Saturday, March 29, 2014

Dane Witherspoon Dead at 56

Original Santa Barbara cast member Dane Witherspoon has died at age 56.

A Martinez, who starred as Cruz Castillo in Santa Barbara, revealed the news on his Facebook page:

"Dane passed this morning. People who watched Santa Barbara in its earliest days will remember him as Joe Perkins, a character to which he brought a quiet grace and deep, bittersweet sense of soul. He was a singular, standup guy, loved and admired by many. My first thought, upon meeting him in 1984: 'This is the most beautiful man I've ever seen.' That beauty went all the way to his core."

Witherspoon played "Joe Perkins" in the original cast of NBC daytime drama Santa Barbara in 1984 but was fired from the show after a few months.

"From the day the show started I worked 16 hours a day almost every day,” Witherspoon recalled in a 1985 interview. "I was exhausted all the time. I went to Mexico for six months to recuperate. I had to mend myself."

He next played Tyler McCandless in the CBS soap opera Capitol.

His other television appearances included The Waltons, Eight is Enough, plus the TV movies Chameleons and Asteroid.

In 1986, Witherspoon married his former Santa Barbara co-star, Robin Wright, who played Kelly Capwell. He was later married to Tracy K. Shaffer.

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Joe Remembers Kelly ("If Ever You're In My Arms Again")


Kelly and Joe Promo

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