Ben Rossi
Corporate President & CEO
 

The corporate president of Benros Worldwide Entertainment has a colorful history and multi-faceted entertainment background.  At the age of five, Ben Rossi was already performing as a trick-roper in a Wild West show and, at seven, was trick-riding and honing his skills as an all-round circus acrobat. Later, graduating as a first Lieutenant from the highly-regarded Missouri Military Academy, Ben went on to enroll in the School of Drama, at Oklahoma University.  During the summers, he continued trick-riding and trick-roping in rodeos and Wild West shows, then burst upon the theme park scene in 1961 at Freedomland in New York City, where he was featured in a large-scale stunt spectacular, known as Colossus.  In that show, Ben represented the American Cowboy in a heart-stopping trick-riding display known as "the greatest horsemen of history" executing vaults, cartwheels, shoulder stands and other death-defying feats on the back of his speedy golden palomino horse.  Rossi's agility and acrobatic skills were also put to good use in several stunt sequences within the same show, including a thrilling Roman Spectacle which included a chariot race and gladiator-fight finale.

While in New York, Ben appeared on television, in theatrical films and commercials as an actor/stuntman, and soon was directing action and stunt sequences.  In the years that followed, he appeared in more than a dozen commercials, television series and feature films, landing a co-starring role with Karen Black and Fabian in the 1973 biography of the John Ashley gang, notorious Florida outlaws of the 1930's. 

Ben eventually took his entertainment abilities into the theme park arena where he served as  entertainment director for a number of Florida theme parks, including Floridaland, Pioneer City, Pirates World and Six Gun Territory.

In 1976 Ben was named Corporate Director of Live Shows for National Recreation Service, a regional theme park company in the southeast United States that owned Ghost Town In The Sky, Frontierland, Ghost Town in the Glen and three other conventional amusement parks.  There, he produced circus thrill shows, water ski and high diving shows, wild west shows, musical revues and country/western shows.  During his tenure, he also booked big name talent for park concerts and served as both the administrative and creative director of the very unique Gaslight & Velvet Dinner Theatre, in Florida.

In 1978, Rossi joined the Entertainment Division of Walt Disney World, there writing and directing a number of musical shows, including Speakeasy Scandals, Ghosts, Goblins & Ghouls Revue, The Marvelous, Magical Christmas Tree and The Red, White & Blue Showboat Revue.  Rossi was also chosen to direct the very popular Nativity, at Walt Disney World Village, known as The Glory and Pageantry of Christmas.  Ben rose to the level of General Manager of Resort Entertainment, before leaving the Disney company in 1984, to form Benros Productions, Inc.