Legendary pop and jazz singer Tony Bennett has died at the age of 96.
Bennett, known for his performances with singers as diverse as Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga, sold millions of records around the world throughout his career and won 20 Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award.
One of the last of America’s great crooners, Bennett released his first album in 1952 when he was in his mid-20s and went on to chart in the US in every subsequent decade of his life.
Bennett picked up his first Grammy for his signature 1962 song, I Left My Heart In San Francisco.
He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’sdisease in 2016 and went public five years later.
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Bennett performs ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ with Lady Gaga. Credit: Tony Bennett / Sony Entertainment and Interscope Records.
His positivity was clear from a reworking of one of his famous quotes shared on his social media accounts: “Life is a gift – even with Alzheimer’s.”
In 2022, Bennett went on to perform his final shows, alongside Lady Gaga, who he shared his 20th Grammy Award with – at the age of 95.
Image: Tony Bennett with Lady Gaga in 2014
Image: Tony Bennett and Tom Cruise pictured in 2004
Sinatra himself once described Bennett as “the best singer in the business” in an interview in 1965.
The legendary singer always called Bennett “kid”, even into old age.
Sinatra’s eldest daughter Nancy was among those paying tribute.
“Tony was one of the most splendid people who ever lived. Kind, loving, talented and generous, he never let us down… Tony was a true champion,” she wrote on Twitter.
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With more than 70 albums to his name, Bennett is perhaps the only artist ever to have had new albums charting in the US in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.
In 2014, he broke his own record as the oldest living artist to hit the top of the weekly Billboard 200 album chart.
Performing well into his 90s, even after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Bennett was an entertainer beloved by all generations; Lady Gaga was just one of the modern-day artists he collaborated with in later years.
Paul McCartney, John Legend, Christina Aguilera and Michael Bublé, as well as Sinatra, all feature on the long list of stars he worked with.
His 2011 duet with Amy Winehouse, Body And Soul, was the last song she recorded before her death.
Her father, Mitch Winehouse, described Bennett as “wonderful” and said he had been hugely supportive of the charity set up in her name.
He told Sky News: “You saw how he was with Lady Gaga and Amy. With younger singers he was an absolute diamond.
“In so many ways he helped us at our foundation… a totally wonderful guy.”
Image: Tony Bennett poses with his Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2003
Image: Bennett performs with Lady Gaga
Musicians pay tribute
Other big names honouring the crooner included Elton John, who said in a statement on Facebook: “So sad to hear of Tony’s passing. Without doubt the classiest singer, man, and performer you will ever see.
“He’s irreplaceable. I loved and adored him.”
The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards tweeted: “May you Rest in Peace,” while country music singer Keith Urban said: “What a legacy of not only superb timeless music, but a class act study in cool, grace, and elegance.”
DJ and producer Brendan Jay Sullivan worked with Bennett several times, including on his duet with Lady Gaga.
He told Sky News that his music transcended generations, adding: “Tony Bennet created a way to slow down the time warp and slow down time between us.
“[He was a] wonderful time bridge between millennials and our dads – and our grandparents even.”
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Producer and guitarist Nile Rodgers also paid tribute on Twitter. He wrote: “My most heartfelt condolences go out to Tony Bennett’s family and friends. They’re also my emotional family and friends.”
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea wrote on Instagram: “I love the immortal Tony Bennett, what a dude, what a class act, what a singer. so grateful to have shared a stage with him. A beautiful human being.”
Outside the world of music, the Reverend Jesse Jackson paid tribute by praising Bennett for his civil rights work in the US.
The veteran campaigner said: “He marched with us in 1964. He was dedicated to civil and human rights and to the arts. He will live as long as we remember him.”
A star is born
Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto on 3 August 1926, in Queens in New York City, to parents John and Anna, the young Tony and his older brother and sister, John and Mary, were raised by their mother following his father’s death when he was aged just 10.
As a child, he loved to sing and paint, and his passions were nurtured at the High School of Industrial Arts in Manhattan.
As he grew older, he developed a love of music listening to artists such as Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and James ‘Jimmy’ Durante on the radio.
During his teenage years, Bennett sang while waiting tables, before enlisting in the army during the Second World War.
Image: Singer Tony Bennett is shown singing on June 23, 1960
Pic:AP
Image: Frank Sinatra poses with Tony Bennett
He served in the Battle of the Bulge – the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front, launched in 1944 through the forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg – and participated in the liberation of a concentration camp, according to his official website biography.
