Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956[1]) is an American actor, director, and musician. He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the films Ode to Billy Joe (1976), One on One (1977) and Ice Castles (1978). He subsequently garnered more fame for voicing the Beast in the Disney animated film Beauty and the Beast (1991) and its numerous sequels and spin-offs. He has also worked as a television director, including six episodes of the sitcom Friends.
In addition to acting and directing, Benson is an activist in the field of heart research, having undergone four open-heart surgeries since age 28 to correct congenital aorticvalve defects and related damage. In 2012, he published a memoir recounting his medical journey and numerous surgeries.
Early life
Benson was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Freda Ann (née Benson), a singer, actor, and business promotions manager, and Jerry Segal, a writer.[2] His family is Jewish.[3][4] When Benson was five years old, his family relocated to New York City, where he was raised.[2] He subsequently took his mother's name as his stage name when he was 10.[4][5] Benson attended the Lincoln Square Academy in Manhattan, where he graduated at age fourteen as the class valedictorian.[2]
In 1975, Benson appeared in Death Be Not Proud and Lucky Lady.[7] That year, he also screen tested for the role of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, a role which eventually went to Mark Hamill. In 1977, Benson starred in One on One[7] which he co-wrote with his father, and the TV movie The Death of Richie. In 1978, he co-starred in The End and Ice Castles.[7] Benson, who had never ice skated before, learned to skate in order to film the movie, which had numerous skating scenes, including ice hockey.[8] In 1980, Benson starred in Die Laughing and Tribute.[9]
His 2007 novel Who Stole the Funny?: A Novel of Hollywood landed Benson on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller list.[14] Benson's medical memoir I'm Not Dead ... Yet! was released in June 2012.[15] Outside of acting, Benson is also a musician and composer.[16] He has composed songs in several films and has also won a RIAA Gold Records award for the song "We Are Not Alone" in the John Hughes film The Breakfast Club.[16]
While a teenager, Benson was diagnosed with a heart murmur caused by a bicuspidaortic valve defect.[21] He began experiencing symptoms such as dizziness and losing consciousness in his late twenties, and subsequently underwent open-heart surgery in October 1984 to repair the valve defect.[22][23] He received a bovine valve transplant, which lasted fifteen years.[24] After the bovine valve failed, Benson had a second surgery in 2000,[25] during which he underwent the Ross procedure. For six years after his second surgery, Benson had consistent struggles breathing.[24] He subsequently underwent a third open-heart surgery, during which it was discovered that his breathing problems were caused by the previous procedure causing his aortic valve to buckle and close.[24] In 2010, Benson received a delicate fourth surgery known as the "reverse Ross procedure" to correct damage to his heart.[26]
Benson 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.[27] Benson also has spoken about his dealing with post-surgical cardiac depression, commenting after his fourth surgery:
They still saw your chest right down the middle, but they've done it [to me] enough that you no longer think about it as life-threatening. It's just a very tough surgery to go through. Doctors have also gotten better at helping you through the healing process. How we heal and how we deal with cardiac depression and how we can jump start our lives and get back on track. Doctors used to never talk about things like that and now they do.[26]
^ abcdefghij"Robby Benson (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved January 7, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robby Benson.
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