diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystemSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystemSpec.scala
index ad3f5e2870..7dfdf83e6e 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystemSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystemSpec.scala
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 package akka.actor
 
 import language.postfixOps
-
 import akka.testkit._
 import org.scalatest.junit.JUnitSuite
 import com.typesafe.config.ConfigFactory
@@ -12,9 +11,9 @@ import scala.concurrent.Await
 import scala.concurrent.util.duration._
 import scala.collection.JavaConverters
 import java.util.concurrent.{ TimeUnit, RejectedExecutionException, CountDownLatch, ConcurrentLinkedQueue }
-import akka.pattern.ask
 import akka.util.Timeout
 import scala.concurrent.Future
+import akka.pattern.ask
 
 class JavaExtensionSpec extends JavaExtension with JUnitSuite
 
@@ -62,6 +61,12 @@ object ActorSystemSpec {
     }
   }
 
+  class Strategy extends SupervisorStrategyConfigurator {
+    def create() = OneForOneStrategy() {
+      case _ ⇒ SupervisorStrategy.Escalate
+    }
+  }
+
 }
 
 @org.junit.runner.RunWith(classOf[org.scalatest.junit.JUnitRunner])
@@ -187,6 +192,46 @@ class ActorSystemSpec extends AkkaSpec("""akka.extensions = ["akka.actor.TestExt
       created filter (ref ⇒ !ref.isTerminated && !ref.asInstanceOf[ActorRefWithCell].underlying.isInstanceOf[UnstartedCell]) must be(Seq())
     }
 
+    "shut down when /user fails" in {
+      implicit val system = ActorSystem("Stop", AkkaSpec.testConf)
+      EventFilter[ActorKilledException]() intercept {
+        system.actorFor("/user") ! Kill
+        awaitCond(system.isTerminated)
+      }
+    }
+
+    "allow configuration of guardian supervisor strategy" in {
+      implicit val system = ActorSystem("Stop",
+        ConfigFactory.parseString("akka.actor.guardian-supervisor-strategy=akka.actor.StoppingSupervisorStrategy")
+          .withFallback(AkkaSpec.testConf))
+      val a = system.actorOf(Props(new Actor {
+        def receive = {
+          case "die" ⇒ throw new Exception("hello")
+        }
+      }))
+      val probe = TestProbe()
+      probe.watch(a)
+      EventFilter[Exception]("hello", occurrences = 1) intercept {
+        a ! "die"
+      }
+      probe.expectMsg(Terminated(a)(true))
+    }
+
+    "shut down when /user escalates" in {
+      implicit val system = ActorSystem("Stop",
+        ConfigFactory.parseString("akka.actor.guardian-supervisor-strategy=\"akka.actor.ActorSystemSpec$Strategy\"")
+          .withFallback(AkkaSpec.testConf))
+      val a = system.actorOf(Props(new Actor {
+        def receive = {
+          case "die" ⇒ throw new Exception("hello")
+        }
+      }))
+      EventFilter[Exception]("hello") intercept {
+        a ! "die"
+        awaitCond(system.isTerminated)
+      }
+    }
+
   }
 
 }
diff --git a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/serialization/SerializeSpec.scala b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/serialization/SerializeSpec.scala
index 0c57b61f8c..4cd5a876d5 100644
--- a/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/serialization/SerializeSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-actor-tests/src/test/scala/akka/serialization/SerializeSpec.scala
@@ -269,8 +269,8 @@ class VerifySerializabilitySpec extends AkkaSpec(VerifySerializabilitySpec.conf)
     val a = system.actorOf(Props[FooActor])
     Await.result(a ? "pigdog", timeout.duration) must be("pigdog")
 
-    intercept[NotSerializableException] {
-      Await.result(a ? new AnyRef, timeout.duration)
+    EventFilter[NotSerializableException](occurrences = 1) intercept {
+      a ! (new AnyRef)
     }
     system stop a
   }
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index 459c9bd216..5afc1148a1 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -46,7 +46,14 @@ akka {
 
   actor {
 
+    # FQCN of the ActorRefProvider to be used; the below is the built-in default,
+    # another one is akka.remote.RemoteActorRefProvider in the akka-remote bundle.
     provider = "akka.actor.LocalActorRefProvider"
+    
+    # The guardian "/user" will use this subclass of akka.actor.SupervisorStrategyConfigurator
+    # to obtain its supervisorStrategy. Besides the default there is
+    # akka.actor.StoppingSupervisorStrategy
+    guardian-supervisor-strategy = "akka.actor.DefaultSupervisorStrategy"
 
     # Timeout for ActorSystem.actorOf
     creation-timeout = 20s
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Actor.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Actor.scala
index 5df5932b21..6a9bdb0801 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Actor.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/Actor.scala
@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ case class DeathPactException private[akka] (dead: ActorRef)
  * avoid cascading interrupts to other threads than the originally interrupted one.
  */
 @SerialVersionUID(1L)
-class ActorInterruptedException private[akka] (cause: Throwable) extends AkkaException(cause.getMessage, cause) with NoStackTrace
+class ActorInterruptedException private[akka] (cause: Throwable) extends AkkaException(cause.getMessage, cause)
 
