"A" is short for Adolfo, he takes the Boy scout
motto seriously and he likes the day time fans.

Adolfo Martinez was born in Glendale, California on the 27th of September 1948. Given that there were already two other Adolfos in the family (A's father and grand father), the new comer was nick named "A", and it stuck. A was drawn to singing early on and at the age of twelve he made his debut at the LA Hollywood Bowl. He has continued to work with music throughout his life.

He was studying at the UCLA when he was discovered by the professional acting circles and was cast in "Born Wild". He was eighteen at the time. His next novie "The Cowboys" united him with John Wayne, an experience that reminded A of the days when he and his father would go to the drive-in wearing pajamas, in case they should fall asleep on the ride back home. "When I actually met "The Duke" I had the strangest sense of deja vu, like I was still wearing those pajamas" A reminisces. His other film works include "Once Upon A Scoundrel", Powwow Highway" and "She Devil" with Meryl Streep.

However, it wasn't until A was cast in the role of Cruz Castillo on the day soap "Santa Barbara" that he really hit the big time. A explains that his experience with the soap helped him overcome any doubts about the wisdom of pursuing a career in acting. Cruz became one of the most popular characters of the show, and there are web sites dedicated to the love story of Cruz and Eden Campbell (played by Marcy Walker) still around. A was awarded the Daytime Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actor for his work on Santa Barbara in 1990.

After "Santa Barbara" came to an end in the United States, A set about to finally make an album of his own. The end result was "Fragrance And Thorn", a chronicle of some sort of the Martinez family life. Before A was cast for Profiler as Coop, he appeared in "Magnificent Seven" and he was a regular in "L.A. Law" for two seasons. Currently he can be seen in the ABC daytime soap "General Hospital" as Roy DiLucca. He has been married to Mare Winningham, and he met his current wife Leslie Bryan in 1980. They have three children: a son, Dakota Lee, and two daughters: Devon Makens and Ren Farren.

Photo:
A Martinez Pictures page

Links:
A Martinez
General Hospital
A Martinez Interviews, Articles and Updates, A Fansite