Q: I am so excited that A Martinez is going to join "Bold and Beautiful." I have loved him on every soap he has done. What does the "A" stand for? — Anonymous

A: The 62-year-old actor told me "A" is a family tradition that he did not continue with his own three children. His given name at birth was Adolfo Larrue Martinez III.

"In my family, the first born always had the father's name. When a new male was born, the 'A' then began using the name Adolfo. I love my family, but I did not love their choice of naming."

At the age of 12, he had his first acting role. He used the name his family called him. Established in his career, he kept using "A." As a teenager, Martinez often played disaffected youths on prime-time shows.

From "Barnaby Jones "to "CSI" and upcoming primetime shows, Martinez is always working.

In 1981, he met his first wife, actress Mare Winningham. The marriage was short-lived. He told me that he was "crushed" after the divorce.

"I was so miserable that I would go to a local Jack in the Box and spend as much time as I could talking into the box."

By 1982, he no longer had to seek solace from a restaurant drive-thru. While working on a movie, he met and fell in love with crewmember Leslie Bryans. Their son is named Dakota Lee. Their two daughters are Devon Makena and Ren Farren.

Martinez won a Daytime Emmy for playing Cruz on "Santa Barbara." He played Roy DiLucca on "General Hospital" and had a short stay on "One Life to Live" in the role of Ray Montez. (Ray is Langston's uncle.) He came in a villain and left a hero.

It looked as though a romance was brewing between Ray and Dorian (Robin Strasser), but suddenly, his character was sent back to South America.

He produced and starred in the independent film "Powwow Highway," which won several film festival awards.

Marcy Walker, who played his love interest on "Santa Barbara," described him as the "easiest actor I ever worked with. He has no pretense. In a scene, he was always there for me."

Martinez is so well liked by producers that several non-Latino characters became Latino so the shows could employ him. He is an actor who loves to work and rarely turns down a role.

"I have been working in the business since I was 12," says Martinez, who started as a singer. "I am very fortunate to still be working in the business after 50 years."

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.