 /**
  * This message is published to the EventStream whenever an Actor receives a message it doesn't understand
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
index 40938ec809..2e1c7cd610 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorCell.scala
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import scala.util.control.NonFatal
 
 import akka.actor.cell.ChildrenContainer
 import akka.dispatch.{ Watch, Unwatch, Terminate, SystemMessage, Suspend, Supervise, Resume, Recreate, NoMessage, MessageDispatcher, Envelope, Create, ChildTerminated }
-import akka.event.Logging.{ LogEvent, Debug }
+import akka.event.Logging.{ LogEvent, Debug, Error }
 import akka.japi.Procedure
 
 /**
@@ -182,19 +182,19 @@ private[akka] trait Cell {
    */
   def systemImpl: ActorSystemImpl
   /**
-   * Recursively suspend this actor and all its children.
+   * Recursively suspend this actor and all its children. Must not throw exceptions.
    */
   def suspend(): Unit
   /**
-   * Recursively resume this actor and all its children.
+   * Recursively resume this actor and all its children. Must not throw exceptions.
    */
   def resume(causedByFailure: Throwable): Unit
   /**
-   * Restart this actor (will recursively restart or stop all children).
+   * Restart this actor (will recursively restart or stop all children). Must not throw exceptions.
    */
   def restart(cause: Throwable): Unit
   /**
-   * Recursively terminate this actor and all its children.
+   * Recursively terminate this actor and all its children. Must not throw exceptions.
    */
   def stop(): Unit
   /**
@@ -213,15 +213,17 @@ private[akka] trait Cell {
   /**
    * Get the stats for the named child, if that exists.
    */
-  def getChildByName(name: String): Option[ChildRestartStats]
+  def getChildByName(name: String): Option[ChildStats]
   /**
    * Enqueue a message to be sent to the actor; may or may not actually
    * schedule the actor to run, depending on which type of cell it is.
+   * Must not throw exceptions.
    */
   def tell(message: Any, sender: ActorRef): Unit
   /**
    * Enqueue a message to be sent to the actor; may or may not actually
    * schedule the actor to run, depending on which type of cell it is.
+   * Must not throw exceptions.
    */
   def sendSystemMessage(msg: SystemMessage): Unit
   /**
@@ -368,7 +370,7 @@ private[akka] class ActorCell(
       case Kill                     ⇒ throw new ActorKilledException("Kill")
       case PoisonPill               ⇒ self.stop()
       case SelectParent(m)          ⇒ parent.tell(m, msg.sender)
-      case SelectChildName(name, m) ⇒ for (c ← getChildByName(name)) c.child.tell(m, msg.sender)
+      case SelectChildName(name, m) ⇒ getChildByName(name) match { case Some(c: ChildRestartStats) ⇒ c.child.tell(m, msg.sender); case _ ⇒ }
       case SelectChildPattern(p, m) ⇒ for (c ← children if p.matcher(c.path.name).matches) c.tell(m, msg.sender)
     }
   }
@@ -444,9 +446,13 @@ private[akka] class ActorCell(
 
   private def supervise(child: ActorRef, uid: Int): Unit = if (!isTerminating) {
     // Supervise is the first thing we get from a new child, so store away the UID for later use in handleFailure()
-    addChild(child).uid = uid
-    handleSupervise(child)
-    if (system.settings.DebugLifecycle) publish(Debug(self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "now supervising " + child))
+    initChild(child) match {
+      case Some(crs) ⇒
+        crs.uid = uid
+        handleSupervise(child)
+        if (system.settings.DebugLifecycle) publish(Debug(self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "now supervising " + child))
+      case None ⇒ publish(Error(self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "received Supervise from unregistered child " + child + ", this will not end well"))
+    }
   }
 
   // future extension point
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala
index 5ad951b89e..30aacac0d8 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRef.scala
@@ -306,8 +306,8 @@ private[akka] class LocalActorRef private[akka] (
    */
   protected def getSingleChild(name: String): InternalActorRef =
     actorCell.getChildByName(name) match {
-      case Some(crs) ⇒ crs.child.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef]
-      case None      ⇒ Nobody
+      case Some(crs: ChildRestartStats) ⇒ crs.child.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef]
+      case _                            ⇒ Nobody
     }
 
   override def getChild(names: Iterator[String]): InternalActorRef = {
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala
index 830826381a..6556adc2cd 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorRefProvider.scala
@@ -294,16 +294,6 @@ trait ActorRefFactory {
   def stop(actor: ActorRef): Unit
 }
 
-/**
- * Internal Akka use only, used in implementation of system.actorOf.
- */
-private[akka] case class CreateChild(props: Props, name: String)
-
-/**
- * Internal Akka use only, used in implementation of system.actorOf.
- */
-private[akka] case class CreateRandomNameChild(props: Props)
-
 /**
  * Internal Akka use only, used in implementation of system.stop(child).
  */
@@ -317,6 +307,7 @@ class LocalActorRefProvider(
   override val settings: ActorSystem.Settings,
   val eventStream: EventStream,
   override val scheduler: Scheduler,
+  val dynamicAccess: DynamicAccess,
   override val deployer: Deployer) extends ActorRefProvider {
 
