Sam Behrens (born Stanley Birnbaum; July 24, 1950) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Jake Meyer on the ABC daytime soap opera ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...

'', Danny Waleska in the CBS prime time soap opera ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives ...

'' and as

Gregory Richards Gregory Richards is a fictional character from the American television soap opera '' Sunset Beach'', portrayed by Sam Behrens. He made his first appearance during the show's debut episode broadcast on January 6, 1997. Gregory is one of the serial ...

in the NBC daytime soap opera, '' Sunset Beach''.

Life and career

Behrens was born Stanley Birnbaum to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. He is of German ancestry on his paternal side. He has been married to

Shari Belafonte Shari Lynn Belafonte (born September 22, 1954) is an American actress, model, writer and singer. The daughter of singer Harry Belafonte, she began her career as a fashion model before making her big screen debut appearing in the 1982 drama film ...

since December 31, 1989. Behrens began his soap opera career on ABC's ''

Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in ...

'', playing Dr. Adam Cohen from 1979 to 1980. In 1980s. he moved from New York to Los Angeles, when was cast as Jake Meyer on ''

'' from 1983 to 1987. After recurring role on the NBC legal drama series, '' L.A. Law'', Behrens was cast as Danny Waleska,

Valene Ewing Valene "Val" Ewing (maiden name Clements, formerly Gibson, Waleska), portrayed by Joan Van Ark, is a fictional character in the CBS primetime soap opera ''Knots Landing'', a spin-off from the long-running series '' Dallas'', in which she also a ...

's ( Joan Van Ark) new husband. He won Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villain: Prime Time for this role in 1991. Behrens also guest starred on '' The Facts of Life'' and ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The seri ...

'', and played major roles in a number of made for television movies in early 1990s. He also had the recurring role in the ABC drama series, '' Homefront'' in 1993. In film, Behrens had supporting parts in ''

American Blue Note ''American Blue Note'' is a 1989 drama film directed by Ralph Toporoff, who wrote the screenplay with Gilbert Girion. It stars Peter MacNicol, Carl Capotorto, Tim Guinee Timothy S. Guinee (born November 18, 1962) is an American stage, televisi ...

'' (1989), and '' Alive'' (1993). From 1997 to 1999, Behrens starred alongside

Lesley-Anne Down Lesley-Anne Down (born 17 March 1954) is a British actress, singer and former model. She achieved fame as Georgina Worsley in the ITV drama series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (1973–75). She received further recognition for her performances in ...

and other actors in the NBC daytime soap opera '' Sunset Beach'' produced by

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), '' The Love Boat'' (1977–198 ...

. He received two additional nominations for Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villain: Daytime.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Behrens, Sam 1950 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male soap opera actors Jewish American male actors Living people Male actors from New York City People from Brooklyn 21st-century American Jews