Santa Barbara: A Martinez Reveals Marcy Walker Is Facing a Serious Health Challenge
A Martinez and Marcy Walker, who portrayed beloved Santa Barbara supercouple Cruz Castillo and Eden Capwell from 1984-1991, are reuniting on June 7 for a livestream conversation with fans — and Martinez took to social media to reveal that the event was planned to raise money for Walker, who is facing a serious health challenge.
Health Battle Behind Upcoming Livestream Revealed
In his social media post, Martinez wrote, “As we approach June 7th, where Marcy Walker and I will LiveCast with our friend Melissa Braverman to dive into the legacy of Cruz and Eden, I wanted to clarify our thinking about the tickets. It’s pretty simple, but easy to misunderstand: we need to raise money to address a real and urgent need. I should have made that clear from the jump but didn’t, and I offer my my apologies for the mistake.”
Alongside that caption, Martinez posted a video in which he spoke directly to the camera as he paid tribute to his former leading lady and addressed why tickets to the event had been priced at $100. “Marcy Walker and I played Cruz and Eden on Santa Barbara,” he began. “The show was a hit all over the world and a lot of people, including me, fell in love with it. Marcy was already a vet of the soaps” — she came to SB after a three-year run as Liza Colby on All My Children — “and she provided an instant model of how to do it right.
“The honesty, the power, the ease of her work, day after day, right in front of my eyes,” Martinez continued. “Exactly the kind of school you want to go to.” On June 7th, he noted, “We’re going to sit down, the two of us, and spend a couple hours talking about what it was like to go through those days.”
Martinez then explained, “There is a fee to attend, and some folks have expressed disappointment over the cost. Now, out of respect for my partner’s privacy, I did not speak to the reasons for the fee when first I posted. The fact is, Marcy has been ill and is working hard to get well and in the process has come face to face with the financial challenges that so often plague those of us unlucky enough to need medical care in our country. She is in that need.”
He added, “We will probably do a GoFundMe over the summer, but the June 7th conversation will support our precious friend in a way that’s both personal and I would imagine would end up being highly memorable for all of us.”
“On behalf of both of us, thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” Martinez concluded.
The description of the livestream event has been updated to reflect its status as a fundraiser for Walker, with new copy that reads: This isn’t just a trip down memory lane—it’s a gathering of community, love, and vital support. Marcy has recently been facing significant health challenges. 100% of the proceeds from this livestream event—will go directly toward helping Marcy cover her rising medical bills and healthcare costs. Marcy has given us so much joy over the years. Now, it’s our turn to rally around her and show her the power of the fandom’s love when it matters most.”
Both Martinez and Walker took home Daytime Emmys for their work on SB; Walker won the Outstanding Lead Actress prize in 1989 and he received the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1990.
After Walker left SB, she starred in the CBS prime-time drama Palace Guard, which aired in 1991. She subsequently appeared on Guiding Light as Tangie Smith from 1993-95, then reprised the role of Liza on AMC from 1995-2005. After she left AMC, Walker accepted a position as a youth minister in Connecticut and retired from public life.
Martinez exited SB in 1992 for a series regular role on NBC’s L.A. Law, where he starred from 1990-94. He has continued to appear on prime-time, but also returned to daytime as Roy DiLucca on General Hospital (1999-2002), Ray Montez on One Life to Live (2008-09), Ramon Montgomery on The Bold and the Beautiful (2011-12) and Eduardo Hernandez on Days of Our Lives (2015-20).
Conversation
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