AllMovie

Of Mexican heritage, A Martinez (the A stands for Adolphe) played many a Native American in the earliest stages of his career. Martinez' first role in major studio release was Cimarron in The Cowboys (1972), a character he carried over into the 1973 TV spin-off. From 1984 to 1993, he was starred as Cruz Castillo, erstwhile fiancé of long-suffering Eden Capwell (Marcy Walker), in the NBC soap opera Santa Barbara; in 1990 he won an Emmy for his work on this series. In the British/American co-production Powwow Highway(1988) he gave an impassioned performance as Indian-activist Buddy Red Bow, who, with pal Philbert Bono (Gary Farmer), embarks on a cross-country journey to battle government injustice. Martinez' prime-time TV credits include Benny Silva in Cassie and Company (1982) and Lt. Neal Quinn in Whiz Kids. He was "executed" on a 1990 episode of LA Law, then "resuscitated" to play Daniel Morales on the same series in 1992. A Martinez was married to actress Mare Winningham.