   // this is the constructor needed for reflectively instantiating the provider
@@ -329,6 +320,7 @@ class LocalActorRefProvider(
       settings,
       eventStream,
       scheduler,
+      dynamicAccess,
       new Deployer(settings, dynamicAccess))
 
   override val rootPath: ActorPath = RootActorPath(Address("akka", _systemName))
@@ -380,65 +372,12 @@ class LocalActorRefProvider(
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Overridable supervision strategy to be used by the “/user” guardian.
-   */
-  protected def guardianSupervisionStrategy: SupervisorStrategy = {
-    import akka.actor.SupervisorStrategy._
-    OneForOneStrategy() {
-      case _: ActorKilledException         ⇒ Stop
-      case _: ActorInitializationException ⇒ Stop
-      case _: Exception                    ⇒ Restart
-    }
-  }
-
-  /*
-   * Guardians can be asked by ActorSystem to create children, i.e. top-level
-   * actors. Therefore these need to answer to these requests, forwarding any
-   * exceptions which might have occurred.
-   */
-  private class Guardian extends Actor {
-
-    override val supervisorStrategy: SupervisorStrategy = guardianSupervisionStrategy
+  private class Guardian(override val supervisorStrategy: SupervisorStrategy, isSystem: Boolean) extends Actor {
 
     def receive = {
-      case Terminated(_)                ⇒ context.stop(self)
-      case CreateChild(child, name)     ⇒ sender ! (try context.actorOf(child, name) catch { case NonFatal(e) ⇒ Status.Failure(e) })
-      case CreateRandomNameChild(child) ⇒ sender ! (try context.actorOf(child) catch { case NonFatal(e) ⇒ Status.Failure(e) })
-      case StopChild(child)             ⇒ context.stop(child)
-      case m                            ⇒ deadLetters ! DeadLetter(m, sender, self)
-    }
-
-    // guardian MUST NOT lose its children during restart
-    override def preRestart(cause: Throwable, msg: Option[Any]) {}
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Overridable supervision strategy to be used by the “/system” guardian.
-   */
-  protected def systemGuardianSupervisionStrategy: SupervisorStrategy = {
-    import akka.actor.SupervisorStrategy._
-    OneForOneStrategy() {
-      case _: ActorKilledException | _: ActorInitializationException ⇒ Stop
-      case _: Exception ⇒ Restart
-    }
-  }
-
-  /*
-   * Guardians can be asked by ActorSystem to create children, i.e. top-level
-   * actors. Therefore these need to answer to these requests, forwarding any
-   * exceptions which might have occurred.
-   */
-  private class SystemGuardian extends Actor {
-
-    override val supervisorStrategy: SupervisorStrategy = systemGuardianSupervisionStrategy
-
-    def receive = {
-      case Terminated(_)                ⇒ eventStream.stopDefaultLoggers(); context.stop(self)
-      case CreateChild(child, name)     ⇒ sender ! (try context.actorOf(child, name) catch { case NonFatal(e) ⇒ Status.Failure(e) })
-      case CreateRandomNameChild(child) ⇒ sender ! (try context.actorOf(child) catch { case NonFatal(e) ⇒ Status.Failure(e) })
-      case StopChild(child)             ⇒ context.stop(child); sender ! "ok"
-      case m                            ⇒ deadLetters ! DeadLetter(m, sender, self)
+      case Terminated(_)    ⇒ if (isSystem) eventStream.stopDefaultLoggers(); context.stop(self)
+      case StopChild(child) ⇒ context.stop(child)
+      case m                ⇒ deadLetters ! DeadLetter(m, sender, self)
     }
 
     // guardian MUST NOT lose its children during restart
@@ -472,10 +411,30 @@ class LocalActorRefProvider(
    */
   def registerExtraNames(_extras: Map[String, InternalActorRef]): Unit = extraNames ++= _extras
 
-  private val guardianProps = Props(new Guardian)
+  private def guardianSupervisorStrategyConfigurator =
+    dynamicAccess.createInstanceFor[SupervisorStrategyConfigurator](settings.SupervisorStrategyClass, Seq()).fold(throw _, x ⇒ x)
 
-  lazy val rootGuardian: InternalActorRef =
-    new LocalActorRef(system, guardianProps, theOneWhoWalksTheBubblesOfSpaceTime, rootPath) {
+  /**
+   * Overridable supervision strategy to be used by the “/user” guardian.
+   */
+  protected def rootGuardianStrategy: SupervisorStrategy = OneForOneStrategy() {
+    case ex ⇒
+      log.error(ex, "guardian failed, shutting down system")
+      SupervisorStrategy.Stop
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Overridable supervision strategy to be used by the “/user” guardian.
+   */
+  protected def guardianStrategy: SupervisorStrategy = guardianSupervisorStrategyConfigurator.create()
+
+  /**
+   * Overridable supervision strategy to be used by the “/user” guardian.
+   */
+  protected def systemGuardianStrategy: SupervisorStrategy = SupervisorStrategy.defaultStrategy
+
+  lazy val rootGuardian: LocalActorRef =
+    new LocalActorRef(system, Props(new Guardian(rootGuardianStrategy, isSystem = false)), theOneWhoWalksTheBubblesOfSpaceTime, rootPath) {
       override def getParent: InternalActorRef = this
       override def getSingleChild(name: String): InternalActorRef = name match {
         case "temp" ⇒ tempContainer
@@ -483,10 +442,15 @@ class LocalActorRefProvider(
       }
     }
 
-  lazy val guardian: LocalActorRef = new LocalActorRef(system, guardianProps, rootGuardian, rootPath / "user")
+  lazy val guardian: LocalActorRef = {
+    rootGuardian.underlying.reserveChild("user")
+    new LocalActorRef(system, Props(new Guardian(guardianStrategy, isSystem = false)), rootGuardian, rootPath / "user")
+  }
 
