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.

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