Carmen Zapata Dead at 86

Carmen Zapata as Carmen Castillo on SANTA BARBARA.

TV, film and stage actress Carmen Zapata died Sunday at her home in Van Nuys. She was 86.

Los Angeles' Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, which she co-founded in 1973, said Zapata had been suffering from a heart condition, KABC-TV reported Monday.

Zapata appeared on dozens of other TV shows during her six-decade career, including FALCON CREST, L.A. LAW, BONANZA, MEDICAL CENTER, THE ROOKIES, CHICO AND THE MAN, MARRIED … WITH CHILDREN, and DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN.