Karla DeVito
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| Karla DeVito | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 29, 1953 Illinois, United States |
| Occupation | Actress |
Karla DeVito (born May 29, 1953. Raised in Mokena, Illinois) is an American singer, actress and voice artist.
DeVito and her three brothers were raised by a very musical mother, Vivienne, who, when not working to support the family, was always singing at home. Karla attended Willow Crest Grade School in Mokena, where she was a cheerleader.
Karla attended Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox, Illinois. In her senior year, Karla appeared in the high school's production of "Brigadoon" and "The Odd Couple" (as one of the giggly Pigeon sisters) she was also runner-up to the Homecoming Queen.
At Loyola University Chicago, she majored in theatre. During her freshman year she joined the Chicago cast of "Godspell." In 1971-72 Karla studied with Jo Forsberg at Second City Company in Chicago and was part of the Children's Theatre group, with Bill Murray and many other improvisational actors. In 1973, she was in the cast of the popular play Hair.
She subsequently became a backup singer for Meat Loaf, supporting the Bat out of Hell tour (and also performed lip sync to Ellen Foley's vocals in the music videos). Karla then contributed background vocals for such groups as Blue Öyster Cult and the Sorrows. Later she became a solo performer in her own right, and opened for such prominent artists as Hall & Oates and Rick Springfield as well as headlining solo concerts at New York's The Bottom Line.
In the early days of MTV, Karla was featured on their first New Year's Eve concert and hosted the series Rock Influences. When she sang "Where The Boys Are" on the David Letterman show, Letterman affectionately called Karla "The Sweetheart of Rock and Roll."
In 1981, Karla DeVito released her debut solo album, Is This a Cool World or What? In addition to original material, the album contained covers of three well-known songs: Jim Steinman's "Heaven Can Wait", The Grass Roots' "Midnight Confessions," and John Fogerty's "Almost Saturday Night".
Also in 1981, Karla covered the leading role played by Linda Ronstadt in The Pirates of Penzance on Broadway. She won critical and audience acclaim when she went on for Ronstadt during a press preview, then took over the role when Ronstadt left the show. Robby Benson later joined the company as the romantic lead.
A seasoned musician himself, Benson was very impressed by Karla's performance. He marveled at her ability to belt out rock tunes, and yet effortlessly master the operatic range of Gilbert and Sullivan. Benson fondly recalled a rare moment when Karla's voice broke onstage, and her characteristic reaction: she laughed.
The show's conductor started bringing Benson out to lunch to acquaint him with members of the company. The first lunch meeting was with Karla, and the rest is history. They were married in 1982 and have two children, Lyric Benson and Zephyr Benson.
After becoming a mother, Karla chose to concentrate on her family rather than her career. This was her decision and not Robby's. In fact when Robby was approached by A&M's Herb Alpert to record an album of his own, Robby convinced Alpert to record Karla instead. Karla's second album, "Wake 'Em Up in Tokyo" - featuring more songs written by Robby and Karla - was released by A&M in 1986. It has not been reissued on CD.
One of Robby and Karla's songs, "We Are Not Alone", was a popular hit featured in the motion picture The Breakfast Club (1985). Another, "Nobody Makes Me Crazy Like You Do" was covered by Diana Ross in her album "Swept Away."
Karla can also be heard in two solo tracks "White Bird" and "Don't Walk Away, Renee" on an album entitled "Desolation Angels Anthem" and a duet "Gimme The Word" with Paul Anka on one of his later albums.
In 1990, Karla co-starred with Benson in the film Modern Love where she gave an engaging performance and sang two songs on the soundtrack. That film also introduced Karla and Robby's daughter Lyric Benson.
After Robby voiced the title role in Disney's classic 1991 animated feature "Beauty and the Beast," Karla voiced a role in Disney's popular "Bonkers" animated TV series.
In 2002 Karla sang the part of Elizabeth for the CD recording of Graham Russell's rock opera The Heart of the Rose. In 2004 Robby wrote an acclaimed new musical called "Open Heart" that he has dedicated to, and performed with, Karla. The recording of "Open Heart" is available through iTunes and Amazon.
Karla and Robby Benson are based on the East coast, where Robby has been a favorite film professor at NYU. Lyric and Zephyr Benson are now pursuing their own creative careers, Zephyr building a list of film credits, and Lyric with a new album. Robby's latest project is a new book, called "I'm Not Dead...Yet."
In a January 2012 interview, Robby Benson discussed the 3D release of Beauty and the Beast, and mentioned his latest project was producing and engineering his daughter Lyric's debut album: "my wife... Karla DeVito... has one of the greatest voices of all time" Robby says, adding that Lyric has inherited Karla's vocal talent, and Karla helped with the album as well.
When asked if he would produce further music projects for his family or others, Robby's response was: "You know what? I would love to do that. I would love to. I think my next album that I am going to work on is going to be Karla's album. She had two solo albums. One is wonderful. It's called Is This a Cool World or What? But, she did another album that did not do her justice. We have been talking about doing another one. We have now mapped it out. So, we are going to sit down and make an album for Karla." Shortly after the interview appeared, Karla confirmed: "Yes, we are working on new material!"
