Robby Benson
 |
Robby Benson | |
|---|---|
 Robby Benson in 1980. | |
| Born | Robin David Segal January 21, 1956 Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director, singer, educator |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Notable work | Voice of The Beast/Prince Adam in Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Lyric Benson (b. 1983) Zephyr Benson (b. 1992) |
| Parent(s) | Jerry Segal (father) Freda Ann Benson (mother) |
| Website | RobbyBenson.net |
Robin David Segal (born January 21, 1956), better known by the stage name Robby Benson, is an American actor, director, singer, and teacher. He is known as the voice of The Beast from the Disney animated film, Beauty and the Beast.
Early life
Benson was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Freda Ann (née Benson), a singer, actress, and business promotions manager, and Jerry Segal, a writer.[1] His family is Jewish.[2][3] Benson was raised in New York City and took his mother's maiden name as his stage name when he was 10.[3][4]
Career
Benson made his film debut with an uncredited role in Wait Until Dark (1967) as the Boy Tossing Ball[5] and his Broadway debut in The Rothschilds (1970). Benson had an early role on the daytime soap Search for Tomorrow (1971–72). As a film actor, Benson was well known for teenage roles in coming-of-age films, such as 1972's Jory, 1973's Jeremy, and as Billy Joe McAllister in 1976's Ode to Billy Joe.
In 1975, Benson appeared in Death Be Not Proud and Lucky Lady. In 1977, he starred in One on One and the TV movie The Death of Richie. In 1978, he co-starred in The End and also Ice Castles, co-starring Lynn Holly Johnson, who was a U.S. national figure skating medalist. Benson, who had never ice skated before, learned to skate in order to film the movie, which had numerous skating scenes, including ice hockey.[6] In 1980, Benson starred opposite Linda Grovenor in the Orion film, Die Laughing. The same year, Benson also starred in the movie Tribute opposite Jack Lemmon.[7]
In 1981, he costarred in the film The Chosen, based on the book of the same name by Chaim Potok.[6] The New York Times gave the film a mixed review, but noted that Benson's character was "full of a gentle inquisitiveness that cannot help but win the audience's sympathy."[8][9]
His 2007 novel Who Stole the Funny?: A Novel of Hollywood[10] landed Benson on the LA TImes Bestseller list. Benson's medical memoir, "I'm Not Dead... Yet!", was released in June 2012.[11]
Benson has been a professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, the University of Utah and the University of South Carolina.[12] It was announced he would serve as a professor of Practice in the fall of 2013 at Indiana University.[13]
Personal life
Benson married singer and actress Karla DeVito on July 11, 1982.[14] They have two children together, daughter Lyric (b. 1983) and son Zephyr (b. 1992).[15]
He is an activist and fundraiser for heart research, which, in 2004, led him to write the book, lyrics and music for an original Off-Broadway play called Open Heart, in which he also starred.[16] He practices Transcendental Meditation.[17]
References
- ^ "Robby Benson Biography (1956-)". filmreference.com.
- ^ Gordon, Buzz (July 4, 2003). "Pulling Up Stakes". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved December 13, 2006.
- ^ a b Roston, Tom (October 12, 2008). "Robby Benson directs 'Billy: The Early Years'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (August 19, 1977). "One-on-one Star And Writer Robby Benson Elated By Role..." St. Petersburg Times. pp. 14D. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
- ^ "Wait Until Dark". RareFilmFinder. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- ^ a b Benson, Robby. I'm Not Dead Yet!, Begal Productions ebook (2012)
- ^ Tribute (1980 film)
- ^ Maslin, Janet (April 30, 1982). "Movie review: 'The Chosen'". The New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Bloom, Harold, ed. Chaim Potok's "The Chosen", Chelsea House (2005) p. 15
- ^ Who Stole the Funny?: A Novel of Hollywood, HarperCollins Publishers, 2007. ISBN 0-06-124500-3.
- ^ Links to get "I’m Not Dead… Yet!" in all ebook formats and paperback on the Official Robby Benson site.
- ^ "Teaching credits". Robby Benson's official website. Bengal Productions, Inc. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
- ^ "Actor and director Robby Benson to join Indiana University's telecommunications faculty". Indiana University. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
- ^ Mackay, Kathy (October 11, 1982). "Gilbert and Sullivan's Most Improbable Pair? Robby Benson and Rocker Karla DeVito". People.
- ^ Roston, Tom (October 12, 2008). "The odd career twist of a former screen heartthrob". The Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Genzlinger, Neil (March 23, 2004). "Theater in Review: Words Can Never Harm Him, But Cardiac Arrest Can". The New York Times. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ I'm Not Dead Yet—or, "The Corpse Moved", 2012 ValorEditions.com, ISBN 978-0-9831416-2-4
- 1956 births
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- American film directors
- American male child actors
- American male film actors
- American male musical theatre actors
- American male soap opera actors
- American male video game actors
- American male voice actors
- American television directors
- Film directors from Texas
- Indiana University faculty
- Jewish American male actors
- Living people
- Male actors from Dallas, Texas
- Tisch School of the Arts faculty
- Transcendental Meditation practitioners
- University of South Carolina faculty
- University of Utah faculty