Breakthrough in music
During his time in Europe, he performed with military bands and, following his return to America, he went on to have vocal studies at the American Theatre Wing School in New York.
The singer’s first nightclub performance came in 1946, alongside trombonist Tyree Glenn at the Shangri-La in Queens’ Astoria neighbourhood.
Image: Actress-singer Anita Gillette, left, musician Chuck Berry, singer Tony Bennett and jazz musician Lionel Hampton in 1981.
Pic:AP
Image: Ray Charles, left, and Tony Bennett are shown at the Larabee Studios in Los Angeles Jan. 4, 1986
Pic:AP
Three years later came his big break, when comedian Bob Hope noticed him working with actress and singer Pearl Bailey in Greenwich Village. At the time, he was performing under the stage name of Joe Bari.
Bennett’s first singles came in the 1950s, including chart-toppers Because Of You, Rags To Riches, and a remake of Hank Williams’ Cold, Cold Heart.
Dozens more singles followed and his voice took him around the world, selling millions of records and performing to sold-out venues – as well as for numerous stars and presidents.
A father of four, Bennett was married three times.
At his wedding to first wife Patricia Beech in 1952, some two thousand female fans reportedly gathered outside the ceremony, dressed in black in mock mourning.
Image: Singer Tony Bennett and his wife Susan Crow, pictured in 2013
The couple went on to have two sons, Danny and Dae, before they separated.
Bennett went on to marry actress Sandra Grant, with whom he had daughters Joanna and Antonia, and in 2007 married long-term partner Susan Crow, now Susan Benedetto.
Among his many gongs for his music, Bennett was also honoured with the Martin Luther King Center’s “salute to greatness” award for his efforts in fighting racial discrimination, after joining the activist in the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march in 1965.
Donald Trump has announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK – as he unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.
Speaking at a White House event entitled “Make America Wealthy Again”, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.
“This is Liberation Day,” he told a cheering audience of supporters, while hitting out at foreign “cheaters”.
He claimed “trillions” of dollars from the “reciprocal” levies he was imposing on others’ trade barriers would provide relief for the US taxpayer and restore US jobs and factories.
Mr Trump said the US has been “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.
Image: Pic: AP
His first tariff announcement was a 25% duty on all car imports from midnight – 5am on Thursday, UK time.
Mr Trump confirmed the European Union would face a 20% reciprocal tariff on all other imports. China’s rate was set at 34%.
The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bows over the country’s 20% VAT rate, though the president’s board suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations.
It was also confirmed that further US tariffs were planned on some individual sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical mineral imports.
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Trump’s tariffs explained
The ramping up of duties promises to be painful for the global economy. Tariffs on steel and aluminium are already in effect.
The UK government signalled there would be no immediate retaliation.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers. That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.
“The US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today.
“We have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.
“Nobody wants a trade war and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”
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Who showed up for Trump’s tariff address?
The EU has pledged to retaliate, which is a problem for Northern Ireland.
Should that scenario play out, the region faces the prospect of rising prices because all its imports are tied to EU rules under post-Brexit trading arrangements.
It means US goods shipped to Northern Ireland would be subject to the EU’s reprisals.
The impact of a trade war would be expected to be widely negative, with tit-for-tat tariffs risking job losses, a ramping up of prices and cooling of global trade.
Research for the Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested more than 25,000 direct jobs in the UK car manufacturing industry alone could be at risk from the tariffs on car exports to the US.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had said the tariff costs could not be absorbed by manufacturers and may lead to a review of output.
The tariffs now on UK exports pose a big risk to growth and the so-called headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to restore to the public finances at the spring statement, risking further spending cuts or tax rises ahead to meet her fiscal rules.
A member of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), David Miles, told MPs on Tuesday that US tariffs at 20% or 25% maintained on the UK for five years would “knock out all the headroom the government currently has”.
But he added that a “very limited tariff war” that the UK stays out of could be “mildly positive”.
He said: “There’s a bit of trade that will get diverted to the UK, and some of the exports from China, for example, that would have gone to the US, they’ll be looking for a home for them in the rest of the world.
“And stuff would be available in the UK a bit cheaper than otherwise would have been. So there is one, not central scenario at all, which is very, very mildly potentially positive to the UK. All the other ones which involve the UK facing tariffs are negative, and they’re negative to very different extents.”
