Tony Bennett is one of the most legendary jazz singers in history. His incredible career spanned over 70 years, going on his first concert tour in 1949 and performing his final concert in 2021. Bennett has had an unprecedented career that has affected many people and earned him a whopping 19 Grammy Awards including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Behind the scenes, Bennett has had the love of his life by his side for over 40 years. So, who is Tony Bennett’s wife, Susan Crow?
Tony Bennett Has Been Married To Susan Crow Since 2007
As is true with many men in Hollywood, Tony Bennett married a much younger woman. Susan Crow is nearly 40 years younger than her famous husband. When they met, she was only 19 and he was 58.
Being nearly 60 when they met, Bennett had already had some serious relationships. In 1952, Bennett married Patricia Ann Beech. The two had two children and a long marriage before their divorce in 1971. Later that same year, he married actress Sandra Grant. They had two children and divorced in 1979. After Bennett’s divorce from Grant, he met Susan Crow at one of his concerts in the late ‘80s. Even though they had a massive age gap, the two definitely didn’t rush into anything. They dated for 20 years before tying the knot in 2007 at a private ceremony.
Crow has since taken Bennett’s real last name, Benedetto, as her married name. In her younger life, Crow was a teacher. She and Bennett combined their passions, and in 1999, they co-founded a non-profit organization. The organization, called Exploring the Arts, works to give public school students opportunities in the arts. It’s the perfect marriage between their two loves: education and the performing arts.
Susan Was The Leader Of A Tony Bennett Fan Club Before They Met
Susan is a true inspiration for any of us with major celebrity crushes. She managed to get hers to put a ring on it. Before she met her future husband, she was actually a part of his fan club. The group was called the ‘Tonymaniacs.’ According to AARP, “[Susan] came by her fascination honestly, given that her mother, Marion, was also a longtime fan- indeed, one of the original ‘Tonymaniacs,’ the army of teenage bobbysoxers who, at the dawn of the 1950s, fueled Tony’s first taste of fame.”
Not only was Susan’s mother, in fact, a founding member of the ‘Tonymaniacs,’ but she actually met and took a photo with Bennett backstage at one of his shows when she was pregnant with Susan. In his book, Just Getting Started, Tony calls the photo that they took together, “a photo we all laugh about, knowing the incredible turn of events that followed.”
She Is Also Tony’s Primary Caregiver As He Battles Alzheimer’s
In 2016, Bennett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. While Bennett hasn’t (and may never) experienced many severe symptoms of the disease, Alzheimer’s has still taken its toll on the star. According to AARP, when Bennett looked at a picture book with photos of him in his youth, “he stared into its pages not with the air of warm reminiscence but like a man struggling to recall why these images seemed familiar.”
On November 28th, 2021, Bennett’s final concert, One Last Time, premiered on television. The concert, which was recorded at Radio City Music Hall, paid tribute to his long career. Even though his days of performing may be over, Bennett isn’t going to stop singing. “Singing is everything to him,” Crow says of her husband. “There’s a lot about him that I miss. Because he’s not the old Tony anymore. But when he sings, he’s the old Tony.”
Luckily, Bennett has his wife by his side through thick and thin. Crow has taken on the task of caring for Bennett during his illness. And, she is more than happy with her new gig as her favorite singer’s caretaker. In Crow’s words, “According to his doctor, there’s no reason to think that he will drastically decline… Obviously, I’m his wife. I signed up for better or for worse. If somebody has to take care of him, I want it to be me.”
Still, Crow’s admiration for her husband and all that he does hasn’t waned since her days in his fan club. According to Crow, “There is nothing that gives me greater joy or greater pride than [the fact] that I’m able to be with him and take care of him,” she said. “When people say, ‘What do you do?’ I say, ‘I take care of a national treasure.'”
