Actor Nathaniel Marston attends ABC Super Soap Weekends At Disneys California Adventure on April 14, 2002 in Anaheim, California. (Getty)
A former soap opera star severely injured in a car crash in Nevada has died.
Nathaniel Marston, 40, was left with a broken neck and back and internal injuries after the October 30 crash. He died Wednesday, his mother said in a Facebook post.
“My beloved and cherished son, Nathaniel Marston, who was putting up the good fight until last night was not able to continue due to the traumatic and devastating nature of his injuries. Nathaniel passed away peacefully as I held him in my arms,” his mother, Elizabeth Jackson, wrote on Facebook. “Father William, myself and his second Mommy Lisa, and our dear friend Charlotte were by his bedside, he was not alone. His injuries, which Dr.’s did their best to heal were not responding to treatment and one after another his bodily functions failed to support his life.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1.He Likely Would Have Been a Quadriplegic If He Had Survived
Nathaniel Marston and Kristen Alderson (“One Life To Live”) at the after party for the 30th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards May 16, 2003. (Getty)
Marston was in intensive care at a Reno, Nevada, hospital, Jackson said. She said if he had survived, he likely would have been a quadriplegic and would have needed a breathing tube.
“Had Nathaniel lived he would have required a ventilator and would never have been able to utter one more word and would have been sentenced to life as a quadriplegic. A condition that Nate would have never have been able to tolerate. By Gods love and mercy Nathaniel was spared this living hell and has traveled on to be with God, his cherished Grandmother Mary Jackson, Grandfather John Jackson and my sister his Aunt Nora,” Jackson wrote on Facebook.
Jackson said he was scheduled for a brain scan on Wednesday, and doctors were considering surgery to reduce the pressure on his brain. She said he was alert at times, but unable to talk, in the days before his death.
2. He Was Sober at the Time of the Crash, His Mother Says
(Facebook)
Marston was sober at the time of the crash, police told his mother, Elizabeth Jackson, adding that she posted that “in case (the) rumor mill gets going.”
Jackson said on Facebook her son fractured his vertabrea in four places, broke his shoulder and all his ribs. His mother said he also has a collapsed lung and pneumonia.
She said Marston was thrown from the truck he was driving.
Police told Entertainment Tonight Marston may have been fatigued and fell asleep while driving.
“The vehicle drifted into the opposite lane and it is believed that when Marston awoke he over-corrected, causing his pickup truck to flip several times,” police said. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was, “ejected from the vehicle through the windshield.”
3. He Was on ‘One Life to Live’ From 2001 to 2007
Marston is best known for playing Al Holden and later Dr. Michael McBain on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. He was on the show from 2001 to 2007, according to his IMDB page.
According to his website, Marston’s run on One Life to Live almost ended in 2003, when his contract was not renewed. But he had become a fan favorite, and fan websites dedicated to him and co-star Kathy Brier popped up on the internet. After fans flooded the actors, magazines and ABC Daytime higher-ups with messages calling for Marston to stay, his contract was renewed.
His first soap opera role was on the CBS series As the World Turns, from 1998 to 1999. His performance as Eddie Silva earned him a Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for “Outstanding Male Newcomer.”
Marston also played Jack Tisdale on the shortlived 1996 TV series Matt Waters, and had roles in several movies before becoming a soap opera star, including The Craft, Love Is All There Is, Ordinary Sinner and Ciao America.
4. He Last Acted in 2011, Starring in an Indie Movie
Marston eventually left One Life to Live in 2007 after he was arrested on assault charges following a street fight in New York City, the New York Daily News reported at the time.
According to the Daily News, Marston attacked three people and brawled with police officers trying to arrest him in October 2007. He was charged with assault, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest. Marston, a 6-foot-3 former amateur boxer, “appeared to be crazed on cocaine” at the time of the attack, the newspaper reported. The Daily News continued:
He allegedly screamed, “I’m going to get you!” and assaulted his victims with a metal crate, breaking one man’s leg at 45th St. and 10th Ave. When cops arrived, Marston allegedly began flailing his arms and kicking the officers, who later took him to Bellevue Hospital where he was classified as an emotionally disturbed person.
Marston pleaded guilty to misdemeanor resisting arrest in 2010. He was not sentenced to jail, according to the New York Post.
His last acting role was as Tony in the independent movie Walk a Mile in My Pradas in 2011, according to his IMDB page. He has also had several guest roles on TV shows since his departure from One Life to Live, including Blue Bloods, Castle, White Collar and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
5. His Mother Is Planning Memorial Services
Nathaniel Marston, with Rita Bias, in 2013. (Facebook)
Marston’s mother said on Facebook that she is planning memorials for her son in New York City, Nevada and Hawaii.
She said the first memorial will be in Hawaii, where her family is.
“Without all of you and all of your love, prayers and positive support I would not have been able to make it through these last few weeks,” Jackson wrote. “Your love, prayers,and positive thoughts continue to hold me up.”
Marston, who was born and raised in Connecticut, married Rita Bias in 2006, according to his website. He has been living in Nevada, according to his Facebook page.