On Friday, August 2, cast, crew and fans alike celebrated the 40th anniversary of the July 30, 1984 premiere of Santa Barbara on NBC at The Colony Theatre in Burbank, California. It was a fundraising event for the Conasauga Shakespeare Coalition. The front doors opened for fans at 4:30 with the show starting at 6:30 p.m. The crew took their seats on stage. A video was played before the production people were introduced. The cast arrived. Lane Davies (ex-Mason Capwell), who helped to organize the event, said a few words of thanks and then introduced SB co-creator Jerome Dobson and his daughter, Mary. The actors answered questions and later a memorial video was shown honoring those who had passed. Fans got their chance to ask questions and then the event closed with a tribute to Jerome Dobson’s co-creator and late wife, Bridget Dobson. A meet and greet with the fans soon followed. It was an amazing opportunity for the dedicated fan community that has supported the NBC soap through the years. Click on the gallery to see pictures from the once-in-a-lifetime event.
Santa Barbara Superstars Reunite For Its 40th Anniversary
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
It was quite a treat for fans to see (from l. to r.) Nancy Lee Grahn (ex-Julia Wainwright from 1985-1993; now Alexis Davis on General Hospital), Lane Davies (ex-Mason Capwell from 1984-1989), Harley Jane Kozak (ex-Mary Duvall from 1985-1989), Marcy Walker (ex-Eden Capwell from 1984 to 1991) and A Martinez (ex-Cruz Castillo from 1984-1992) together after so many years. Walker was a particularly coveted sight, as she has retreated from show biz and hasn't made a red carpet appearance in decades.
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
The popularity of Walker and Martinez’s characters propelled the show for many years, and Martinez remains proud not only of the coupling's enduring legacy, but the show overall. At the reunion, he told Digest, "This show holds up really well. I heard rumors that it may appear on streaming somewhere. It would be wonderful for a whole new bunch of people to see it." The actor has a special place in his heart for Cruz, noting, "The way they wrote for Cruz, he was a dream [to play]."
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
When looking back at his time on SB, Davies, pictured here with Grahn, says “The writing is probably what [was most memorable]. We had such a good team of writers and [the show was] funny. We had a sense of humor.” As for the fans’ passion for the show, he marvels and says he’s “flattered, and that for 40 years, we still… people [are] this dedicated to the show. Memory, you know, who would have thought and not everybody has the resources to fly to California and spend big, big bucks on a ticket to hang out, accommodations and all.” As for who he was hoping to see, he reports, "Unfortunately, Todd McKee [who played his younger brother Ted] is stuck from Hawaii. I was really looking forward to seeing him.”
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Louise Sorel played Augusta Lockridge from 1984–1991. Her on-screen husband Lionel Lockridge was played by the late Nicolas Coster. “You know, if Nicky were here, I would be so happy. [Creator] Jerry Dobson is just heaven. I've never been [able] to spend time with him. He's just wonderfully awesome.”
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Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Gordon Thomson was the third and last actor to portray Mason Capwell. He was on from 1990 until the show went off the air in 1993. Of the reunion, Thomson said, “What I took away from the evening was the enormous respect and professional pleasure every single person there felt for each other, the show and the fans: It was the smartest and best written show on television, and we all knew it, the fans especially.”
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Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Frank Runyeon played Michael Donnelly from 1988-1991, arriving in town as a priest who became involved with Julia during a time when Mason was missing. The actor has been on several other soaps but is most well known to daytime fans as Steve Andropoulos opposite Meg Ryan’s Betsy Stewart on As the World Turns from 1980-87.
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Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Kristen Meadows played Victoria “Tori” Lane from 1986-1989. The character was a spoiler in Cruz and Eden’s romance and then in Mason and Julia’s. Tori was the mother of Chip, Cruz’s son. Meadows joked during the Q&A that going up against a supercouple like Cruz and Eden was "the kiss of death." The actress first made a splash in daytime playing Mimi King on One Life to Live from 1979-1986. After SB, she played a real estate agent on a 2001 episode of B&B.
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Robert Newman (ex-Kirk Cranston, 1986) reunited with former Guiding Light co-star Kozak who played Annabelle Simms to his Joshua Lewis. Newman was most recently on Young and Restless as Ashland Locke in 2022, garnering a Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama.
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Carrington Garland was the third actress to portray heroine Kelly Capwell, which she did from 1989-1991. Her version of Kelly had a bit more spunk, engaging in relationships with Cruz's brother, Ric, as well as the late Roscoe Born's Robert Barr. In 2020, she played Kelly Johnson on The Bay.
