By Carol Tannenhauser
Tony Bennett, the legendary singer, who was also a lifelong painter, died on Friday at the age of 96 in “his hometown of New York City,” according to his publicist, as reported by The New York Times and countless other media outlets. Mr. Bennett was univerally beloved, but had a special connection to the Upper West Side. As The Times put it, he “found his heart in Central Park.”
In a 2015 article, The Times wrote that Mr. Bennett became “a creditable painter as an adult,” painting “mostly landscapes and still lifes in watercolors and oils and portraits of musicians he admired….His identity as a painter is entwined with Central Park, which he [said] nourishes his creativity and is his antidote to urbanity. He moved to his apartment on Central Park South 20 years ago to be closer to it.”
West Side Rag joins the world in mourning the loss of Tony Bennett and celebrating his artistic gifts.
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So sad, the loss of the legend
Tony Bennett, the quintessential New Yorker: born in Queens to Italian immigrants, fought in WWII and liberated a concentration camp, then began his career as a singing waiter. How “New York” can you get?
Also a civil rights activist who marched with Martin Luther King from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Interesting article here. Una brava persona; a mensch. https://people.com/inside-tony-bennetts-civil-rights-work-marching-with-martin-luther-king-jr-7564254
Damn right
Another of the Greatest Generation gone…. He and his contemporaries were/are amazing, strong people to admire. Rest in peace Mr Benedetto
Tony Bennett was the epitomy of class. I was fortunate to see him and Lady Gaga in concert.
I saw Tony Bennett with Billy Joel when he played the last concert at Shea Stadium. It was beautiful summer night in NY, and Mr. Bennett came out and sang “New York State of Mind”.
For this New Yorker, it was a religious experience. Something I will never forget.
Rest in Peace Tony. Thank you for sharing your voice with the world.
his previous apt was at 101 w 55th st. he was there for years. used to run into him in the elevator.