Ever heard of John Martinuzzi? Unless you're a real soap opera fan from way back in the 1980s, you've probably not heard of him. Ever heard of John Morrissey? Unless you're an aficionado of film and know who produced which topnotch film of this or that year, you've probably not heard of him, either.
In fact, as a buyer of Tv and movie entertainment, you're likely not any more familiar, by name, with Mr. Morrissey than you are with Mr. Martinuzzi. Yet if you're a quarterly buyer of Tv and movie entertainment, be assured, you are aware of the products put out under these names.
In 1982, John Martinuzzi originated the role of the deliciously-evil Stavros Cassadine on Abc's normal Hospital, and went on in 1984 to play David Preston on Cbs' The Guiding Light. John Morrissey is the established producer of recognized and celebrated films, namely the critically-acclaimed American History X, among others, both for the big screen and television.
What makes this engaging is that Martinuzzi and Morrissey is the same man. Actor, producer, writer, photographer, clothing designer-these are his professions in just the first 50 or so years.
It's in the transition from one name to the other, one form of visibility to another, that the meat of the story is revealed. For all practical purposes to anything who may have followed his screen work, John Martinuzzi seemed to disappear from the face of the earth, and at that time, his just-growing "fan base"-as John Martinuzzi aka Stavros-was left wondering if he, like Stavros, had passed away . . . Or at very least, dropped out of the commerce to become, say, a car salesman.
What did happen?
John Martinuzzi, the man, is alive and well, living in Los Angeles, but the name is no more.
Using Martinuzzi as his last name, the actor came to collective light in 1983 as Stavros Cassadine on normal Hospital, a part which he had no way of knowing would live on in soap history. And though Stavros reportedly died during Martinuzzi's tenure, the character was at last resurrected, with other actor in the role. This is when John Martinuzzi gradually began to morph into oblivion - or so it appeared to the normal collective who'd come to enjoy his compelling portrayal of such a involved character. Though Martinuzzi took on other nationally-known role on The Guiding Light a few years later, that character never grabbed viewers in the same way. Then-he was gone to daily visibility. No more John Martinuzzi.
It didn't categorically happen that fast, though. Things were changing in John's life. Lots of things. To start from the beginning-what originally brought John into the engaging lights of stage, television, and film, and what came about to bring about his change in personas?
He was born in the 1950s. At a point where there was no male figure in his life, his mum worked as assistant to the celebrated Eartha Kitt, and she and John lived with her. He called Eartha the "head of the household," and said she was "stubborn and agressive in her way, but very smart." It was a "unique" atmosphere, since the head of their home "was a black woman." John became accustomed early on to "women and blacks in positions of power."
He, his mother, and Eartha went from theater to theater, and, as he put it, acting "just seemed like . . . What grown ups did." So when he grew up, John followed suit. He went to college, then to drama school in London. He did a important estimate of regional theatre before going on to Broadway.
How did he make the transition to soap operas?
He auditioned. As John Martinuzzi, he auditioned six times for the role of Stavros Cassadine. Though he had been born John James Morrissey Iii, his parents divorced and his mum ultimately remarried. He was adopted by his stepfather and lived as John Martinuzzi well into adulthood-and notoriety as an American actor, a time which had started with these auditions.
John said, "By the time it got to the end" of the casting process for the part of Stavros, "I had come to be what they imagined, and they changed some dialogue for me and when I would improvise, they would add some of what I said." Stavros was uniquely his, and even though he held that part for only a year or so, he put an irresistible stamp on the character . . . So much so that, over 25 years later, viewers still talk about "John Martinuzzi" and his portrayal of Stavros Cassadine. And the next thing they want to know is, "Whatever happened to him?"
After his stint on normal Hospital, and then The Guiding Light, and other less-visible roles, John moved from in front of the cameras to behind them as a movie producer. during this time, he made the decision to return to his roots. Now the name change. It came about when he fell in love and asked his sweetheart to marry him.
"Will you take my name?" he asked her.
"Not the Italian one," she replied, "but I'll take your real name." He acquiesced, and returned to his birth name. For about 14 years, John James Morrissey Iii was a married man with a family, working normally as a movie producer. He helped raise his wife's daughter from a previous marriage whom he calls "a spectacular girl," with softness in his voice, and John Martinuzzi slipped into the past.
