Tony Bennett dead at 96: Carrie Underwood, Fran Drescher and Elton John react to iconic singer's passing

UPDATED with video: Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator, blasted the AMPTP at a strike rally Tuesday in Times Square, saying that the companies’ response to the guild’s proposals before contract talks broke off and the actors’ strike began 12 days ago was “No. No. No.”

Tony Bennett‘s son and manager D’Andrea “Danny” Bennett has paid tribute to his “inspirational” late father.The legendary crooner died in New York City last Friday (July 21). He was 96 years old.

legendary pop, jazz and big-band vocalist died Friday at the age of 96 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.“Tony, my father, imbued the essence of the American dream,” Danny, 69, told People on Monday. “He taught us all that remarkable opportunities will reveal themselves and that anything is possible when you stick by your passion, believe in yourself and dedicate your life to quality.”Danny described his father as “an artist, a humanitarian, and an inspiration to anyone who experienced his elegance and grace.” “He and I experienced an amazing journey together as father and son, and I’m simply proud and humble to have been a small part of his legacy,” he added. Tony was discovered in 1949 by Bob Hope — working with Pearl Bailey at a Greenwich Village club — and signed a deal with Columbia Records.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Pop-jazz singing legend Tony Bennett died July 24 at age 96, after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease seven years earlier. His 75-year career followed a classic three-act structure: a rise through the 1950s and early ‘60s that culminated in his biggest hit, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in 1962; the loss of pop opportunities as rock took over, resulting in deeper explorations into jazz; and a return to superstardom in the 1990s as he won the album of the year Grammy for “MTV Unplugged.” Actually, “we had a fourth act, with Lady Gaga, that lasted 10 years,” says his son, Danny Bennett. Danny became his dad’s manager in 1986 and oversaw one of the great comebacks in music, which ended with Bennett and Gaga taping a final special at Radio City Music Hall on his 95th birthday.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s largest employers are wrestling over complicated contract proposals in a business turned inside-out by the transition from linear to streaming. But some of what’s on the table isn’t so complicated. Some of the discord between labor and management that led SAG-AFTRA to go on strike on July 13 is rooted in money and the hard reality of making minimum rates in Hollywood. SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher has vowed publicly that securing a hefty increase in minimum pay rates across the board is a deal-breaker issue for the union. Talk to any established working actor and it becomes clear why. Most of them say they’ve been dragged back to working for scale in a marketplace that has paid high-wattage stars record fees but put the squeeze on everyone else down the call sheet.

People.Bennett died on Friday, at the age of 96.“Tony, naturally, loved visiting his ancestral homeland, and we spent many summers in Italy over the years,” Benedetto, 56, told a reporter. “It was always a special time for us to be together, just the two of us,” she fondly recalled.“Tony would paint all day, and then we would eat pasta, which was his favorite meal…Everyone knows Tony had heart, but he also was a wonderful soul,” she said of the “Cheek to Cheek” singer.She noted that her surname, Benedetto, is Bennett’s original family name — and that it means “the blessed one” in his mother tongue, Italian.

Tony Bennett’s fans are keeping his legacy alive!

Tony Bennett's fans are keeping his legacy alive!Since the announcement that the legendary musician died on Friday, at the age of 96, the «Love For Sale» singer has been celebrated in tributes across the country.In New York City, fans adorned a park bench with flowers in Central Park. The seat in his home city was where Bennett famously posed for a picture with his dog.

who died Friday at age 96.The park’s iconic carriage drivers left a touching note on the perch, slightly tweaking the lyrics to his 1953 song “Please Driver (Once Around the Park Again),” to read: “Please, Tony, once around the park again…We can’t believe you’re gone…”“RIP, Central Park icon, Tony Bennett,” they wrote.Tourists were seen taking pictures of the multiple bouquets and note on the bench, which is located on Center Drive near Central Park South and Sixth Avenue.The jazz singer often visited the park and was seen in the later years of his life being pushed around the beautiful greenery in a wheelchair. The Astoria native lived on Central Park South for 25 years.He also would sit in the park and paint his favorite spot in watercolor. “I have many spots I like around the park,” he told the New York Times in 2015.