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Judith McConnell portrayed Capwell matriarch Sophia from 1984-1993. Her love affair with CC, played by the late Jed Allan, was a mainstay on the show for many years. McConnell had an extensive soap resume prior to joining SB and after, she appeared as a bad witch on Passions in 2007 as well as Melody Garrett on The Bay.
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Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Richard Eden played Brick Wallace from 1984-1987. Brick seemed like a simple enough guy and straight-forward but was a character with a complicated backstory. That's because he was later revealed to be the real Channing Jr., whose real father was Lionel Lockridge from an affair he had with Sophia. Eden's lone soap was SB but he's had a prolific career, including starring at the titular character in the TV series RoboCop. He's also a writer and producer.
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Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Ava Lazar was the first actress to take on the role of Santana Andrade in 1984. While the family didn't last long in town, Santana, through several actresses, did because she was the mother of CC's first grandchild, Brandon. She butted heads with the powerful Capwell clan after the boy's father, Channing Jr., was murdered. Lazar took a break from acting and began producing films.
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Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Gina Gallego was the third actress to take on the part of Santana and her time in the role was from 1985-1989. She was prepared for being on a soap, having played Diandra on Rituals from 1984-85. She has since appeared on countless episodics, films, as well as having recurred as Dr. Gina Santana on B&B from 1993-1998 and a judge on Days of our Lives recently.
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Vincent Irizarry played Dr. Scott Clark from 1987-1989, where his character was involved with Gina for a bit and later Heather Donnelly and Celeste DiNapoli. Irizarry came to the show after a popular run on Guiding Light as Lujack and before he returned to that show to play Lujack's twin, Nick McHenry. More soap roles followed, including a long and Daytime Emmy-wining run as Dr. David Hayward on AMC from 1997-2011.
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Jane Rogers played Heather Donnelly, a doctor whose romance with Scott Clark was scuttled by the arrival of his former love Celeste DiNapoli, from 1988-89. Rogers went on to appear on Bold and Beautiful as Julie Delorean (1990-92) and Tess Robbins on General Hospital (1997-98).
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Sherilyn Wolter played Elena/Eleanor Norris in 1987 after making her first daytime splash as Celia Quartermaine on General Hospital from 1983-1986. On SB, she was a thorn in the Cruz and Eden romance, hoping to keep them apart by working with Cain to make everyone believe Eden had died. Wolter recalled of her time on the show, "Working with A was absolutely glorious." In 1990, she briefly filled in as Taylor Hayes on B&B.
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Peter Love played Cruz’s brother, Ric Castillo, from 1989-1990, after having his first break on Ryan’s Hope as Mark D’Angelo from 1986-88. “My most memorable memory was going to France for my first two weeks of filming,” he wrote to Digest. “The fans’ passion for the show comes down to the incredible writing team and to all the people who cast the actors in their respective roles. There’s an accurate comparison here to the original Star Trek series and Santa Barbara. Incredible storylines and great casting ?.”
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
When asked about who was hoping to see, John Allen Nelson (ex-Warren Lockridge from 1984-1986) named Davies. "I haven't seen Lane in 30 probably 35 years. And he's one of my favorite people in the world.” The two performed on stage in Hamlet together, along with Louise Sorel, back in 1986 in Los Angeles. When discussing the late Nicolas Coster, who played his father, Nelson said, “Nic Coster was a father to me, not just on the show, but he married me in France. He officiated our wedding [Nelson is married to actress Justine Eyre]. We flew him to Paris in 2007. So, we kind of came full circle there." Nelson can now be seen in Netflix's Virgin River.
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Valorie Armstrong played the matriarch of the Perkins clan, Marisa, from 1984-1985. Prior to that, she had played Minna on OLTL.
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Michael Brainard was the second and final actor to portray Ted Capwell, CC’s youngest son. The actor portrayed another legacy character in daytime — Joey Martin on All My Children.
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Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Stephen Meadows portrayed Peter Flint, also known as the Carnation Killer, from 1984-1986. He was in love with Kelly Capwell and had murdered her brother, Channing, for which the man Kelly really loved, Joe Perkins, did the time for. He was eventually taken out by Cruz, who shot him. In 1987, Meadows returned to daytime, playing Patrick London on OLTL.