Actors, directors and celebrity friends have paid tribute to Val Kilmer, after he died aged 65.
The California-born star of Top Gun, Batman and Heat died of pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, his daughter Mercedes told the Associated Press.
She said Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered.
Tributes flooded in after reports broke of the actor’s death, with No Country For Old Men star Josh Brolin among the first to share their memories.
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Watch: Val Kilmer in his most iconic roles
He wrote on Instagram: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those.
“I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”
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Kyle Maclachlan, who co-starred with Kilmer in the 1991 biopic The Doors, wrote on social media: “You’ll always be my Jim. See you on the other side my friend.”
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Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in 1995’s Heat, also paid tribute in a statement, saying: “I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.
“After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”
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Heat co-star Danny Trejo also called Kilmer “a great actor, a wonderful person, and a dear friend of mine” on Instagram.
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Cher, who once dated the actor, said on X that “U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND… BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness”.
Lifelong friend and director of Twixt, Francis Ford Coppola said: “Val Kilmer was the most talented actor when in his High School, and that talent only grew greater throughout his life.
“He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know – I will always remember him.”
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The Top Gun account on X also said it was remembering Kilmer, who starred as Iceman in both the 1986 original and 2022 sequel, and “whose indelible cinematic mark spanned genres and generations”.
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World leaders have begun reacting after Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs across the world.
Mr Tump announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK.
He said he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the US and higher duties on some of the country’s biggest trading partners.
Speaking at a White House event entitled ‘Make America Wealthy Again’, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders, hitting at foreign “cheaters”.
These are some of the world leaders’ reactions.
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Trump’s tariffs explained
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin has said there is “no justification” for US tariffs.
“I deeply regret the US decision to impose 20% tariffs on imports from across the European Union,” the taoiseach added.
“We see no justification for this. More than €4.2bn worth of goods and services are traded between the EU and the US daily.
“Disrupting this deeply integrated relationship benefits no one. Tariffs drive inflation, hurt people on both sides of the Atlantic, and put jobs at risk.”
Image: Donald Trump holding the signed executive order. Pic: Reuters
Manfred Weber, the president of the largest party in the European Parliament, the EPP, said: “To our American friends, today isn’t liberation day – it’s resentment day. Donald Trump’s tariffs don’t defend fair trade; they attack it out of fear and hurt both sides of the Atlantic.
“Europe stands united, ready to defend its interests, and open to fair, firm talks.”
What to expect from the EU
There will be a response from the European Union – the question is how soon, and how tough.
A symbolic reprisal is one choice – putting tariffs on classic American products such as Harley-Davidson motorbikes or bottles of bourbon.
That won’t damage the European economy, but it won’t make much of a difference, either.
There’s a reluctance to slap wide-ranging, indiscriminate tariffs simply because that would increase costs for many European manufacturers.
So something more targeted may look appealing and that could mean going after the tech giants – Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon, for example.
Companies who have already had rows with EU regulators and are seen as being, to varying extents, close to the White House.
If Europe could specifically target Tesla, it probably would.
There are also those suggesting the EU should hold fire for the moment, confident that Trump’s tariffs will backfire and keen that the effects are visible.
One fear is that some of the cheap goods that were destined for US markets will now be diverted to Europe, flooding its market.
Another fear is how the Windsor Framework will be affected, now that there are different US tariffs on either side of the Irish border.
And finally there is that insult from the President, who called the European Union “pathetic”. A few minutes later, a senior EU diplomat sent me a message saying “the US is Brexiting the world, but you can’t stop the march of folly”.
Transatlantic relations are getting even icier.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country would fight tariffs with countermeasures.
“It’s essential to act with purpose and with force, and that’s what we will do,” he told reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss Canada’s response.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “It is the American people who will pay the biggest price for these unjustified tariffs.
“This is why our government will not be seeking to impose reciprocal tariffs. We will not join a race to the bottom that leads to higher prices and slower growth.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, seen as close ally of the US president, called the tariffs “wrong” and said they would not benefit the United States.
“We will do everything we can to work towards an agreement with the United States, with the goal of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favour of other global players,” she said.
The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowed to protect the country’s companies and workers and to “continue to be committed to an open world.”
His Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, said: “We don’t want growing trade barriers.
“We don’t want a trade war.
“We want to find our way back to a path of trade and cooperation together with the US, so that people in our countries can enjoy a better life.”