Karla DeVito (born May 29, 1953) is an American singer and actress.

Early life and education

DeVito was born in suburban Chicago in

Mokena, Illinois Mokena is a village in Will County, Illinois, Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,887 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Census Bureau's 2019 estimate found that the population had increased to 20,159. Etym ...

. She attended Willow Crest Grade School in Mokena and

Lincoln-Way Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 is a school district in the southwest suburbs of Chicago. Created in 1951, the district serves the communities of New Lenox, Frankfort, Mokena, Manhattan, and small portions of Tinley Park, Orla ...

High School in

New Lenox New Lenox is a village in central Will County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago and an eastern suburb of Joliet. The village population was 27,214 as of 2020. New Lenox has schools like Lincoln-Way West High School ...

. She attended

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

and majored in theater. During her freshman year, she joined the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

cast of ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymn ...

''. In 1971–72, Karla studied with Jo Forsberg at

the Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre op ...

Company in Chicago and was part of the Second City Children's Theatre group with

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

. In 1973, she was in the cast of the musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

''.

Career

DeVito started her career in 1972, joining the national company of ''Godspell''. A few years later, she became the lead singer of the band

Orchestra Luna Orchestra Luna was an American rock and roll band of the 1970s who had two incarnations, the first producing a hard-to-categorize mixture of cabaret, Broadway musicals, and rock, and the second a somewhat more traditional mix of pop and rock. Rick ...

, and through that joined the cast of

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

's show ''Neverland'', which had a run as a workshop production at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in 1977. Two months later, DeVito went on tour with

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

and Jim Steinman with their album ''

Bat Out of Hell ''Bat Out of Hell'' is the 1977 debut album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. It is one of the best-selling albums in history. The album was developed from a musical, ''Neverland'', a futuristic rock version of ''P ...

''. She is seen singing with Meat Loaf in the

video clip Video clips refer to mostly short videos, most of the time called memes, which are short videos of silly jokes and funny clips, most of the time coming from movies or any entertainment videos such as YouTube. The term is also used more loosely to ...

of "

Paradise by the Dashboard Light "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was released in 1977 on the album ''Bat Out of Hell'', with vocals by the American musician Meat Loaf alongside Ellen Foley. An uncommonly long song for a single, it has bec ...

" and "

", synced to the original vocal by

Ellen Foley Ellen Foley (born 1951) is an American singer and actress who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the sitcom '' Night Court'' for one season. In music, she has released five solo albums but is best known for her colla ...

. After completing this tour, she returned to theatre in an off-broadway version of

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

's ''Jubilee'' and LaMama's production of ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

''. She then moved on to playing the lead role in ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 ...

'' on Broadway where she met future husband,

Robby Benson Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the sports films '' One on One'' (1977) and ''Ice Castles'' (1978). He subsequently ...

. She performed on

's only solo album, '' Bad for Good'', on the track "Dance in My Pants" and its subsequent music video. In 1981, DeVito released her debut solo album, ''Is This a Cool World or What?'' and the track ''Bloody Bess'' was intended to be a rock musical about a female pirate in the 17th Century. DeVito also contributed background vocals for some groups such as

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American Rock music, rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla ( ...

and the band Sorrows. As a solo performer, she opened shows for

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

and

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

in the 1980s. DeVito's second album, ''Wake 'Em Up in Tokyo'' was released by A&M in 1986. Her song, "We Are Not Alone", was featured in the motion picture ''

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The film t ...

'' (1985). In 1989, DeVito performed in South Carolina and returned in 1990 as part of "An Evening of Andrew Lloyd Webber". In 1990, DeVito co-starred in the film ''Modern Love'' and sang on two of the songs for the soundtrack. In 2002, DeVito sang the part of Elizabeth for the CD recording of

Graham Russell Graham Cyril Russell (born 11 June 1950) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist of the soft rock duo Air Supply. In 1975, with Russell Hitchcock, he formed Air Supply in Australia. The duo have been singing and p ...

's rock opera ''The Heart of the Rose'' which had a limited release on CD. In 2016, she contributed vocals to Meat Loaf's '' Braver Than We Are''.

Personal life

DeVito married actor, director, singer, and teacher

on July 11, 1982. The couple have two children, a son and a daughter.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Is This a Cool World or What?'' (1981) * ''Wake 'Em Up In Tokyo'' (1986)

Guest appearances

* "Dance In My Pants" with Jim Steinman (from '' Bad for Good'') (1981) * "I'm Just Happy to Be Here" with Ellen Foley (from ''

Fighting Words Fighting words are written or spoken words intended to incite hatred or violence from their target. Specific definitions, freedoms, and limitations of fighting words vary by jurisdiction. The term ''fighting words'' is also used in a general sens ...

'') (2021)

Soundtrack appearances

* "We Are Not Alone" (from ''

'') (1985)

Filmography

*''Two of a Kind'' (1982) - Barbra *'' Modern Love'' (1990) - Billie *''

The Legend of Prince Valiant ''The Legend of Prince Valiant'' is a 1991–1993 American animated television series based on the ''Prince Valiant'' comic strip created by Hal Foster. Set in the time of King Arthur, it is a family-oriented adventure show about an exiled prince ...

'' (1992–1993) - Lady Megan, Elizabeth, Princess Sadisa (voice) *'' Family Album'' (1993) - Mrs. DeVito *'' Bonkers'' (1993) - Officer Miranda Wright (voice) *''

Phantom 2040 ''Phantom 2040'' is an animated series that is loosely based on the comic strip superhero ''The Phantom'', created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom. It was aired from September 18, 1994 to March 3, ...

'' (1995) - Athena (voice) *''O. Henry's Christmas'' (1996) - Della *''

Road Rovers ''Road Rovers'' is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation that premiered on Kids' WB on September 7, 1996, and ended after one season on February 22, 1997. It was later shown on Cartoon Network from February 7, ...

'' (1996) - Woman Soldier (voice) *''

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...

'' (1996) - Mary *'' Fired Up'' (1997) - Woman *''

The New Batman Adventures ''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...

'' (1998) - Cassidy (voice) *''Straight Outta Tompkins'' (2015) - Jane

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Devito, Karla 1953 births Actresses from Chicago American musical theatre actresses American voice actresses Living people Loyola University Chicago alumni Neverland Express members People from Mokena, Illinois Singers from Chicago 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers