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Tony Bennett reveals Alzheimer's diagnosis
Legendary singer Tony Bennett has revealed that he has been living with Alzheimer's Disease for the last four years.
The 94-year-old I Left My Heart In San Francisco crooner made the announcement in AARP Magazine, which is focused on age-related issues.
Tony was diagnosed with the disease, which affects memory and cognitive functions, in 2016 but has continued to tour and release a string of hits, even becoming the the oldest person ever to reach number one on the US album sales chart with his duets with popstar Lady Gaga.
“Life is a gift - even with Alzheimer’s,” Tony said, linking out to the article from his Instagram page.
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AARP said Tony had so far been "spared the symptom of disorientation”, which can lead some sufferers to wander from their homes, “as well as the episodes of terror, rage or depression that can accompany Alzheimer’s’ frightening detachment from reality".
However, it said "there was little doubt that the disease had progressed" as “even his increasingly rare moments of clarity and awareness reveal the depths of his debility”.
Tony is set to release a follow-up to his 2014 Cheek To Cheek collaboration with Lady Gaga later this year. The pair recorded the songs between 2018 and 2020.
The 18-time Grammy winner has been supported by his wife Susan, whom he married in 2007.
Susan told AARP that Tony is "not always sure where he is or what is happening around him", however she noted that “singing is everything to him. Everything. It has saved his life many times."
He has two sons from his first marriage, to Patricia Beech, sons Danny, 66, and Dae, 65, and two daughters from his second marriage, to Sandra Grant: Antonia, 46, and Joanna, 50.
With extra reporting by Amy Johnson
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