Sam Behrens

Last updated
Sam Behrens
Born
Stanley Birnbaum

(1950-07-24) July 24, 1950 (age 72)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1979–present
Spouse
(m. 1989)

Sam Behrens (born Stanley Birnbaum; July 24, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jake Meyer on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital , Danny Waleska in the CBS prime time soap opera Knots Landing and as Gregory Richards in the NBC daytime soap opera, Sunset Beach .

Contents

Life and career

Behrens was born Stanley Birnbaum to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City. [1] [2] He is of German ancestry on his paternal side. He has been married to Shari Belafonte since December 31, 1989. [3] [4]

Behrens began his soap opera career on ABC's Ryan's Hope , playing Dr. Adam Cohen from 1979 to 1980. In the 1980s, he moved from New York to Los Angeles, when he was cast as Jake Meyer on General Hospital from 1983 to 1987. After a recurring role on the NBC legal drama series, L.A. Law , Behrens was cast as Danny Waleska, Valene Ewing's (Joan Van Ark) new husband. He won the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villain: Prime Time for this role in 1991. [5] Behrens also guest-starred on The Facts of Life and Murder, She Wrote , and played major roles in a number of made-for-television movies in the early 1990s. He also had a recurring role in the ABC drama series, Homefront in 1993. In film, Behrens had supporting parts in American Blue Note (1989), and Alive (1993).

From 1997 to 1999, Behrens starred alongside Lesley-Anne Down and other actors in the NBC daytime soap opera Sunset Beach produced by Aaron Spelling. He received two additional nominations for Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villain: Daytime.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1979—1980 Ryan's Hope Dr. Adam CohenSeries regular
1983 Star 80 BusinessmanUncredited
1983—1987 General Hospital Jake MeyerSeries regular
1988 L.A. Law Charles Craft3 episodes
The Facts of Life Wes Mitchell2 episodes
Murder, She Wrote Kevin StylesEpisode: "J.B.. as in Jailbird"
1989 American Blue Note Nat Joy
1990 Unspeakable Acts HerschellTelevision film
Uncut GemLewisTelevision film
1989—1990 Knots Landing Danny Waleska36 episodes
Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villain: Prime Time (1991)
1990Murder by NumbersLee
1991 Murder, She Wrote Steve LocknerEpisode: "Unauthorized Obituary"
And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird Steve Franklin
1992 Beyond Reality The ManEpisode: "Dancing with the Man"
1993 Alive Javier Methol
Homefront Phil Havel4 episodes
1994 Viper Frederick LangEpisode: "Past Tense"
Shadow of Obsession PhilipTelevision film
1995TummyRichard Power
1996Bermuda TriangleJohnTelevision film
1997—1999 Sunset Beach Gregory Richards
Tobias Richards
Series regular
Nominated — Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villain (1997—1999)
2002 That's Life Robert ComiskeyEpisode: "Baum's Thesis"
The Young and the Restless Maxwell HollisterRecurring role
2007 The Closer Ken ScottEpisode: "Lovers Leap"
2017Confessions of a Teenage Jesus JerkElder
2019 Gloria Bell Man #1

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References

  1. "Sam Behrens - Movies and Filmography - AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  2. Bloom, Nate (November 17, 2011). "Jewish Stars 11/18". Cleveland Jewish News. Actress Shari Belafonte, 57, is Harry's daughter with his first wife. Shari's husband since 1989 is Jewish soap opera actor Sam Behrens, 61.
  3. "Gadsden Times - Google News Archive Search" . Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  4. "Well, Hush Our Mouth—Harry's Shari (Belafonte) and Knots Landing's Sam Behrens Found Love on Location" . Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  5. "The Soap Opera Digest Awards: 1991". Soap Opera Digest . soapoperadigest.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2013.