(FILE) Tony Bennett turns 94
Albany, NY (77WABC)- Happy 95th Birthday to legendary singer Tony Bennett as he gets set to make his final public performances tonight and Thursday. In honor of today’s birthday, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced a proclamation declaring today, Aug. 3rd, 2021, ‘Tony Bennett Day’ in New York. The proclamation is in honor of the singer’s 95th birthday and final New York City performances at Radio City Music Hall.
Earlier this year Bennett revealed he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. The final performance at Radio City Music Hall in NYC with Lady Gaga is tonight and Thursday.
“Music and the arts have long been an essential piece of the fabric of New York, and you would be hard-pressed to find someone who has made more of a contribution in this space than Tony Bennett,” Governor Cuomo said. “Not only is Tony a born and bred New Yorker who has been dazzling audiences with beautiful music for more than six decades, but he has always stayed true to his humble New York roots and can always be spotted throughout the City whether he is working on his next painting in Central Park, or just chatting with fans on the street. From growing up as a child of immigrants, to all the contributions he has made to our community, Tony Bennett is a New Yorker in the truest sense of the word and I am honored to proclaim August 3, 2021 as ‘Tony Bennett Day’ in New York.”
Anthony Dominick Benedetto, known professionally as Tony Bennett, was born in Astoria, Queens in 1926. Bennett fought in the final stages of World War II as a U.S. Army infantryman in the European Theater. Bennett is a Grammy and Emmy Award winner, a Gershwin Award and Kennedy Center honoree and an accomplished visual artist with three of his original paintings in the Smithsonian Institute’s permanent collection. With his wife Susan Benedetto, he established Exploring the Arts to support arts education in public high schools, which was initiated by the creation of Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens.
