CNN
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Legendary crooner Tony Bennett, best known for singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” has died, according to his longtime publicist, Sylvia Weiner.
He passed away Friday at age 96.
In 2021, Tony Bennett and his family opened up about the singer being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Bennett was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016, but the public had been unaware of his declining health because he kept on performing.
No matter how many awards he won, or how many grueling hours on tour he logged, or how many times he belted out his signature song, Bennett often said he’d never worked a day in his life – because he loved performing so much.
In a career that spanned eight decades, Bennett wowed Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra, performed live on MTV, had a cartoon cameo on “The Simpsons” and recorded two albums of duets with Lady Gaga.
His stint as a singing waiter at a New York restaurant was only the beginning. Even then, at age 15, Bennett knew he’d found his calling.
“I just decided that … I would love to become successful, and if I didn’t, I’m going to do this the rest of my life,” he told CNN’s Larry King in 1998. “I loved it.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
