Yep. I love her name!

Ilene Kristen's (Ryan's Hope, Another World, Loving, One Life to Live) given name is Schatz

Soap Opera Digest, 2002

The Name Game

For the first four years of her professional career, there was no Ilene Kristen. Just Ilene Schatz. The change came about when she was tapped for a role in the 1971 film Preacherman. "It had to do with the union," she explains. "We all changed our name for this movie." So - why pick Kristen? "The agent I was with used to bring in all these Swedish directors," she explains, "and everybody always told me I look very Swedish. I felt very Swedish. And one of the directors suggested [the Nordic name] Kristen. I thought it was pretty. I had never heard it before. So, it stuck."

But she's not entirely free of Schatz, which is how Kristen likes it. "My nickname is Schatzy. [Legendary Broadway choreographer] Michael Bennett used to call me that, and it was like calling a dog. I think that's what he thought of my dancing

Ron Hale's (Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, Ryan's Hope, Port Charles, General Hospital) last name is Thigpen

John Gabriel's (Love of Life, General Hospital, Ryan's Hope, Loving) given name is Jack Monkarsh

Sam Behrens's (Ryan's Hope, General Hospital, Knot's Landing, Sunset Beach, Young & Restless) given name Stanley Birnbaum

Soap Opera Digest, 1983

TG: How do you feel about changing your name from Stanley Birnbaum to Sam Behrens?

SB: It was a bit easier this time. I say this time because it's not the first time. I had changed my name earlier, when I was a kid, all for the wrong reasons. What I was really trying to do was change me – to "John Smith". In fact, I changed it back when I realized what I was doing and saw the idiocy of it.

This time it was really for professional reason, and I changed it to a name that at least I could accept, Sam, from Stan, because Sam is the only name I can answer to without going, Who's he? I always had a connections with Sam – my parents were going to name me Sam but they thought I would kill them later in life! And Behrens is from the German pronunciation of Birnbaum. Beh-ren-baum. But my old friends gave me a lot of flack. They saw me going out to California and selling out and changing my name, wearing sweat clothes instead of Khaki pants and a sport coat. I'm lost as far as they are concerned.

Edited June 20, 201213 yr by safe

Danneel Harris played Shannon McBain on OLTL. Her real name is Elta Danneel Graul. She is also married to Jensen Ackles.

Wow....seems like forever since I've posted anything in here....lol...

John-Paul Lavoisier was born John-Paul Seponski.

SCOTTY!!!!!!

Re: Sam Behrens

And Behrens is from the German pronunciation of Birnbaum. Beh-ren-baum.

That's not true. Birnbaum is not pronounced Beh-ren-baum in German, it's pronounced [ˈbɪʁnbaʊ̯m] and means "pear tree". The word "Beerenbaum" (berry tree) would be pronounced "Beh-ren-baum" but that word does not really exist.

Re: Ilene Kristen / Schatz

Schatz is German for "darling", but it can also mean "treasure" depending on the context. Her nickname "Schatzy" (although we spell it with an "i" at the end) is the German equivalent for calling somebody "baby" ("Er ist mein Schatzi" = "he is my baby").