Tony Bennett steps out in NYC’s Central Park out on Easter … amid ongoing battle with Alzheimer’s
Tony Bennett was snapped enjoying his Easter Sunday with a walk in New York City’s famed Central Park.
The famed singer, 94, was seen with his wife Susan Crow and their pooch in the legendary Manhattan location.
Bennett was clad in a rust coat over a blue Adidas tracksuit as he ventured out in Gotham. He wore a face mask amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and white sneakers on the daytime outing.
Icon: Tony Bennett, 94, was snapped enjoying his Easter Sunday with a walk in New York City’s famed Central Park with his wife Susan Crow, 54
Crow, 54, who’s been married to since 2007, donned a navy blue tracksuit and cap as she held hands with the iconic crooner, who posed for fan selfies and signed autographs for them.
Bennett made headlines earlier this year when he revealed his five-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease in a profile for AARP. The famed voice of classics such as I Left My Heart In San Francisco and Rags To Riches, who was born Anthony Dominick Benedetto, has been dealing with the progressive, degenerative disease since 2016.
Bennett is ‘not always sure where he is or what is happening around him,’ Crow told the publication. ‘Singing is everything to him. Everything, it has saved his life many times.’
The Shadow Of Your Smile singer remained optimistic in a statement he released via Instagram in the wake of the story’s publication.
Friendly: The singer posed for fan selfies and signed autographs for them
Casual: Crow donned a navy blue tracksuit and cap as she held hands with the iconic crooner
‘Life is a gift – even with Alzheimer’s,’ he said. ‘Thank you to Susan and my family for their support, and @AARP The Magazine for telling my story.’
Bennett’s neurologist Gayatri Devi told AARP that the singer’s regular touring has ‘kept him on his toes and also stimulated his brain in a significant way’ in recent years, adding that the ceasing of touring amid the pandemic has ‘been a real blow from a cognitive perspective.’
Devi added that his ‘memory, prior to the pandemic, was so much better … and he’s not alone.
‘So many of my patients are negatively affected by the isolation, the inability to do the things that matter to them. For someone like Tony Bennett, the big high he gets from performing was very important.’
Bennett remains ‘doing so many things, at 94, that many people without dementia cannot do,’ the neurologist said, adding that ‘he really is the symbol of hope for someone with a cognitive disorder.’