A Martinez Marks 50 Years Since Working On John Wayne’s The Cowboys

Many who have followed soaps over the year consider A Martinez a legend, having won a Daytime Emmy playing Cruz Castillo on Santa Barbara, as well as other memorable turns as Eduardo Hernandez on Days of our Lives, Roy DiLucca on General Hospital as well as roles on One Life to Live and The Bold and the Beautiful. But he also appeared alongside a legend — John Wayne — in a movie 50 years ago called The Cowboys.

A Martinez Takes A Trip Down Memory Lane

The actor shared some amazing images in a post on his Instagram account late Tuesday saying, “[The Cowboys] is turning 50 this year, and celebrations are in order. Because [Robert Carradine] was only 17 at the time, and needed a guardian on location, I was recruited for the gig. (Makes sense, since I was all of 22…)

“We were thick as thieves, and Bobby and I got together last week to talk with [Rob Word] about the upcoming reunion he’s planning –– we had a great time,” continued the actor. “Afterward I went strolling through the web looking for images to share, and found these: (1) Me and Bobby C, now and then, as Cimarron and Slim (2) Director Mark Rydell and star John Wayne recruiting the boys in their one-room schoolhouse (3) The legendary Clay O’Brien as Hardy Fimps (4) Cimarron rides into the Rio Grande to rescue Slim (5) The Duke lets me move my stuff into camp for saving Slim (6) Slim gives Cimarron a piece of Fool’s Gold for saving him. Cimarron (Mr. Charm): “You callin’ me a fool…?” (7) The great Colleen Dewhurst as Kate (8) The great Roscoe Lee Browne as Nightlinger (9) The great Bruce Dern as Long Hair (10) The boys over their ravaged father figure –– fallen to a cruelty they will completely avenge.

“It was a thrill and an honor to be a part of this project. A haunting, timeless theme, adapted from the novel by William Dale Jennings, brilliantly directed by Rydell, with gorgeous cinematography by Bob Surtees, an indelible score by John Williams –– and a great performance by John Wayne –– the power of #TheCowboys abides.”

One thing to note — director Mark Rydell was himself a soap opera star back in the 1960s. He played Jeff Baker on As The World Turns — and Jeff’s love story with Penny Hughes (Rosemary Prinz) is considered by many to be the first daytime super couple.

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