Tony Bennett is a music legend the world will never forget. Sadly, he died in July 2023 due to Alzheimer’s disease — and he had a history of cocaine and cannabis use that he opened up about years prior to his death. Here’s what Tony Bennett said about stopping his drug use before he had to step into a rehabilitation center.
Tony Bennett explained how he stopped his drug use without rehab
The legendary Tony Bennett was no stranger to drug use. And through the years, he opened up about his addiction to cocaine. When he and his family moved to Hollywood in the 1970s, his drug abuse went from zero to 60.
“On top of everything else, the ’70s drug scene was getting out of control,” he wrote in his 1998 memoir, The Good Life, according to Today. “At every big party I’d go to, people were high on something. Cocaine flowed as freely as champagne, and I soon began joining in the festivities. At first, it seemed like the hip thing to do, but as time went on it got harder and harder to refuse it when it was offered. Compounded with my pot-smoking, the whole thing started to sneak up on me.”
More recently, he reflected on his drug use again during a 2016 interview with the San Diego Tribune. “When I was younger, I was foolish,” Bennett said. “I did a lot of drugs and all that. And then I learned, from experience, that I wasn’t doing the right thing, and I stopped (taking) all kinds of stimulants that are very bad for you. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Thankfully, Bennett was able to kick his drug use without outside intervention. And it was the words of the manager of comedian Lenny Bruce that changed everything for the musician.
“The manager of (comedian) Lenny Bruce told me he sinned against his talent with his drug habit,” Bennett explained, according to the Daily Mail. “That sentence changed my life. I’ve been given this gift. I know how to sing and perform. I’m sinning against this gift and I thought, ‘I am not going to do that anymore,’ and I just stopped. I had to, because I thought I was going to lose everything. It was said at the right moment, at the right time.”
His ex-wife, Sandra Grant, saved him from drowning in the bathroom
At the height of Tony Bennett’s drug use, his wife at the time, Sandra Grant, saved his life. Bennett overdosed on cocaine in 1979 and nearly drowned in the bathtub.
“I tried to calm myself down by taking a hot bath, but I must’ve passed out,” he wrote in his 2016 memoir, Just Getting Started. “And I experienced what some call a near-death experience; a golden life enveloped me in a warm glow. It was quite peaceful. … But suddenly, I was jolted out of the vision.”
“The tub was overflowing and Sandra was standing above me,” he continued. “She’d heard the water running too long, and when she came in, I wasn’t breathing. She pounded on my chest and literally brought me back to life.”
Grant rushed Bennett to the hospital — and he remembered the words of Lenny Bruce’s manager. “I realized that I’m sinning against the gift that was given to me by nature. … It really stopped me cold,” Bennett continued. “I did not withdraw. I had no recovery period. The minute I stopped it, I felt relieved. I felt normal. I didn’t have to hide to smoke or do other naughty things. All of a sudden, I was just honest.”
How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
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