He actually took a picture holding the album and tweeted about it today:

charliesheen Miami bound. I know what I’ll be listening to. Nora… Step aside for Lyric Benson “Love Light Revolution” is upon us!… http://t.co/o8qSLZVi

Charlie Sheen on WhoSay

EXTRA TV picked up Charlie with Lyric’s CD as a Top 3 story on their home page today!!!

http://www.charliesheen.com/photos/119173 via @charliesheen

(if you don’t tweet you can just go to the link above to see the photo!)

Click here:  Hear Robby’s Light Rock 105 with Heather in Hollywood interview now!

Robby found out Heather’s dad is Jeff Ringler. Jeff was the head of SVS the precursor to SONY Pictures, and he was responsible for green-lighting MODERN LOVE (SVS/Sony 1990) written, produced and directed by Robby and starring Benson, Karla DeVito, Burt Reynolds, Rue McClanahan, Louise Lasser, Frankie Valli, Cliff Bemis, and introducing LYRIC BENSON!

This was taken by Karla while Lyric was recording her album on Cape Cod.

Check out Lyric’s website for the latest!

It’s not in 3D, but here’s Lyric Benson’s first video:

directed beautifully by Robby’s former NYU film students Jared Zeizel and Kyle O’Tain on a budget of nothing…(ok, on a very low budget, plus soup and Cape Cod soft shell crab sandwiches!!!)

Click below to see the preview:

Betty White’s Off Their Rockers

The show debuts on NBC January 16th after Betty White’s 90th Birthday: A Tribute to America’s Golden Girl.

Ann (with members of the cast photographed here) has shot segments all across America, searching for the perfect younger people to prank!

Ann Benson recently appeared in the much talked about Chevrolet 2011 Mofilm Tribeca commercial winner:

The Pick Up.

The last time Lyric saw Beauty and the Beast, she was sitting on the lap of her father – the voice of Beast, when it was originally released twenty years ago. (This time Lyric will be in her own seat!)

You don’t need 3D glasses to view the trailer below:

Beauty and the Beast 3D

Moshe is married to Robby’s sister and fashion designer, Shelli Segal.

The musical collaboration of Lyric and Robby Benson, LYRIC’S LOVE LIGHT REVOLUTION brings the poetry of cosmic consciousness to Earth with the power of modern rock — flaming guitar, eco-psychedelic hip-pop, atmospheric electronica, and a fat bottom. Play it loud, bring your air guitar, and plan on singing along. Dance if you want to.

LYRIC’S LOVE LIGHT REVOLUTION is ten songs performed by Lyric, composed, arranged, and produced by Robby based on her poetry. In an era when the work of so many artists is hacked into mp3 song-bites, Lyric and Robby take us on a journey exquisitely orchestrated to tell the story of her celestial awakening. From track to track, Lyric’s vocal performances evolve from gentle poems (‘In the Valley of My Soul’) to raps and rants (‘How My Body Trembles’), and resolve in harmony (‘Life is a Revolution’). The music moves with her as Robby articulates the power of her words in guitar solos and electronica, timpani and doumbek, rock ‘n roll, samples, and psychedelia.

This album is Lyric’s cosmic journey inward. The layers of sound will draw you into Lyric’s vortex and spin you across the dance floor. A girl of the hip-hop generation, Lyric raps soliloquies between verses of pop melodies, alternating hypnotic repetition in ‘Lord Shiva’s Tree’ with lightness of being in ‘Mother Lady’, and good old fashioned fist thumping in ‘Let’s Live Life in Peace’. From her self knowing bravado in ‘I Am That’ to going off the deep end in ‘I’m Never Gonna Let You Go’, Robby’s guitar follows her trailing into sonic insanity. But it’s not all that deep. ‘My Heart is the Sun’ is a simple pop song that soars to intergalactic heights.

Lyric Benson’s vocal dynamics and the span of the music across all five genomes — pop/rock, hip-hop/electronica, jazz, world music, and classical — can be traced back to her gene pool. Her mom, legendary singer, Karla DeVito had two solo albums, headlined MTV’s first New Year’s Eve concert, toured the world with Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf as the female lead in the original Bat Out of Hell, and met film star Robby Benson in Joe Papp’s Broadway production of Pirates of Penzance. The voice of Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast has an extensive musical background. Robby Benson joined the NY Musicians Union 802 at the age of 14 as a studio player, he has scored films, and is the recipient of several RIAA Gold Records for songwriting, most notably ‘We Are Not Alone’ for John Hughes’ seminal film, The Breakfast Club. Though it may be in her DNA to be a performer, Lyric Benson delivers her own authentic talent, energy, and insight to this breakthrough sonic extravaganza.

For Robby, this project was a chance to collaborate with one of his favorite people and strut his formidable musicianship helping create the album she dreamed of making. LYRIC’S LOVE LIGHT REVOLUTION was performed and produced entirely in his home studio.

Peter Tolan, Robby Benson, Leslie Tolan

IMDB trivia says: “Robby Benson has worked in television or on a movie every year of his life from 1971-2004.”  So when Robby says, “I have never had more fun working in front of or behind the camera than with Peter and Leslie Tolan” — that’s saying something!  Brave New World did not make it onto NBC’s fall 2011 schedule — but a great time was had by all!

