Karla DeVito
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Karla Jayne DeVito | |
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| Born | Illinois, United States  |
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| Occupation | Actor |
Karla DeVito (b. 1953, Mokena, Illinois) is an American singer, actress and voice artist.
Karla Jayne DeVito was not born in Mokena, but moved there as a child after her father's death. She and her three brothers were raised by a very musical mother, Vivian, who was always singing at home. Karla attended WillowCrest Grade School in Mokena, where she was a cheerleader. Karla attended Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox, Illinois. In her senior year, although she was not cast in the lead (Joy Richardson was), Karla stole the show in high school's production of "Brigadoon." She also was cast as one of the goofy sisters in the school's production of "The Odd Couple." Her senior year, she was runner-up to the Homecoming Queen--her legitimate coronation foiled by administration who thought she was too "radical" for conservative Lincoln-Way. At Loyola University Chicago, she majored in theater. 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 improviational 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 supporting music videos), and later contributed as background singer for such groups as the Blue Öyster Cult and the Sorrows. Later she became a lead solo performer/ singer in her own right, and opened for such prominent artists as Hall & Oates and Rick Springfield. In 1981, she replaced Linda Ronstadt in The Pirates of Penzance. Robby Benson was cast to play her love interest. They eventually married in 1982 and have two children.
One of Robby and Karla's songs, "We Are Not Alone", was featured in the motion picture The Breakfast Club (1985). In 1990, she and Benson co-starred in the film Modern Love (1990). In 2002 she sang the part of Elizabeth for the CD recording of Graham Russell's rock opera The Heart of the Rose.