-  lazy val systemGuardian: LocalActorRef =
-    new LocalActorRef(system, guardianProps.withCreator(new SystemGuardian), rootGuardian, rootPath / "system")
+  lazy val systemGuardian: LocalActorRef = {
+    rootGuardian.underlying.reserveChild("system")
+    new LocalActorRef(system, Props(new Guardian(systemGuardianStrategy, isSystem = true)), rootGuardian, rootPath / "system")
+  }
 
   lazy val tempContainer = new VirtualPathContainer(system.provider, tempNode, rootGuardian, log)
 
@@ -559,4 +523,3 @@ class LocalActorRefProvider(
 
   def getExternalAddressFor(addr: Address): Option[Address] = if (addr == rootPath.address) Some(addr) else None
 }
-
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala
index 82fe2000b4..d3c3a558c2 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/ActorSystem.scala
@@ -133,6 +133,7 @@ object ActorSystem {
 
     final val ConfigVersion = getString("akka.version")
     final val ProviderClass = getString("akka.actor.provider")
+    final val SupervisorStrategyClass = getString("akka.actor.guardian-supervisor-strategy")
     final val CreationTimeout = Timeout(Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.actor.creation-timeout"), MILLISECONDS))
 
     final val SerializeAllMessages = getBoolean("akka.actor.serialize-messages")
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/FaultHandling.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/FaultHandling.scala
index 863c4f9721..3d1c9a01c3 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/FaultHandling.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/FaultHandling.scala
@@ -24,9 +24,11 @@ private[akka] case object ChildNameReserved extends ChildStats
  * ChildRestartStats is the statistics kept by every parent Actor for every child Actor
  * and is used for SupervisorStrategies to know how to deal with problems that occur for the children.
  */
-case class ChildRestartStats(child: ActorRef, var uid: Int = 0, var maxNrOfRetriesCount: Int = 0, var restartTimeWindowStartNanos: Long = 0L)
+case class ChildRestartStats(child: ActorRef, var maxNrOfRetriesCount: Int = 0, var restartTimeWindowStartNanos: Long = 0L)
   extends ChildStats {
 
+  var uid: Int = 0
+
   //FIXME How about making ChildRestartStats immutable and then move these methods into the actual supervisor strategies?
   def requestRestartPermission(retriesWindow: (Option[Int], Option[Int])): Boolean =
     retriesWindow match {
@@ -61,6 +63,23 @@ case class ChildRestartStats(child: ActorRef, var uid: Int = 0, var maxNrOfRetri
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Implement this interface in order to configure the supervisorStrategy for
+ * the top-level guardian actor (`/user`). An instance of this class must be
+ * instantiable using a no-arg constructor.
+ */
+trait SupervisorStrategyConfigurator {
+  def create(): SupervisorStrategy
+}
+
+final class DefaultSupervisorStrategy extends SupervisorStrategyConfigurator {
+  override def create(): SupervisorStrategy = SupervisorStrategy.defaultStrategy
+}
+
+final class StoppingSupervisorStrategy extends SupervisorStrategyConfigurator {
+  override def create(): SupervisorStrategy = SupervisorStrategy.stoppingStrategy
+}
+
 trait SupervisorStrategyLowPriorityImplicits { this: SupervisorStrategy.type ⇒
 
   /**
@@ -133,11 +152,21 @@ object SupervisorStrategy extends SupervisorStrategyLowPriorityImplicits {
       case _: ActorInitializationException ⇒ Stop
       case _: ActorKilledException         ⇒ Stop
       case _: Exception                    ⇒ Restart
-      case _                               ⇒ Escalate
     }
     OneForOneStrategy()(defaultDecider)
   }
 
+  /**
+   * This strategy resembles Erlang in that failing children are always
+   * terminated (one-for-one).
+   */
+  final val stoppingStrategy: SupervisorStrategy = {
+    def stoppingDecider: Decider = {
+      case _: Exception ⇒ Stop
+    }
+    OneForOneStrategy()(stoppingDecider)
+  }
+
   /**
    * Implicit conversion from `Seq` of Throwables to a `Decider`.
    * This maps the given Throwables to restarts, otherwise escalates.
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/RepointableActorRef.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/RepointableActorRef.scala
index 884427ccf8..b92df6a4ce 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/RepointableActorRef.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/RepointableActorRef.scala
@@ -108,8 +108,8 @@ private[akka] class RepointableActorRef(
         case ""   ⇒ getChild(name)
         case other ⇒
           underlying.getChildByName(other) match {
-            case Some(crs) ⇒ crs.child.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef].getChild(name)
-            case None      ⇒ Nobody
+            case Some(crs: ChildRestartStats) ⇒ crs.child.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef].getChild(name)
+            case _                            ⇒ Nobody
           }
       }
     } else this
@@ -147,27 +147,16 @@ private[akka] class UnstartedCell(val systemImpl: ActorSystemImpl, val self: Rep
        * lock, double-tap (well, N-tap, really); concurrent modification is
        * still not possible because we’re the only thread accessing the queues.
        */
-      var interrupted = false
       while (systemQueue.nonEmpty || queue.nonEmpty) {
         while (systemQueue.nonEmpty) {
           val msg = systemQueue.dequeue()
-          try cell.sendSystemMessage(msg)
-          catch {
-            case _: InterruptedException ⇒ interrupted = true
-          }
+          cell.sendSystemMessage(msg)
         }
         if (queue.nonEmpty) {
           val envelope = queue.dequeue()
-          try cell.tell(envelope.message, envelope.sender)
-          catch {
-            case _: InterruptedException ⇒ interrupted = true
-          }
+          cell.tell(envelope.message, envelope.sender)
         }
       }
-      if (interrupted) {
-        Thread.interrupted() // clear interrupted flag before throwing according to java convention
-        throw new InterruptedException
-      }
     } finally try
       self.swapCell(cell)
     finally try
@@ -223,4 +212,4 @@ private[akka] class UnstartedCell(val systemImpl: ActorSystemImpl, val self: Rep
     }
   }
 