Here are pix of the terrific cast including Ed Begley, Jr., Nick Braun, Will Greenberg, Anna Popplewell, Jazz Raycole, Tyler Blackburn, and Mary Pat Gleason. (photos by  Karla DeVito)

with Tyler Blackburn and Will Greenberg

with director Michael Patrick Jann

with producer Michael Wimer

Robby made his Broadway debut at age 12 in Zelda starring Ed's dad - Ed Begley, Sr.

Benson has had four open-heart surgeries at four different hospitals over the past 27 years for a congenital valve defect. In May of 2010 he had a successful reverse Ross Procedure at The Cleveland Clinic by the only man in the world who performs them, Dr. Gosta Pettersson. Impressed by the history of The Cleveland Clinic and the entire system headed by innovative CEO Dr. Delos ‘Toby’ Cosgrove, Robby speaks from real patient experience when he says he believes The Cleveland Clinic is the world leader in excellent and empathetic patient care, and should be the template for healthcare in America. Cleveland Clinic Heart Care has been ranked #1 in America for 16 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report.

Robby recently completed his upcoming book, I’M NOT DEAD… YET! a medical memoir of surviving a congenital valve defect while forging ahead with a dynamic career in and out of Hollywood. Benson’s goal is to help open heart patients and their loved ones get through surgery and recovery with knowledge and humor. He has mentored many cardiac patients and their families over the past twenty-seven years. Robby has spoken before the Senate Appropriation Committee in Washington, DC on behalf of heart research funding for the NIH, and he represented the American Heart Association with the late Senator Ted Kennedy and Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, in support of the Kennedy Hatch bill to stop tobacco companies from sponsoring sporting events and promoting their products to minors.

Below is information about the patient experience movement and May Summit from The Cleveland Clinic Website:

No provider can afford to offer anything less than the best clinical, physical and emotional experience to patients and families. As patients become savvier, they judge healthcare providers not only on clinical outcomes, but also on their ability to be compassionate and deliver excellent, patient-centered care.

Patient Experience: A Key Differentiator
The Empathy and Innovation Summit is a three-day, multidisciplinary conference devoted to exploring patient experience as a key differentiator essential to the future of healthcare delivery. Click here to see the complete agenda.

Summit Format
The Summit’s unique format provides specialty tracks for healthcare social media experts and a special agenda for nurses on Sunday, May 22. Click here to see the complete agenda.

Expert Panelists
The Summit features expert panel discussions about the national patient experience movement. The Summit provides participants from all disciplines the opportunity to identify shared challenges and inspire innovative solutions that will transform the patient experience and elevate customer satisfaction as a competitive differentiator.

Call for Abstracts
You are invited to submit an abstract describing established programs or developing programs which build empathy between caregivers and patients. Programs may be in developmental stages for consideration in the poster session. Programs with outcomes will be given highest priority.

Stakeholders include: Global thought leaders and providers in healthcare, academia and business.

Sponsors
The Empathy and Innovation Summit is sponsored by the Cleveland Clinic Office of Patient Experience and the generous support of these sponsors:

Partner – GE

Gold Sponsor – Press Ganey

Robby Benson joins the cast of Peter Tolan’s new NBC comedy pilot ‘The New World.’

Executive producers Peter Tolan, Leslie Tolan, and Michael Wimer.  Sony Pictures TV

Bonnie Zane  Zane/Pillsbury Casting.

Robby Benson narrates his writing partner (ONE ON ONE) and father author Jerry Segal’s critically acclaimed book for children of all ages:

It’s on sale now at Amazon and Audible.com!

What the Critics Say

“A wonderful story – Abundant with warmth, generosity, and poignant humor” (Kirkus Reviews)

“It’s a pleasure all the way, to read aloud or alone.” (The Bulletin)

“A fully realized picture of life with all its joys and sorrows.” (Publishers Weekly)

Publisher’s Summary

A funny thing happened on the way to America. It’s the end of the 19th century, and a man named Mordecai desperately wants to leave Russia with his wife and baby. He has given his life’s savings to a cousin, who promises to provide passports only if Mordecai meets him in a particular village: The Place Where Nobody Stops. Mordecai and family arrive in the village, and wait. They wait for 10 long years. And what strange and wonderful years they are!

©1991, 2010 Jerry Segal

Funny and revealing.

On Beast:  ”I’ve never been so perfectly typecast.”

On love:  ”I do completely believe in love…I’m a complete romantic.”

Also discusses his upcoming book I’M NOT DEAD… YET!

Click on the link  “Robby Benson’s role as the Beast” and check it out!

Robby Benson has almost finished his memoir, I’M NOT DEAD… YET!

I’M NOT DEAD… YET! is a funny and poignant look at surviving four open heart surgeries for a congenital valve defect, while forging ahead with a dynamic creative career in and out of Hollywood.