Tony Bennett‘s wife Susan Benedetto paid tribute to the late singer after he died Friday in New York. He was 96.

Tony Bennett's wife Susan Benedetto paid tribute to the late singer after he died Friday in New York. He was 96.Susan took to Bennett's verified Instagram account and posted a moving message to the fans, friends and colleagues «who celebrated his life and humanity and shared their love of him and his musical legacy.»She added, «And as sad as today has been for all of us we can find joy in Tony's legacy forever.» The sweet message was signed by Susan and the couple's son, Danny.

just two weeks before his 97th birthday.“The first time I ever got up to do stand up and a little tap dancing, was opening for him in Hawaii. I was so bad, and he was so nice to me.”Bennett used to sing at the Copacabana on East 60th Street, where mobster Frank Costello was a partner.“Godfather” actor Gianni Russo, who was Costello’s “personal errand boy,” recalled the first time he met Bennett at the famed nightclub in 1959. “I was 16.

Before Tony Bennett launched his seven decades-long career in show business, the late legendary jazz singer served his country in the European theater during the last stages of World War II. Bennett, who died on Friday at the age of 96, was drafted into the U.S. Army at the age of 18 in 1944 and began his service a year later when he was sent to fight on the front lines following heavy casualties suffered by the Allied Forces at the Battle of the Bulge.

Tony Bennett‘s wife Susan is breaking her silence after his death.

Tony Bennett’s loved ones shared a message of love and joy following the singer’s death on Friday, July 21.

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga certainly appeared like the oddest of couples.That was most definitely the case when the “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” crooner paired up with the shock diva — who sang “He ate my heart” on 2009’s “Monster” — for their first collaborative album, 2014’s “Cheek to Cheek.”The two had previously worked together, on his 2011 “Duets II” LP, playfully partnering on “The Lady Is a Tramp,” the same year that Mother Monster had gone full-on zombie in her “Born This Way” video.That was about as far as you could get from Bennett’s classy, debonair style.

Premios Juventud, and it was a star-studded event. At the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico, two of the biggest Latinas, Shakira, and Camila Cabello, shared a remarkable moment.

President Joe Biden said that Tony Bennett, who died on Friday, “didn’t just sing the classics – he himself was an American classic.”

MTV has set three back-to-back re-airings of its two Unplugged specials featuring Tony Bennett, commemorating the beloved singer’s death today at 96. MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett from 1994 will return tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT, followed by 2021’s MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga at 11.

the sad news of legendary crooner Tony Bennett’s passing, the world of entertainment has been profoundly moved and emotionally stirred. With hearts heavy, a wave of tributes and heartfelt condolences has surged across social media platforms and beyond.

So many stars are paying tribute to Tony Bennett after his death.

Tony Bennett died at age 96.Bennett's publicist, Sylvia Weiner, confirmed the news of his death in a statement to ET. The legendary singer died in his hometown of New York City, just two weeks shy of his 97th birthday. While no specific cause of death has been announced, Bennett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2016, sharing the news with the public in 2021.In a post shared on Bennett's official Instagram account, a heartwarming detail about his final days at home was revealed. «Tony left us today but he was still singing the other day at his piano and his last song was, 'Because of You,' his first #1 hit,» the caption reads, alongside a beautiful black-and-white image of the singer in his younger years.

As the world mourns the loss of legendary singer Tony Bennett, who died Friday at age 96, the Alzheimer’s Association is paying tribute.

Tony Bennett’s death was announced today. He died at 96 year old after battling Alzheimer’s since the year 2016. He and his wife, Susan Benedetto, had a romance for the ages, spanning two decades after first meeting in the 1980s.

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his death at 96 on Friday.“Tony Bennett was one of the most important interpreters of American popular song during the mid to late 20th century,” Joel, 74, told The Post in a statement.“He championed songwriters who might otherwise have remained unknown to many millions of music fans.”Joel noted that Bennett was a vaunted vocalist whose talent transcended generations and genres.“He was a unique talent that made the transition from the era of jazz into the age of pop,” he said.“I will always be grateful for his outstanding contribution to the art of contemporary music.”Joel collaborated with Bennett on the “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” singer’s 2001 LP “Playin’ With My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues,” which won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.“He was a joy to work with,” said Joel.

death Friday at 96. Mayor Eric Adams, 62, was one of the first politicians to honor the legendary singer, taking to Twitter to write: “A working-class kid from Queens, Tony Bennett, sang our song to the world.

