right around the time that this story was published.

Edited February 11, 2019 by j swift

[amybrickwallace]

I read that they immediately fell for each other at the screen test. It's hard to believe she was only 18 when SB started, because she looked so mature and because Kelly was obviously a few years older due to her life experiences at that point.

[John]

They married after Dane left SB and divorced a few years later

[amybrickwallace]

I am currently watching a rerun of Hart to Hart from 1982 on FETV. Playing a pair of con artists determined to break up Jonathan and Jennifer Hart are none other than a pre-Lionel and Augusta Lockridge, Nic Coster and Louise Sorel. I had no idea they had acted together before SB. What a treat for SB fans.

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[Paul Raven]

It is fascinating looking over primetime cast lists and seeing various actors crossing paths before and after soap stints.

[amybrickwallace]

Making things even more surreal was that Nic Coster's character killed Louise Sorel's character!!

[redontop4]

An interview with A Martinez from 1994 . . .

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-11-24-9411240059-story.html

 

A MARTINEZ NOT BURNING ANY DAYTIME BRIDGES

 

By Marla Hart. Special to the Tribune

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

November 24, 1994

 

In the Anglo world of daytime drama, A Martinez as Cruz Castillo, tender-hearted hunky cop on "Santa Barbara," broke the mold. Gone was the exotic Latin pistolero stereotype from Hollywood backlots. Martinez created soap's first Latino hero who, although bare-chested during sweeps, was brimming with intuition and packing an off-the-wall sense of humor.

 

From 1984 until 1991, when he left daytime to join the cast of "L.A. Law," Martinez, who snagged a Daytime Emmy in 1990, amassed a legion of fans who still clamor for his return to the soaps.

 

"I expect I'll do daytime again. It was the high point of my life as an actor," Martinez says from his Los Angeles home, where he lives with his wife, Leslie, and their three children. "I did everything I could ever have wanted to on `Santa Barbara.' Cruz was a great gift, a match with my natural rhythms, the way I'm set up emotionally. I miss him a lot. I still think of him as my friend.

 

"I still keep my finger on all the soaps. Some of it is wonderful, some of it, terrible. I watched (former co-star) Marcy Walker the other day doing a scene with Rick Hearst (`Guiding Light')," Martinez pauses, "and I was mesmerized. (To come back) I'd have to find a character who was worth it and the writers who could write him."

 

Meanwhile, Martinez co-stars with Connie Selleca and Perry King in the NBC movie "I Led Two Lives" (8 p.m. Monday, WBBM-Ch. 2) as Mike Lewis, a guy with two dreams, neither of which has panned out. When he is reunited with an old flame, says Martinez, "it's like Santa Claus has arrived. His life just lights up."

 

But it's another project that has Martinez seriously fired up: his just-released album "Fragrance and Thorn" available through mail order (call 800-808-2277).

 

"I know that sounds suspicious," he concedes, "an actor who wants to sing. But ever since I was 15, I played in rock bands. I feel I was meant to do it. You get really great players and (there's a) huge amount of electricity with them and the audience. I'm trying to wend my way back to it.

 

"I sort of drifted into acting. You gotta ride the wave. My fantasy now is to make my living as a recording artist and hit the road in summertime with the kids," he explains.

 

Ironically, Martinez is starting to rock 'n' roll even while he finds himself maturing as an actor. "It's all about telling stories really. With acting, you're often at the mercy of what other people have in mind. I'd like it to come from my will rather than waiting for someone to write a story for me. I feel a deep pull toward telling better stories-even if it's just a four-minute song-than are usually out there."

 

The youngest of six children, Martinez was born and raised in Los Angeles to Texas-bred parents with an extended family in Chihuahua, Mexico. At 12, he won a singing competition at the Hollywood Bowl and later majored in theater at UCLA. Singing with a band and working as a janitor, Martinez landed his first film role in "Born Wild," followed by "The Cowboys" starring John Wayne and "Beyond The Limit" with Michael Caine.

 

But even with the movie credits, Martinez says he didn't make much headway. "I had work, but I wasn't lighting anybody up. You see many (actors) fall by the wayside. You think, `That person did a good job.' Then you don't hear about them. You're vulnerable. I lost a house I loved because I couldn't pay the mortgage. It was 16 years into my career before I got `Santa Barbara.' This business is very fickle. It doesn't take care of you."

 

Martinez has since starred in "She Devil" (as Meryl Streep's butler and lover) and in the film festival circuit hit "Pow Wow Highway."

 

"I'm still not bankable as a film actor," he says, "and I doubt I'll get to do Shakespeare at the Guthrie (Theatre in Minneapolis). There is a sense of missed opportunities. I have a whole stockpile of them."

 

When offered the role of attorney Daniel Morales on "L.A. Law"-Martinez had been cast in Stephen Bochco's short-lived 1983 series "Bay City Blues" (a role that wound up on the cutting room floor)-Martinez recalls, "I was thrilled to be on the show."

 

Yet it proved a disappointing showcase with Martinez underused and saddled with storylines stripped of dramatic sensibility. L.A. Law's "seventh season was fairly out of control," he concedes.

 

Since leaving series work, Martinez has had many offers. "This year I turned down eight jobs-which I've never done before," he says, his amazement mixed with resignation.

 

"I find I'm not able to muster enthusiasm for certain characters. I have no problem playing a bad guy. In fact, I love it if he exists in a world of values that cast him into his fate, but not in a project where everyone is cynical and bad. I have kids now, so I want to make the work count more."

[amybrickwallace]

Thanks for sharing that, though the writer made a couple of errors. A left SB in 1992, not 1991. He is also the eldest of six, not the youngest. Happily, he did return to daytime...several times!! Too bad none of the roles have been anywhere close to as good as Cruz.

[amybrickwallace]

RIP Jed Allan...A Martinez and Jed's sons confirmed the news on FB. 

https://www.google.com/amp/www.hollywoodnewsdaily.com/14816/days-star-jed-allan-dead/amp

[Goldensoaps]

If you understand Spanish....you can have here the synopses and pictures of Santa Barbara

https://portaltelenovelas.mforos.mobi/2100411/13007590-santa-barbara/

 

Enjoy it

[Wendy]

So sad to hear of Jed Allan's passing. In his honor, here is a great scene from SB with C.C. and his son, Mason (who was actually his alter, Sonny Sprocket) trapped in the Capwell wine cellar:

 

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[j swift]

I downloaded Soap Streams on Roku.  So far, there are two Santa Barbaras and one Sunset Beach.  It just became available on 3/6/19

 

But I Googled and found this issue: https://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?t=152735

[amybrickwallace]

Jed Allan and Judith McConnell had incredible chemistry. I loved the scene where Sophia gives CC a private "fashion show". Anne Murray's "Now and Forever (You and Me)" was playing in the background. It was nice to see the "mature" people get a nice romantic scene.

[amybrickwallace]

Watching some clips on YT makes me miss even more not just SB but the whimsy soaps used to have. Remember Wanda's (Ted's girlfriend) beach movie fantasy, also starring Julia?

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[pdm1974]

SB did quirky comedy so well! I think SB was truly ahead of its time. Imagine if it came out now!