Skip to content Robby was discharged from the hospital after a month – but it wasn’t over.
Sadly, Robby’s chronic heart condition would become a recurring source of worry and trouble. During his first surgery in 1984, he received a bovine valve transplant – but it had to be replaced after 15 years. He had a second surgery in 2000, but not long after that, the former teen star started having trouble breathing.
Today, Robby has undergone four open-heart surgery to fix the recurring problems and to correct previous damage to his heart. The recurring problems with Robby’s heart took a toll on him – both privately and career-wise. Balancing those two things while fearing for his life wasn’t easy. And this was hardly helped by Robby’s initial attempts to hide his health problems.
But much thanks to his wife of 40 years, he pulled through.
”She helped me find doctors, she made sure I was getting the best treatment, the right medicine,” he told USA Today. ”I’m alive because of her.”
Robby married rock singer Karla DeVito in 1982. The couple fell in love after meeting on the set of The Pirates of Penzance. Together, Robby and Karla have raised two children, daughter Lyric (b.1983) and son Zephyr (b.1992).