Robby, who has pale blue eyes and dark hair, gained stardom in films like Ice Castles and Ode to Billy Joe.
But did you know that the beloved heartthrob was keeping a secret that he feared could jeopardize his career if revealed?
Robby Benson is now 67 years old and is an example of someone who has aged perfectly. He still has his gorgeous blue eyes and is very handsome; perhaps he is more handsome now than when he was younger!
The well-known teen idol was born in Dallas, Texas, but relocated to New York City with his family when he was five. Robby’s father worked in the cotton industry in Dallas, but he was also a comedy writer, and the prospects were significantly better in New York.
Robby soon followed his father into the entertainment business, appearing in commercials, soap operas, and on Broadway at the age of six. When he was 10, he began performing and adopted his mother’s surname as his stage name.
Robby fell in love with acting in the 1960s after seeing a theater rendition of the musical Oliver!. He acquired an agent and began touring Japan as the lead in the same performance.
Robby, with his huge, lovely eyes and remarkable aptitude, was destined for greater things. He made his cinematic debut in 1967, landing a role on CBS’s daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow, which was a long-running success.
However, most people will remember Robby for winning the hearts of young girls in 1970s films such as Ice Castles, The Chosen, and Ode to Billy.
But the critics didn’t like him, and one film writer commented that Robby was “cute as Bambi and twice as smarmy”. Fortunately, he gained the hearts of a generation, and more significantly, he genuinely enjoyed what he was doing.
However, after appearing frequently on screen in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Robby disappeared.
Robby was already a seasoned voice actor when he was cast as the Beast in 1991. He began working in voice acting when he was 14 years old, but his portrayal of the Beast in the Disney classic elevated him to the status of an icon, and it has somewhat immortalized him. The film is still immensely popular, and Beauty and the Beast is one of Broadway’s most successful productions of the contemporary day.
The role became critical for Robby, who had felt haunted by his appearance. He wished to be recognized for his artistic abilities, but Disney originally delayed the announcement of his inclusion in the cast. Producers worried that people would dislike their choice.
Health problems
Unfortunately, Robby has had some ups and downs in his career. Health issues have frequently plagued him since his adolescence.
Robby was diagnosed with a heart murmur when he was a child; the actor first noticed symptoms in his late 20s. He began feeling dizzy at times, and he briefly lost consciousness.
Afraid of losing his acting career, he told many of his coworkers that he had indigestion and weariness. But when filming The Chosen, Robby spoke up to his co-star, Rod Steiger, about his heart problem.
On the set of D.i.e Laughing, the actor became very ill and realized he needed to seek medical assistance. Robby was set to make the transition from teen idol to established Hollywood celebrity, therefore he didn’t want to inform anyone about what doctors had discovered on his heart years earlier.
But after nearly falling on location while filming D.i.e Laughing, he was obliged to perform. All of this led to him having open-heart surgery in 1984. According to accounts, the surgeons fixed a valve issue, and the tre:atment went ‘very well.’
Robby was released from the hospital after a month, but his difficulty didn’t end there.
Unfortunately, Robby’s chronic cardiac disease would become a constant cause of concern and distress. During his first surgery in 1984, he underwent a bovine valve transplant, which needed to be replaced after 15 years. He underwent a second surgery in 2000, but not long after, the former teen sensation began experiencing difficulty breathing.
Today, Robby has undergone four open-heart surgeries to address reoccurring issues and correct earlier heart damage. Robby’s reoccurring heart troubles took their toll on him, both personally and professionally. It was difficult to balance those two things while also fearing for his life. Robby’s first attempts to conceal his health difficulties exacerbated the situation.
But, thanks to his wife of 40 years, he made it through.
Robby married the rock vocalist Karla DeVito in 1982. They fell in love after meeting on the set of The Pirates of Penzance. Robby and Karla have two children: daughter Lyric (born 1983) and son Zephyr (born 1992).
Robby has had a great career outside of the show industry. He worked as a teacher at the University of South Carolina for two years and lived there for a while. When Robby and his wife DeVito relocated to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, Robby started working as a teacher at UCLA. He eventually became a professor of film production before retiring in 2016.
In 2019, Robby, now a grandfather, reappeared on the screen in Apple Seed. He also played the father in a Hallmark Channel film titled A Feeling of Home.
