Tony Bennett’s wife Susan Benedetto breaks her silence over his death at the age of 96 following a seven-year battle with Alzheimer’s

Tony Bennett’s wife, Susan Benedetto, broke her silence over the legendary performer’s death, just two weeks short of his 97th birthday. 

On Friday night, she and his son, Danny, from his first marriage to Patricia Beech, released a statement on his Instagram, which read: ‘Thank you to all the fans, friends and colleagues of Tony’s who celebrated his life and humanity and shared their love of him and his musical legacy.’

‘From his first performances as a singing waiter in Queens to his last performances in 2021 at Radio City Music Hall, Tony delighted in performing the songs he loved and making people happy. And as sad as today has been for all of us we can find joy in Tony’s legacy forever’ they continued.

Within an hour, the post received more than 29,335 likes and a thousands of comments from fans, who took to social media to describe the 19-time Grammy winner as an ‘icon’ and a ‘class act.’ 

The eminent musician was born in Long Island City, Queens in 1926, and went on to enjoy a decades-long career that saw him collaborating with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 

He passed away in his hometown of New York, his publicist Sylvia Weiner confirmed. 

Benedetto was Tony Bennett’s third and final wife before he sadly died in July 2023.

She was born Susan Crow in San Francisco the 1960s; the name Benedetto comes from Tony, as his real surname, with Bennet a stage alias. 

Susan taught social studies at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts, in New York, after qualifying from Columbia University’s Teachers College.

Before working in education, she owned Creative Artists Management in Manhattan, which advised artists in the management of their careers.

In 1999, having met Tony, she continued her work in  the performing arts when the couple started the nonprofit organization Exploring the Arts, to promote and support arts education in New York and Los Angeles.

In a 2013 Huffington Post article she wrote: ‘I happen to be one of those lucky people who can honestly say that dreams do come true. 

‘Being able to work with my husband, Tony Bennett, has been one such dream.’

They also went on to found a high school together –  the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts – in 2001, in Tony’s hometown of Queens, New York.

There, Susan went on to work as a social studies teacher and then the assistant principal at the school.

A legend: On Friday night, she and his son, Danny, from his first marriage to Patricia Beech, released a statement on his Instagram, which read: ‘Thank you to all the fans, friends and colleagues of Tony’s who celebrated his life and humanity and shared their love of him and his musical legacy’

Family first: Tony’s music producer son Danny Bennett (pictured right) was seen leaving his late father’s apartment with wife Hadley Spanier

Tragedy: Danny appeared to be sad as they walked the streets of the Big Apple

The father of four began dating Susan in the late 1980s, after his 1983 divorce from his second wife, Susan Grant.

The pair were separated by a 40-year age gap and met at a concert when she was in her 20s and he was in his 60s.

The San Francisco-born fan headed up a local chapter of his fan club when she was a teenager in the 1970s, the AARP article claimed.

However, they had an encounter of a sort years earlier, before Susan was even born.

Tony met Susan’s mother when she was pregnant with the singer’s future wife, as was revealed in his 2016 memoir Just Getting Started.

Marion and Dayl Crow, Susan’s parents, were fans of the singer and attended one of his shows in 1966 in New York City, and were able to pose backstage for a picture with him.

‘As fate would have it, Marion was pregnant at the time with … Susan!’ Tony wrote.

‘It’s a photo we all laugh about, knowing the incredible turn of events that followed.’

They finally tied the knot on June 21, 2007, in New York City.

Unlikely love story: Susan met Tony at a concert when she was in her 20s and he was in his 60s (pictured in 2021 interview with CBS)

Shared interests: Tony and Susan worked on a number of projects together, centering around performing arts education

Susan and Tony had no children together, but Tony did have four children from his first two marriages.

The last of those, Antonia, was born in 1974, some years before Tony and Susan would marry.

Susan worked closely with Tony’s eldest son D’Andrea, or Danny, when he was the singers’ manager, especially once Tony was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. 

Statement: In 2021, the iconic American singer, then-94, announced that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016

In February 2021, Susan confirmed to AARP that the singer had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease five years earlier.

She described how Tony was ‘not always sure where he is or what is happening around him’ and that ‘mundane objects as familiar as a fork or a set of house keys can be utterly mysterious to him.

‘It’s no fun arguing with someone who doesn’t understand you,’ she added.

‘But I feel badly talking about it because we are so much more fortunate than so many people with this diagnosis. 

‘We have such a good team. Danny handles Tony’s business affairs. We have great doctors.’

Susan also opened up about her husband’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis again during an October 2021 interview with CBS. 

‘He recognizes me, thank goodness, his children, you know we are blessed in a lot of ways,’ she said.