Robby has mentored fellow patients since his first surgery in 1984. His goal in writing I’M NOT DEAD… YET! is to broaden his outreach to open heart patients and their loved ones, helping them get through surgery and recovery with knowledge and humor.

(This photo was taken by Karla just two weeks after his successful reverse Ross procedure by the only man in the world who performs them — the brilliant Dr. Gosta Petterson — at the famed Cleveland Clinic.  Here’s  Robby, after running two miles to the beach, about to swim in the Atlantic!)

Robby’s first book, WHO STOLE THE FUNNY? A NOVEL OF HOLLYWOOD published by HarperCollins (2007) made the best seller list of the L.A. Times.

Photos by Karla DeVito (the one with her and Robby taken by Disney’s fabulous Melinda Johnson)

Robby and Paige

Seth Rudetsky’s SiriusXM radio show LIVE ON BROADWAY celebrated it’s 2nd Anniversary with Robby Benson and Paige O’Hara of Disney’s award-winning film BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (being rereleased next week on Blu-ray and DVD) and  Broadway’s original Beast, Terrence Mann, and original Lumiere, Gary Beach, plus Gaston, Marc Kudisch, and Belle, Andrea Burns — that’s a lot of talent in one room! Seth and his producer Julie James put on a great show and the audience has a blast! The best kept entertainment secret on Broadway at the Information Center between 46th and 47th St — every Wednesday at noon — and it’s free!

Robby’s new book coming soon!

An autobiographical journey to help patients and their loved ones navigate through open heart surgery and recovery with knowledge and humor.

Robby’s first book, WHO STOLE THE FUNNY? A NOVEL OF HOLLYWOOD published by HarperCollins (2007) made the best seller list of the L.A. Times.

That’s what the cover of USA Today said when BEAUTY AND THE BEAST made it’s debut in 1991!

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Diamond Edition on Blu-ray hits the streets October 5, 2010

Disney’s most requested film, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, arrives for the first time on Blu-ray Hi-Def.  The transformation reveals the magic, music and majesty of the film as never before experienced with state-of-the-art picture restoration, pristine 7.1 Digital Surround Sound and hours of additional viewing experiences.

Robby is incredibly proud to be the voice of Beast in the first animated film ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Unavailable since 2003, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will be released from the Disney Vault for a limited time only.

Robby Benson’s Warner Bros. basketball classic ONE ON ONE (1977) is finally available on DVD. Benson wrote the screenplay for ONE ON ONE (with Jerry Segal) at age 17, not only to expose the issues surrounding the inequities in ‘amateur’ college athletics, he wrote One on One because HE LOVED TO PLAY THE GAME. Benson’s basketball skills at the time were lauded by everyone from John Wooden to Red Auerbach (Robby was offered a spot personally by Auerbach for Celtics rookie camp) to Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Bradley, Reggie Miller, and scores of other top college and NBA and players and coaches through the years.

Cast in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Robby bought out his contract when Warner’s gave One on One the green light. As an actor/athlete Robby Benson was the real thing. (Billy Mills — the only USA 10,000 meter Olympic Gold Medal winner, personally chose Robby to portray him in Running Brave). Plus, any guy from 8 to 80 who saw One on One fell in love with Benson’s love interest, the gorgeous red-headed tutor played by Annette O’Toole.

Click here to go to Warner Bros. Archive online and find out how to get One On One on DVD.

Peter Travers tweets his lesson from Reggie Miller: ONE ON ONE with Robby Benson

REGGIE MILLER NBA legend and star of the new documentary WINNING TIME just screened at Sundance, gives film critic Peter Travers the definitive answer to the question — what hoops film Hollywood got right?  One on One with Robby Benson.

Thanks for schooling him Reggie!

‘(500) Days’ Co-Writer Scott Neustadter’s Five Favorite Movie Montages

By LA Weekly in On the Screen

Scott Neustadter chose Robby and Karla’s song “We Are Not Alone” from “The Breakfast Club” as #4. 

Karla DeVito says:

“Our son Zephyr Benson is 17 and going to NYU/Tisch for filmmaking next fall, and has seen your 500 DAYS a zillion times already — it was the first film our son ever said we NEEDED to see. So thanks for putting us on your list — it gives us a moment of relevance at home!”

About We Are Not Alone from The Breakfast Club:

John Hughes and Keith Forsey invited me and the love of my life and writing partner Robby Benson into the editing room to watch an early Breakfast Club cut, focusing on the dance montage in the library.

We conceived and wrote WE ARE NOT ALONE to Keith’s drum track, which the cast had danced to the beat of during shooting. Robby had just had open heart surgery for a congenital valve defect, yet he could not sleep until he had written almost every word and the entire melody.

Mr. Hughes loved it, my producers Steve Goldstein and David Anderle recorded it, I had a blast blasting it out vocally, and Robby and I will always be grateful to Keith Forsey for bringing us into the amazing iconic John Hughes film music universe.

Robby interviewed by ABC News on September 6, 2007 for his new book, “Who Stole the Funny”.

This is Robby’s interview on Good Day LA, with Steve Edwards, on August 31, 2007 for his new book, “Who Stole the Funny”.

Listen here

Listen to it here!

Listen Now!