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Children.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Children.scala
index 89c506fd75..5704a6b22b 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Children.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Children.scala
@@ -7,11 +7,12 @@ package akka.actor.cell
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
 import scala.collection.JavaConverters.asJavaIterableConverter
 import scala.util.control.NonFatal
-import akka.actor.{ RepointableRef, Props, NoSerializationVerificationNeeded, InvalidActorNameException, InternalActorRef, ChildRestartStats, ActorRef }
+import akka.actor._
 import akka.actor.ActorCell
 import akka.actor.ActorPath.ElementRegex
 import akka.serialization.SerializationExtension
 import akka.util.{ Unsafe, Helpers }
+import akka.actor.ChildNameReserved
 
 private[akka] trait Children { this: ActorCell ⇒
 
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ private[akka] trait Children { this: ActorCell ⇒
   @inline private def swapChildrenRefs(oldChildren: ChildrenContainer, newChildren: ChildrenContainer): Boolean =
     Unsafe.instance.compareAndSwapObject(this, AbstractActorCell.childrenOffset, oldChildren, newChildren)
 
-  @tailrec final protected def reserveChild(name: String): Boolean = {
+  @tailrec final def reserveChild(name: String): Boolean = {
     val c = childrenRefs
     swapChildrenRefs(c, c.reserve(name)) || reserveChild(name)
   }
@@ -71,24 +72,16 @@ private[akka] trait Children { this: ActorCell ⇒
     swapChildrenRefs(c, c.unreserve(name)) || unreserveChild(name)
   }
 
-  final protected def addChild(ref: ActorRef): ChildRestartStats = {
-    @tailrec def rec(): ChildRestartStats = {
-      val c = childrenRefs
-      val nc = c.add(ref)
-      if (swapChildrenRefs(c, nc)) nc.getByName(ref.path.name).get else rec()
+  @tailrec final protected def initChild(ref: ActorRef): Option[ChildRestartStats] =
+    childrenRefs.getByName(ref.path.name) match {
+      case old @ Some(_: ChildRestartStats) ⇒ old.asInstanceOf[Option[ChildRestartStats]]
+      case Some(ChildNameReserved) ⇒
+        val crs = ChildRestartStats(ref)
+        val name = ref.path.name
+        val c = childrenRefs
+        if (swapChildrenRefs(c, c.add(name, crs))) Some(crs) else initChild(ref)
+      case None ⇒ None
     }
-    /*
-     * This does not need to check getByRef every tailcall, because the change 
-     * cannot happen in that direction as a race: the only entity removing a 
-     * child is the actor itself, and the only entity which could be racing is 
-     * somebody who calls attachChild, and there we are guaranteed that that 
-     * child cannot yet have died (since it has not yet been created).
-     */
-    childrenRefs.getByRef(ref) match {
-      case Some(old) ⇒ old
-      case None      ⇒ rec()
-    }
-  }
 
   @tailrec final protected def shallDie(ref: ActorRef): Boolean = {
     val c = childrenRefs
@@ -127,17 +120,17 @@ private[akka] trait Children { this: ActorCell ⇒
 
   protected def suspendChildren(exceptFor: Set[ActorRef] = Set.empty): Unit =
     childrenRefs.stats foreach {
-      case ChildRestartStats(child, _, _, _) if !(exceptFor contains child) ⇒ child.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef].suspend()
+      case ChildRestartStats(child, _, _) if !(exceptFor contains child) ⇒ child.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef].suspend()
       case _ ⇒
     }
 
   protected def resumeChildren(causedByFailure: Throwable, perp: ActorRef): Unit =
     childrenRefs.stats foreach {
-      case ChildRestartStats(child: InternalActorRef, _, _, _) ⇒
+      case ChildRestartStats(child: InternalActorRef, _, _) ⇒
         child.resume(if (perp == child) causedByFailure else null)
     }
 
-  def getChildByName(name: String): Option[ChildRestartStats] = childrenRefs.getByName(name)
+  def getChildByName(name: String): Option[ChildStats] = childrenRefs.getByName(name)
 
   protected def getChildByRef(ref: ActorRef): Option[ChildRestartStats] = childrenRefs.getByRef(ref)
 
@@ -197,7 +190,7 @@ private[akka] trait Children { this: ActorCell ⇒
         }
       // mailbox==null during RoutedActorCell constructor, where suspends are queued otherwise
       if (mailbox ne null) for (_ ← 1 to mailbox.suspendCount) actor.suspend()
-      addChild(actor)
+      initChild(actor)
       actor
     }
   }
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/ChildrenContainer.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/ChildrenContainer.scala
index 38bd239db6..e7b5fcc441 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/ChildrenContainer.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/ChildrenContainer.scala
@@ -14,10 +14,10 @@ import akka.dispatch.SystemMessage
  */
 private[akka] trait ChildrenContainer {
 