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Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
This was the moment when Walker and Martinez reunited — a moment that had Cruz and Eden fans swooning all over again for their favorite couple. When asked about their characters’ incredible wedding, Martinez told Digest back in 2023, “I remember that I couldn’t see Marcy’s face because of the sun shining. It was bouncing off that white veil. It drove me crazy. I was so utterly dependent in everything I did with her on being able to have access to her face, especially her eyes. There was always such a strong sense of ‘what’s going on between us is so much greater than the sum of its parts,’ and that’s about electrical and/or chemical energy. To have that cut off in the moment that I was most vulnerable was real hard. I bitched and moaned about it to the director, Rick Benowitz. He would say, ‘Yeah, I know, but look at that. It just looks so beautiful. We’re not going to kill that because of your process [laughs].’ So I had to suck it up and pretend I could see her eyes.”
It was quite a treat for fans to see (from l. to r.) Nancy Lee Grahn (ex-Julia Wainwright from 1985-1993; now Alexis Davis on General Hospital), Lane Davies (ex-Mason Capwell from 1984-1989), Harley Jane Kozak (ex-Mary Duvall from 1985-1989), Marcy Walker (ex-Eden Capwell from 1984 to 1991) and A Martinez (ex-Cruz Castillo from 1984-1992) together after so many years. Walker was a particularly coveted sight, as she has retreated from show biz and hasn't made a red carpet appearance in decades.
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
The popularity of Walker and Martinez’s characters propelled the show for many years, and Martinez remains proud not only of the coupling's enduring legacy, but the show overall. At the reunion, he told Digest, "This show holds up really well. I heard rumors that it may appear on streaming somewhere. It would be wonderful for a whole new bunch of people to see it." The actor has a special place in his heart for Cruz, noting, "The way they wrote for Cruz, he was a dream [to play]."
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
When looking back at his time on SB, Davies, pictured here with Grahn, says “The writing is probably what [was most memorable]. We had such a good team of writers and [the show was] funny. We had a sense of humor.” As for the fans’ passion for the show, he marvels and says he’s “flattered, and that for 40 years, we still… people [are] this dedicated to the show. Memory, you know, who would have thought and not everybody has the resources to fly to California and spend big, big bucks on a ticket to hang out, accommodations and all.” As for who he was hoping to see, he reports, "Unfortunately, Todd McKee [who played his younger brother Ted] is stuck from Hawaii. I was really looking forward to seeing him.”
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Louise Sorel played Augusta Lockridge from 1984–1991. Her on-screen husband Lionel Lockridge was played by the late Nicolas Coster. “You know, if Nicky were here, I would be so happy. [Creator] Jerry Dobson is just heaven. I've never been [able] to spend time with him. He's just wonderfully awesome.”
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Gordon Thomson was the third and last actor to portray Mason Capwell. He was on from 1990 until the show went off the air in 1993. Of the reunion, Thomson said, “What I took away from the evening was the enormous respect and professional pleasure every single person there felt for each other, the show and the fans: It was the smartest and best written show on television, and we all knew it, the fans especially.”
Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Frank Runyeon played Michael Donnelly from 1988-1991, arriving in town as a priest who became involved with Julia during a time when Mason was missing. The actor has been on several other soaps but is most well known to daytime fans as Steve Andropoulos opposite Meg Ryan’s Betsy Stewart on As the World Turns from 1980-87.
Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Kristen Meadows played Victoria “Tori” Lane from 1986-1989. The character was a spoiler in Cruz and Eden’s romance and then in Mason and Julia’s. Tori was the mother of Chip, Cruz’s son. Meadows joked during the Q&A that going up against a supercouple like Cruz and Eden was "the kiss of death." The actress first made a splash in daytime playing Mimi King on One Life to Live from 1979-1986. After SB, she played a real estate agent on a 2001 episode of B&B.
Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Robert Newman (ex-Kirk Cranston, 1986) reunited with former Guiding Light co-star Kozak who played Annabelle Simms to his Joshua Lewis. Newman was most recently on Young and Restless as Ashland Locke in 2022, garnering a Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama.
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Carrington Garland was the third actress to portray heroine Kelly Capwell, which she did from 1989-1991. Her version of Kelly had a bit more spunk, engaging in relationships with Cruz's brother, Ric, as well as the late Roscoe Born's Robert Barr. In 2020, she played Kelly Johnson on The Bay.
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Judith McConnell portrayed Capwell matriarch Sophia from 1984-1993. Her love affair with CC, played by the late Jed Allan, was a mainstay on the show for many years. McConnell had an extensive soap resume prior to joining SB and after, she appeared as a bad witch on Passions in 2007 as well as Melody Garrett on The Bay.
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Richard Eden played Brick Wallace from 1984-1987. Brick seemed like a simple enough guy and straight-forward but was a character with a complicated backstory. That's because he was later revealed to be the real Channing Jr., whose real father was Lionel Lockridge from an affair he had with Sophia. Eden's lone soap was SB but he's had a prolific career, including starring at the titular character in the TV series RoboCop. He's also a writer and producer.
Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Ava Lazar was the first actress to take on the role of Santana Andrade in 1984. While the family didn't last long in town, Santana, through several actresses, did because she was the mother of CC's first grandchild, Brandon. She butted heads with the powerful Capwell clan after the boy's father, Channing Jr., was murdered. Lazar took a break from acting and began producing films.
Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Gina Gallego was the third actress to take on the part of Santana and her time in the role was from 1985-1989. She was prepared for being on a soap, having played Diandra on Rituals from 1984-85. She has since appeared on countless episodics, films, as well as having recurred as Dr. Gina Santana on B&B from 1993-1998 and a judge on Days of our Lives recently.
Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
Vincent Irizarry played Dr. Scott Clark from 1987-1989, where his character was involved with Gina for a bit and later Heather Donnelly and Celeste DiNapoli. Irizarry came to the show after a popular run on Guiding Light as Lujack and before he returned to that show to play Lujack's twin, Nick McHenry. More soap roles followed, including a long and Daytime Emmy-wining run as Dr. David Hayward on AMC from 1997-2011.
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Jane Rogers played Heather Donnelly, a doctor whose romance with Scott Clark was scuttled by the arrival of his former love Celeste DiNapoli, from 1988-89. Rogers went on to appear on Bold and Beautiful as Julie Delorean (1990-92) and Tess Robbins on General Hospital (1997-98).
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Sherilyn Wolter played Elena/Eleanor Norris in 1987 after making her first daytime splash as Celia Quartermaine on General Hospital from 1983-1986. On SB, she was a thorn in the Cruz and Eden romance, hoping to keep them apart by working with Cain to make everyone believe Eden had died. Wolter recalled of her time on the show, "Working with A was absolutely glorious." In 1990, she briefly filled in as Taylor Hayes on B&B.
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Peter Love played Cruz’s brother, Ric Castillo, from 1989-1990, after having his first break on Ryan’s Hope as Mark D’Angelo from 1986-88. “My most memorable memory was going to France for my first two weeks of filming,” he wrote to Digest. “The fans’ passion for the show comes down to the incredible writing team and to all the people who cast the actors in their respective roles. There’s an accurate comparison here to the original Star Trek series and Santa Barbara. Incredible storylines and great casting ?.”
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
When asked about who was hoping to see, John Allen Nelson (ex-Warren Lockridge from 1984-1986) named Davies. "I haven't seen Lane in 30 probably 35 years. And he's one of my favorite people in the world.” The two performed on stage in Hamlet together, along with Louise Sorel, back in 1986 in Los Angeles. When discussing the late Nicolas Coster, who played his father, Nelson said, “Nic Coster was a father to me, not just on the show, but he married me in France. He officiated our wedding [Nelson is married to actress Justine Eyre]. We flew him to Paris in 2007. So, we kind of came full circle there." Nelson can now be seen in Netflix's Virgin River.
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Valorie Armstrong played the matriarch of the Perkins clan, Marisa, from 1984-1985. Prior to that, she had played Minna on OLTL.
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Michael Brainard was the second and final actor to portray Ted Capwell, CC’s youngest son. The actor portrayed another legacy character in daytime — Joey Martin on All My Children.
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Stephen Meadows portrayed Peter Flint, also known as the Carnation Killer, from 1984-1986. He was in love with Kelly Capwell and had murdered her brother, Channing, for which the man Kelly really loved, Joe Perkins, did the time for. He was eventually taken out by Cruz, who shot him. In 1987, Meadows returned to daytime, playing Patrick London on OLTL.
Photo credit: AFF/CR/Steven Bergman / MEGA
This was the moment when Walker and Martinez reunited — a moment that had Cruz and Eden fans swooning all over again for their favorite couple. When asked about their characters’ incredible wedding, Martinez told Digest back in 2023, “I remember that I couldn’t see Marcy’s face because of the sun shining. It was bouncing off that white veil. It drove me crazy. I was so utterly dependent in everything I did with her on being able to have access to her face, especially her eyes. There was always such a strong sense of ‘what’s going on between us is so much greater than the sum of its parts,’ and that’s about electrical and/or chemical energy. To have that cut off in the moment that I was most vulnerable was real hard. I bitched and moaned about it to the director, Rick Benowitz. He would say, ‘Yeah, I know, but look at that. It just looks so beautiful. We’re not going to kill that because of your process [laughs].’ So I had to suck it up and pretend I could see her eyes.”
Photo credit: Lisa OConnor/AFF-USA.com / MEGA
Filed Under: Santa Barbara
