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, United States. The population was 19,887 at the 2020 census. The Census Bureau's 2019 estimate found that the population had increased to 20,159. Etymology Mokena is a name apparently derived from ...

. She attended Willow Crest Grade School in Mokena and Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox. She attended Loyola University Chicago 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 hym ...

''. In 1971–72, Karla studied with Jo Forsberg at the Second City 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 Nig ...

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

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, 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 '' ...

''. She is seen singing with Meat Loaf in the video clip of " Paradise by the Dashboard Light" 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's ''Jubilee'' and LaMama's production of '' A Midsummer Night's Dream''. 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. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 187 ...

'' 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 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". The band h ...

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'' (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'') (2021)

Soundtrack appearances

* "We Are Not Alone" (from '' The Breakfast Club'') (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'' (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 Br ...

'' (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