-  def add(child: ActorRef): ChildrenContainer
+  def add(name: String, stats: ChildRestartStats): ChildrenContainer
   def remove(child: ActorRef): ChildrenContainer
 
-  def getByName(name: String): Option[ChildRestartStats]
+  def getByName(name: String): Option[ChildStats]
   def getByRef(actor: ActorRef): Option[ChildRestartStats]
 
   def children: Iterable[ActorRef]
@@ -50,8 +50,7 @@ private[akka] object ChildrenContainer {
 
   trait EmptyChildrenContainer extends ChildrenContainer {
     val emptyStats = TreeMap.empty[String, ChildStats]
-    override def add(child: ActorRef): ChildrenContainer =
-      new NormalChildrenContainer(emptyStats.updated(child.path.name, ChildRestartStats(child)))
+    override def add(name: String, stats: ChildRestartStats): ChildrenContainer = new NormalChildrenContainer(emptyStats.updated(name, stats))
     override def remove(child: ActorRef): ChildrenContainer = this
     override def getByName(name: String): Option[ChildRestartStats] = None
     override def getByRef(actor: ActorRef): Option[ChildRestartStats] = None
@@ -75,7 +74,7 @@ private[akka] object ChildrenContainer {
    * empty state while calling handleChildTerminated() for the last time.
    */
   object TerminatedChildrenContainer extends EmptyChildrenContainer {
-    override def add(child: ActorRef): ChildrenContainer = this
+    override def add(name: String, stats: ChildRestartStats): ChildrenContainer = this
     override def reserve(name: String): ChildrenContainer =
       throw new IllegalStateException("cannot reserve actor name '" + name + "': already terminated")
     override def isTerminating: Boolean = true
@@ -91,22 +90,18 @@ private[akka] object ChildrenContainer {
    */
   class NormalChildrenContainer(val c: TreeMap[String, ChildStats]) extends ChildrenContainer {
 
-    override def add(child: ActorRef): ChildrenContainer =
-      new NormalChildrenContainer(c.updated(child.path.name, ChildRestartStats(child)))
+    override def add(name: String, stats: ChildRestartStats): ChildrenContainer = new NormalChildrenContainer(c.updated(name, stats))
 
     override def remove(child: ActorRef): ChildrenContainer = NormalChildrenContainer(c - child.path.name)
 
-    override def getByName(name: String): Option[ChildRestartStats] = c.get(name) match {
-      case s @ Some(_: ChildRestartStats) ⇒ s.asInstanceOf[Option[ChildRestartStats]]
-      case _                              ⇒ None
-    }
+    override def getByName(name: String): Option[ChildStats] = c.get(name)
 
     override def getByRef(actor: ActorRef): Option[ChildRestartStats] = c.get(actor.path.name) match {
       case c @ Some(crs: ChildRestartStats) if (crs.child == actor) ⇒ c.asInstanceOf[Option[ChildRestartStats]]
       case _ ⇒ None
     }
 
-    override def children: Iterable[ActorRef] = c.values.view.collect { case ChildRestartStats(child, _, _, _) ⇒ child }
+    override def children: Iterable[ActorRef] = c.values.view.collect { case ChildRestartStats(child, _, _) ⇒ child }
 
     override def stats: Iterable[ChildRestartStats] = c.values.view.collect { case c: ChildRestartStats ⇒ c }
 
@@ -146,7 +141,7 @@ private[akka] object ChildrenContainer {
   case class TerminatingChildrenContainer(c: TreeMap[String, ChildStats], toDie: Set[ActorRef], reason: SuspendReason)
     extends ChildrenContainer {
 
-    override def add(child: ActorRef): ChildrenContainer = copy(c.updated(child.path.name, ChildRestartStats(child)))
+    override def add(name: String, stats: ChildRestartStats): ChildrenContainer = copy(c.updated(name, stats))
 
     override def remove(child: ActorRef): ChildrenContainer = {
       val t = toDie - child
@@ -157,17 +152,14 @@ private[akka] object ChildrenContainer {
       else copy(c - child.path.name, t)
     }
 
-    override def getByName(name: String): Option[ChildRestartStats] = c.get(name) match {
-      case s @ Some(_: ChildRestartStats) ⇒ s.asInstanceOf[Option[ChildRestartStats]]
-      case _                              ⇒ None
-    }
+    override def getByName(name: String): Option[ChildStats] = c.get(name)
 
     override def getByRef(actor: ActorRef): Option[ChildRestartStats] = c.get(actor.path.name) match {
       case c @ Some(crs: ChildRestartStats) if (crs.child == actor) ⇒ c.asInstanceOf[Option[ChildRestartStats]]
       case _ ⇒ None
     }
 
-    override def children: Iterable[ActorRef] = c.values.view.collect { case ChildRestartStats(child, _, _, _) ⇒ child }
+    override def children: Iterable[ActorRef] = c.values.view.collect { case ChildRestartStats(child, _, _) ⇒ child }
 
     override def stats: Iterable[ChildRestartStats] = c.values.view.collect { case c: ChildRestartStats ⇒ c }
 
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Dispatch.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Dispatch.scala
index 6565eb7fe7..794c051eed 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Dispatch.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/Dispatch.scala
@@ -7,7 +7,9 @@ package akka.actor.cell
 import scala.annotation.tailrec
 import akka.actor.{ ActorRef, ActorCell }
 import akka.dispatch.{ Terminate, SystemMessage, Suspend, Resume, Recreate, MessageDispatcher, Mailbox, Envelope, Create }
+import akka.event.Logging.Error
 import akka.util.Unsafe
+import scala.util.control.NonFatal
 
 private[akka] trait Dispatch { this: ActorCell ⇒
 
@@ -63,20 +65,49 @@ private[akka] trait Dispatch { this: ActorCell ⇒
   }
 
   // ➡➡➡ NEVER SEND THE SAME SYSTEM MESSAGE OBJECT TO TWO ACTORS ⬅⬅⬅
-  final def suspend(): Unit = dispatcher.systemDispatch(this, Suspend())
+  final def suspend(): Unit =
+    try dispatcher.systemDispatch(this, Suspend())
+    catch {
+      case e @ (_: InterruptedException | NonFatal(_)) ⇒
+        system.eventStream.publish(Error(e, self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "swallowing exception during message send"))
+    }
 
   // ➡➡➡ NEVER SEND THE SAME SYSTEM MESSAGE OBJECT TO TWO ACTORS ⬅⬅⬅
-  final def resume(causedByFailure: Throwable): Unit = dispatcher.systemDispatch(this, Resume(causedByFailure))
+  final def resume(causedByFailure: Throwable): Unit =
+    try dispatcher.systemDispatch(this, Resume(causedByFailure))
+    catch {
+      case e @ (_: InterruptedException | NonFatal(_)) ⇒
+        system.eventStream.publish(Error(e, self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "swallowing exception during message send"))
+    }
 
   // ➡➡➡ NEVER SEND THE SAME SYSTEM MESSAGE OBJECT TO TWO ACTORS ⬅⬅⬅
-  final def restart(cause: Throwable): Unit = dispatcher.systemDispatch(this, Recreate(cause))
+  final def restart(cause: Throwable): Unit =
+    try dispatcher.systemDispatch(this, Recreate(cause))
+    catch {
+      case e @ (_: InterruptedException | NonFatal(_)) ⇒
+        system.eventStream.publish(Error(e, self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "swallowing exception during message send"))
+    }
 
   // ➡➡➡ NEVER SEND THE SAME SYSTEM MESSAGE OBJECT TO TWO ACTORS ⬅⬅⬅
-  final def stop(): Unit = dispatcher.systemDispatch(this, Terminate())
+  final def stop(): Unit =
+    try dispatcher.systemDispatch(this, Terminate())
+    catch {
+      case e @ (_: InterruptedException | NonFatal(_)) ⇒
+        system.eventStream.publish(Error(e, self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "swallowing exception during message send"))
+    }
 
   def tell(message: Any, sender: ActorRef): Unit =
-    dispatcher.dispatch(this, Envelope(message, if (sender eq null) system.deadLetters else sender, system))
+    try dispatcher.dispatch(this, Envelope(message, if (sender eq null) system.deadLetters else sender, system))
+    catch {
+      case e @ (_: InterruptedException | NonFatal(_)) ⇒
+        system.eventStream.publish(Error(e, self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "swallowing exception during message send"))
+    }
 
-  override def sendSystemMessage(message: SystemMessage): Unit = dispatcher.systemDispatch(this, message)
+  override def sendSystemMessage(message: SystemMessage): Unit =
+    try dispatcher.systemDispatch(this, message)
+    catch {
+      case e @ (_: InterruptedException | NonFatal(_)) ⇒
+        system.eventStream.publish(Error(e, self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "swallowing exception during message send"))
+    }
 
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/FaultHandling.scala b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/FaultHandling.scala
index 2730778ad0..4e5eeedcc6 100644
--- a/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/FaultHandling.scala
+++ b/akka-actor/src/main/scala/akka/actor/cell/FaultHandling.scala
@@ -204,7 +204,11 @@ private[akka] trait FaultHandling { this: ActorCell ⇒
        */
       case Some(stats) if stats.uid == uid ⇒
         if (!actor.supervisorStrategy.handleFailure(this, child, cause, stats, getAllChildStats)) throw cause
-      case _ ⇒ publish(Debug(self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "dropping Failed(" + cause + ") from unknown child " + child))
+      case Some(stats) ⇒
+        publish(Debug(self.path.toString, clazz(actor),
+          "dropping Failed(" + cause + ") from old child " + child + " (uid=" + stats.uid + " != " + uid + ")"))
+      case None ⇒
+        publish(Debug(self.path.toString, clazz(actor), "dropping Failed(" + cause + ") from unknown child " + child))
     }
 
   final protected def handleChildTerminated(child: ActorRef): SystemMessage = {
diff --git a/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteActorRefProvider.scala b/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteActorRefProvider.scala
index 42aa1cf148..5377013a42 100644
--- a/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteActorRefProvider.scala
+++ b/akka-remote/src/main/scala/akka/remote/RemoteActorRefProvider.scala
@@ -7,8 +7,10 @@ package akka.remote
 import akka.actor._
 import akka.dispatch._
 import akka.event.{ Logging, LoggingAdapter, EventStream }
+import akka.event.Logging.Error
 import akka.serialization.{ Serialization, SerializationExtension }
 import scala.concurrent.Future
+import scala.util.control.NonFatal
 
 /**
  * Remote ActorRefProvider. Starts up actor on remote node and creates a RemoteActorRef representing it.
@@ -24,7 +26,7 @@ class RemoteActorRefProvider(
 
   val deployer: RemoteDeployer = new RemoteDeployer(settings, dynamicAccess)
 
-  private val local = new LocalActorRefProvider(systemName, settings, eventStream, scheduler, deployer)
+  private val local = new LocalActorRefProvider(systemName, settings, eventStream, scheduler, dynamicAccess, deployer)
 
   @volatile
   private var _log = local.log
@@ -229,9 +231,19 @@ private[akka] class RemoteActorRef private[akka] (
 
   def isTerminated: Boolean = !running
 
-  def sendSystemMessage(message: SystemMessage): Unit = remote.send(message, None, this)
+  def sendSystemMessage(message: SystemMessage): Unit =
+    try remote.send(message, None, this)
+    catch {
+      case e @ (_: InterruptedException | NonFatal(_)) ⇒
+        remote.system.eventStream.publish(Error(e, path.toString, classOf[RemoteActorRef], "swallowing exception during message send"))
+    }
 
-  override def !(message: Any)(implicit sender: ActorRef = null): Unit = remote.send(message, Option(sender), this)
+  override def !(message: Any)(implicit sender: ActorRef = null): Unit =
+    try remote.send(message, Option(sender), this)
+    catch {
+      case e @ (_: InterruptedException | NonFatal(_)) ⇒
+        remote.system.eventStream.publish(Error(e, path.toString, classOf[RemoteActorRef], "swallowing exception during message send"))
+    }
 
   def suspend(): Unit = sendSystemMessage(Suspend())
 
diff --git a/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestActorRef.scala b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestActorRef.scala
index d961a75fff..33559cd56c 100644
--- a/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestActorRef.scala
+++ b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestActorRef.scala
@@ -25,7 +25,17 @@ class TestActorRef[T <: Actor](
   _props: Props,
   _supervisor: InternalActorRef,
   name: String)
-  extends LocalActorRef(
+  extends {
+    private val disregard = _supervisor match {
+      case l: LocalActorRef ⇒ l.underlying.reserveChild(name)
+      case r: RepointableActorRef ⇒ r.underlying match {
+        case u: UnstartedCell ⇒ throw new IllegalStateException("cannot attach a TestActor to an unstarted top-level actor, ensure that it is started by sending a message and observing the reply")
+        case c: ActorCell     ⇒ c.reserveChild(name)
+        case o                ⇒ _system.log.error("trying to attach child {} to unknown type of supervisor cell {}, this is not going to end well", name, o.getClass)
+      }
+      case s ⇒ _system.log.error("trying to attach child {} to unknown type of supervisor {}, this is not going to end well", name, s.getClass)
+    }
+  } with LocalActorRef(
     _system,
     _props.withDispatcher(
       if (_props.dispatcher == Dispatchers.DefaultDispatcherId) CallingThreadDispatcher.Id
@@ -119,8 +129,9 @@ object TestActorRef {
   def apply[T <: Actor](props: Props, name: String)(implicit system: ActorSystem): TestActorRef[T] =
     apply[T](props, system.asInstanceOf[ActorSystemImpl].guardian, name)
 
-  def apply[T <: Actor](props: Props, supervisor: ActorRef, name: String)(implicit system: ActorSystem): TestActorRef[T] =
+  def apply[T <: Actor](props: Props, supervisor: ActorRef, name: String)(implicit system: ActorSystem): TestActorRef[T] = {
     new TestActorRef(system.asInstanceOf[ActorSystemImpl], system.dispatchers.prerequisites, props, supervisor.asInstanceOf[InternalActorRef], name)
+  }
 
   def apply[T <: Actor](implicit t: ClassTag[T], system: ActorSystem): TestActorRef[T] = apply[T](randomName)
 
diff --git a/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestEventListener.scala b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestEventListener.scala
index 6c0eb7c993..2987ede478 100644
--- a/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestEventListener.scala
+++ b/akka-testkit/src/main/scala/akka/testkit/TestEventListener.scala
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import java.lang.{ Iterable ⇒ JIterable }
 import scala.collection.JavaConverters
 import scala.concurrent.util.Duration
 import scala.reflect.ClassTag
+import akka.actor.NoSerializationVerificationNeeded
 
 /**
  * Implementation helpers of the EventFilter facilities: send `Mute`
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ object TestEvent {
   object Mute {
     def apply(filter: EventFilter, filters: EventFilter*): Mute = new Mute(filter +: filters.toSeq)
   }
-  case class Mute(filters: Seq[EventFilter]) extends TestEvent {
+  case class Mute(filters: Seq[EventFilter]) extends TestEvent with NoSerializationVerificationNeeded {
     /**
      * Java API
      */
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ object TestEvent {
   object UnMute {
     def apply(filter: EventFilter, filters: EventFilter*): UnMute = new UnMute(filter +: filters.toSeq)
   }
-  case class UnMute(filters: Seq[EventFilter]) extends TestEvent {
+  case class UnMute(filters: Seq[EventFilter]) extends TestEvent with NoSerializationVerificationNeeded {
     /**
      * Java API
      */