By changing his name, John didn't comprehend he was effectively cutting away one measure of his collective persona. It didn't even cross his mind. Amazingly, he was totally unaware he even had a following. When the issue of the Stavros re-cast was brought up, John was surprised.
"I don't think the role was recast. Relatives were chosen. I don't think Stavros himself was recast." He hesitated. "Maybe I don't even know."
He didn't know. He was told Stavros was brought back in 2001 with Robert Kelker-Kelly in the part, and he asked pointedly, "Was Genie on the show?"
"Genie" referred to Genie Francis, the actress who originated the role of Laura Spencer, and went on to come to be half of Luke and Laura, one of the most celebrated soap couples of all times.
When informed that Genie was on the show at the time, John's response was short. "Genie would've opposed me coming on to do it."
This brings us to the real history in the middle of not only the characters-Laura and Stavros-but also in the middle of the actors-Genie and John.
"I have not followed normal Hospital," John explained. "I did not corollary normal Hospital when I was on it."
After only a miniature hesitation, it was evident he had made a decision, a decision to tell his story. "I fell in love with Genie Francis and we lived together for any years." This explained the realism behind their electric onscreen chemistry. "We did some plays after our work [together] . . . Had a good time. She was implicated about becoming a great actress . . . So we went to New York-she wanted to study with my acting teacher. We went to New York; I was cast in some plays, she was learning . . . ."
He stopped for a occasion to gather his thoughts, as if trying to resolve how best to enumerate the next part of their shared drama.
"I was an alcoholic, I am an alcoholic, and I didn't categorically know it but she did. She had been exposed to alcoholism with her father, and she had had her own process with drugs and alcohol even though she was quite young. She understood a lot more about alcoholism and A.A. Than I did, so I think that I was not a viable partner for her, really."
Anyone who's followed normal Hospital's history has heard the rumors that Genie and her prominent man at that time became an offscreen item. What happened to that romance, however, has been nearly as much of a mystery as the whereabouts of that prominent man since he left daytime Tv. Here he was now, personally explaining all that had gone on behind the scenes.
"It was impossible to carry on and so after a few years, we broke up. She left, and it was very upsetting to me." His voice tinged with regret. ". . . She became angry with me because I was upset with her." They did things against each other, as so often happens when love gets hurt. John sounded surprised at the depth of his recollections all these years later. "I don't even barely remember the things I did that upset her but, apparently," he laughed uncomfortably, "she's still upset, I discovered years later. She's one of the few women I've had a serious association with that I didn't remain very good friends with . . . And for anything reason, I have not remained friends with Genie."
So the stormy truth of the Laura and Stavros/Genie and John story is ultimately revealed. He lived with his regrets and went on after Genie, though still not toning down his lifestyle.
"I did two years on The Guiding Light, as John Martinuzzi." The name change hadn't yet taken place-the disappearance was still a few years into the future. "That was interesting," he continued, "but I think my alcoholism began to flare more during that time . . . Soap opera acting just wasn't what I was concerned in. It was a miniature too limiting."
John sighed heavily. It sounded as if he hadn't visited this duration in his life in quite some time. "I was very young and very frightened of taking a step away and trying to get somewhere more on my own, go in anything direction I categorically wanted to go as an artist, on any level. . . . I did some plays while on the show. And right after my contract ended, I came to L. A. In 1987. I had acted on a bunch of episodic television but found I was at the peak of my alcoholism and still in denial, still not recognizing it, but it was interfering in my life."
What happened? Love happened. "I met this woman, and I liked her a lot . . . And I met some other citizen who were film producers, and film yield began to interest me. . . . Acting is ego-oriented. Even [for] actors who are not particularly egotistical."
The surprise here was that John didn't seem to be an egocentric man. When the world has but one or maybe two personas on which to base an impression, and when those personas are self-serving and not-so-nice, it's an unfortunate mistake to expect the person behind the characterizations to be similar.
The man himself was quite the opposite. "It's constantly, 'til you are a star, having to worry about how you look and having to run nearby chasing work. Self-focused. And the parts of oneself that aren't necessarily the most interesting. So I was sick of it. I was attracted to producing films. I hadn't particularly stopped acting, I hadn't consciously stopped acting, but I got more and more involved in producing."