A.D. Amorosi Tony Bennett was the last man standing – the saloon crooner, the jazz interpreter, the subtlest of stylists of the Great American Songbook, the man that Sinatra called the greatest popular singer in the world.“Your old man takes chances” is what Frank Sinatra told Danny Bennett, Tony’s son and manager. “When others zig, Tony zags,” said Danny. Those risks involved the vocal dynamics of grandeur (no Tony Bennett concert was complete without him shutting down all amplification, singing a cappella without a mic, and rocking the room), of pensive emotional nuance, of a whisper’s near-silence. With Bennett’s passing on Friday morning at age 96, after his struggle with Alzheimer’s since 2016 and retirement from the stage in 2021, his era of grace and elegance in vocal song is gone. He left a rich, long body of work that will last forever. Choosing 150, let alone 15, of Tony Bennett’s finest musical moments is a tough call to make with early sweeping singles such as “Because of You” and jazzy signatures such as “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” So Variety has mixed the hits with the rarities in touching on his legendary career.“Cold Cold Heart” (1951)Country songwriter Hank Williams had only written and released his melancholy romancer a year before Tony Bennett made it into a smash pop hit. But with its bold-faced vocal clarity and his tear-in-your-beer warble, it’s not hard to hear that an original interpretive singer was on his way up, and that he wore diversity on his sleeve as a song selector.

Tim Chan If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The late Tony Bennett is being remembered in a new children’s book that chronicles the singer’s inspiring path to success, and the impact he left with his seven decade-long career.

Tony Bennett died on Friday at age 96, and the entertainment world is in mourning.

Tony Bennett, passed away at the remarkable age of 96. According to Bennet’s publicist Sylvia Weiner, the singer died in his hometown of New York City two weeks before his birthday. Although additional details about the causes of death have not been disclosed, it is known that the singer had been battling Alzheimer’s since 2016.

Tony Bennett has passed away. The prolific, generation-spanning crooner died at home in Manhattan this morning (July 21) after a well-publicized, years-long battle with Alzheimers disease, his publicist Sylvia Weiner has confirmed.

Lady Gaga saying that “Tony Bennett saved [her] life” in the wake of the latter’s death.The veteran crooner died in New York City today (Friday, July 21) at the age of 96. A cause of death has not yet been disclosed, but Bennett had been living with Alzheimer’s disease since 2016.His final studio recording was 2021’s ‘Love For Sale’, a collaborative album with Gaga.

died Friday at his New York home at the age of 96, his publicist, Sylvia Weiner, confirmed to The Post.Tributes have poured in from celebrities and fans alike to commemorate the loss of the “Fly Me to the Moon” crooner.Alongside a photo of the two from 2015, Rolling Stones member Keith Richards wrote on Twitter: “May you Rest in Peace, Tony Bennett!”“Very sad to hear about Tony Bennett’s passing. Rest in Peace,” Ozzy Osbourne tweeted.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor There was a large crowd in the room when SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s major studios and streamers formally began contract bargaining negotiations on June 7. About 80 participants from both the labor and management sides gathered at the Sherman Oaks headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for the first day of what everyone knew would be a difficult negotiation for the performers union, which has been on strike since July 13. One big presence in the negotiations process who was not there in person on Day One was Fran Drescher, president of SAG-AFTRA. But Drescher had no trouble making herself heard that day. She addressed the gathering via video conference call from Paris – and she definitely got management’s attention.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Elton John, David Letterman and more stars paid tribute to Tony Bennett after his death on Friday morning, with John saying “he’s irreplaceable.” Bennett, whose professional career spanned eight decades and who achieved a No. 1 album at age 85, died Friday morning in New York City. He was 96. John, who performed “Rags to Riches” with Bennett, shared his tribute via Instagram. He wrote, “So sad to hear of Tony’s passing. Without doubt the classiest singer, man, and performer you will ever see. He’s irreplaceable. I loved and adored him. Condolences to Susan, Danny and the family.”