brief encounters #2: the best is yet to come
Tony Bennett passed away today at the age of ninety-six (photo courtesy tonybennett.com)
On September 19, 2011, Queens-born painter and crooner Anthony Dominick Benedetto was on The Howard Stern Show, talking about his service in WWII and how the war had turned him into a pacifist.
“To me, life is a gift, and you should enjoy it,” he told Stern. “I mean, it’s a great gift. To be alive is the best thing that could ever happen.”
When the topic turned to 9/11, Bennett had a surprising take on events. “But who are the terrorists? Are we the terrorists or are they the terrorists? Two wrongs don’t make a right,” he said.
“They flew the plane in, but we caused it,” he added. “Because we were bombing them and they told us to stop.”
Later, I was at a gallery opening on the Lower East Side for a show by photographer Kelsey Bennett, Tony’s granddaughter, who I had previously interviewed. Tony was there but trying to stay in the background so as not to steal attention from Kelsey, who was supposed to be the star of the night.
Then Fox News arrived, uninvited, making their way upstairs so they could accost Mr. Bennett about his 9/11 remarks. I spotted them first and immediately grabbed the publicist, who swept into action.
“Where is he?” she asked me, referring to Tony.
I pointed him out to her.
“Where is Fox?” she said.
“Over there,” I said, motioning to the other side of the room. They hadn’t spotted Tony yet.
“If I block them off, can you help get him to his car?” she said.
“Of course,” I replied, and waited for the signal to lead Mr. Bennett down the stairs and to his driver.
As the publicist distracted the reporter and cameraman, we safely got Tony away from the potential media onslaught. He had no idea who I was, but he nodded to me as he got in the car.
(Bennett later apologized for his 9/11 remarks, explaining, “I am sorry if my statements suggested anything other than an expression of my love for my country, my hope for humanity, and my desire for peace throughout the world.”)
I saw him one other time, at the Met. I was looking at a painting and felt the man next to me studying the same work, just as intensely.
It was Tony Bennett.
“Maybe you’ll have a painting here someday,” I said to him.
“Maybe,” he said.
Spotted him in the Harper lobby on 53rd Street several years ago, looking quite dapper.
Aww I love these encounters with Tony Bennet! His music was timeless and his decency was too.