Tony Bennett has revealed he has Alzheimer’s Disease.
The 94-year-old legendary singer was diagnosed in 2016 and sat down for an interview with AARP magazine.
“Life is a gift – even with Alzheimer’s. Thank you to [his wife] Susan and my family for their support, and AARP,” Tony wrote on Twitter, adding, “The Magazine for telling my story.”
In an interview, his wife Susan had said that Tony had not been exhibiting some classic symptoms of the disease like wandering from home, episodes of terror, rage and depression.
His wife Susan did say he does “not always sure where he is or what is happening around him.” They have kept him singing as a way to help stunt the disease’s progression.
The writer noted, “His expression had a masklike impassivity that changed only slightly to dim awareness when Susan placed a hand on his shoulder, leaned over and said: ‘This is John, Tone. He’s come to talk to us about the new album.’ She spoke into his ear, a little loudly perhaps, in a prompting, emphatic register, as if trying to reach her husband through a barrier that had fallen between him and the rest of the world.”
“One of the cruelest aspects of dementia is the stigma that surrounds it,” Sarah Lock, AARP senior vice president for brain health, said. “Feelings of hopelessness can cause people to resist getting diagnosed or refuse treatment. Although there’s currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, there’s a lot that people can do to delay symptoms and improve quality of life.”
The profile also highlighted his past work with Lady Gaga. The pair have a 2014 album, Cheek to Cheek, and now, they’re releasing a second album this Spring. They began recording it two years into his diagnosis.
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