Morning Man Classic: Robby Benson!

The absolute cutest teen idol from the 70s and early 80s was Robby Benson!

Today is his 68th birthday and as you can see, he’s still quite a dreamboat – and a grandfather of two!

Ice Castles, Ode to Billy Joe, One on One, The Death of Richie and Harry and Son are the movies I remember most and they left quite an impression.

Robby was not only adorable with blue eyes to die for, but he was such a fine actor with a lot of heart and soul.

It’s not like has ever stopped working since the peak of his popularity as an actor. He’s a versatile talent who writes songs, does voice acting (he was the Beast in Beauty and the Beast and in several sequels) and directs movies (Billy: The Early Years, Modern Love) and television (Ellen, Friends, 8 Simple Rules). And he’s still acting including a recurring role in the NBC series American Dreams, a role in the 2011 TV movie Brave New World and in more recent years appeared in the Hallmark movie A Feeling of Home and in the film Apple Seed.

Robby also wrote We Are Not Alone, the song that plays during the key dancing-in-the-library scene in The Breakfast Club. The woman who sang that track, Karla DeVito, happens to be Benson’s wife. They have two children. He has also taught film and theater at several universities including NYU and Indiana University.

Robby was born with a heart defect, necessitating four open heart surgeries. He is an activist and fundraiser for heart research, and wrote the book, lyrics, and music for a play called Open Heart, starring Benson, which opened and closed off-Broadway in 2004. He also wrote the medical memoir, I’m Not Dead… Yet! which was released in June 2012.