When asked if he'd reconsider acting again, he replied, "I like acting. It's categorically fun. It's the best of lifestyles that . . ." he laughed, the sound happy, young, impish, " that I've lived. You show up on the set, everyone treats you categorically nicely and you get a lot of privileges. Nice ego-boosting things happen, then you go out and play and . . ." again he laughed, "that's all that's staggering out of you. It's emotionally-challenging but I like that. But I'm not so eager to pursue that because I don't want to worry about running nearby seeing for work. It's a pain in the ass." More light-hearted laughter. "So," in final answer to the original question, "if citizen ask me to act, I do."
It was here in his story, at a time where he was in love and engaging away from acting and into producing-a true life change-where he proposed, and his lady said, "Yes." She wanted to come to be Mrs. Morrissey, though, not Mrs. Martinuzzi. John reverted to the name given him at birth, and this lifestyle worked well for a time, long enough for him to get used to being a husband and a father. While he was married, he produced the well-accepted American History X with Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, and Stacy Keach.
"I've produced 14 or 15 movies and some television stuff, and I have an ongoing career as a producer and a lot of credibility and a good position in the industry, so I think I'm in good shape, and I can make good money doing it."
Unfortunately, though his expert world was going well, his personal life went through other major change. By 2001, with a solid career as a film producer, he and his wife had split. John was again on his own . . . And this seemed to encourage a desire for something new in his expert life, as well.
"I was feeling I'd grown miniature by what I was doing as a producer," he explained. "Producing is so depependent on such a huge variety and variety of citizen it can be monumentally frustrating. I can categorically make a good living and get a lot of movies made, but I'm no longer concerned in manufacture movies that don't vigor me, like American History X did. I've made some movies just to make a living, and I don't particularly want to do that."
He needed to advance again. He had the means, and he " . . . Started writing more, I'm a photographer, and I shoot for a variety of publications. A few years ago I decided I was concerned in women's clothing so I started to design. My line is starting to take off. . . . I just made a major sale to Sears in Mexico. Sears in Mexico is partnered with Sachs, and they've bought my line, called John Morrissey, as well as a estimate of other boutiques in Mexico City. I've started to sell in Miami. I'm putting all my concentration on this Mexican process because my clothes go on sale there in September."
What led John to take his clothing speculation south of the United States border?
"At the time I split with my wife, I decided to learn how to speak Spanish. I've had an expanding interest in Central and South America, and have travelled to Mexico, Spain, Venezuela, Argentina, and Uruguay." Costa Rica, Guatamala, Colombia, and Chile are on his list of hereafter tour spots.
John's journey-emotional as well as literal-painted the photograph of an entrepreneur, a man with various but related interests, and a determination to not limit himself to only one but, instead, excel at all of them.
When it was recommend that he was an entrepreneur, he belief for a occasion before responding. "Producing is entrepreneurial. I think what I am is an artist, and I find different media or venues in which to express or convention or make my art. For me, it all comes from the same place. . . . Designing clothes and writing and taking pictures and producing movies and acting, and all of it is sort of the same thing. I know it isn't, it requires different skill sets, but the impulse comes from exactly the same place. I think of myself as an artist. Some of the stuff I do requires entrepreneurial skills, of which mine are very limited." He laughed, as if he couldn't quite see himself in that role.
Yet, in hearing his story, there seemed to be miniature about this man that could be described as "limited." He gave off an air of one who was confident, yet not oversure. Capable but not arrogant. person who knew his way nearby romance but who truly prefers being in love with one special lady.
Which brought about a revealing commentary from John. In talking again about his first real national role, that of Stavros on normal Hospital, he said, "It was quite engaging to me because it sort of changed my view of myself. I belief of myself as a character, kind of a weird-looking guy, and I got cast as a very sexy guy. It had a great impact on my self-image."
Sometimes that's what it takes. Perception coupled with acceptance and action. John went for the role, it was given to him, he learned to play it, and he excelled.
That could, in fact, be John Morrissey's modus operandi these days. Not only has his name changed. In his own words, "On September 17, 1993, I stopped drinking and doing drugs and I've been clean and sober ever since. In 1996 I quit smoking." Each time he's gone nearby other curve in life, he has found a new role. Up for every new challenge, he's figured out how to play each one. Seems that for every projection John will turn, he'll continue to happily surprise himself.
But make no mistake. If you want to keep an eye on this artist, from here on out you need to be watching for John Morrissey, not John Martinuzzi!
John Martinuzzi may be gone but there's no sorrow there. Morrissey is here to stay!
