Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal; January 21, 1956[1]) is an American actor, director, and musician.

He rose to prominence as a teen idol in the late 1970s, appearing in the films Ode to Billy Joe (1976), One on One (1977) and Ice Castles (1978).

In addition to acting and directing, Benson is an activist in the field of heart research, having undergone four open-heart surgeries since age 28 to correct congenital aortic valve defects and related damage.

[4][5] Benson attended the Lincoln Square Academy in Manhattan, where he graduated at age fourteen as the class valedictorian.

[7] He had an appearance in a 1973 commercial for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups alongside Donny Most who would later co-star in Happy Days.

In 1977, Benson starred in One on One[7] which he co-wrote with his father Jerry Segal, and the TV movie The Death of Richie.

[7][8] The New York Times gave the film a mixed review, but noted that Benson's character Danny Saunders was "full of a gentle inquisitiveness that cannot help but win the audience's sympathy.

From the filming of this movie Benson implemented his training for the 1983 New York City Marathon, completing the race in 3:05:15.

[21] He began experiencing symptoms such as dizziness and losing consciousness in his late twenties, and subsequently underwent open-heart surgery in October 1984 to repair the valve defect.

[24] In 2010, Benson received a delicate fourth surgery known as the "reverse Ross procedure" to correct damage to his heart.

[27] Benson also has spoken about his dealing with post-surgical cardiac depression, commenting after his fourth surgery: They still saw your chest right down the middle, but they've done it [to me] enough that you no longer think about it as life-threatening.