Sy Kravitz is a very familiar and equally renowned name in the rich history of American media. Sadly, the entertainment industry lost this gem.
His legacy lives on through his huge body of work, and it continues to remind us of the sheer excellence of his life. Over the years, owing to his legendary stature, people have been keen to learn more about his professional and personal life. So, today let’s take a closer look into it.
1. Early Years and Education
So many people have thrived and gained international acclaim in the field of entertainment, especially in the U.S. But, only a handful of noteworthy figures are remembered and celebrated even after their demise, and Sy Kravitz is one such celebrity.
Born on December 10 in the year 1924, the real name of Sy Kravitz is Seymour Kravitz. He spent his childhood in the Brooklyn area of New York City. He was raised by two very compassionate and doting parents who took care of all his needs.
Unfortunately, not much is known about them. Sy was a naturalized American citizen having Russian and Jewish ancestry. He completed his schooling at Beverly Hills High School. After graduating, he pursued an illustrious career as a filmmaker. Thanks to his dedication and perseverance, he quickly rose to prominence as one of the U.S’s top producers.
2. Bond with his Brother
His childhood was extremely happy and worth cherishing for him throughout his life and the prime reason for this was his loving younger brother, Leonard Harold Kravitz. Sy once told in an interview that as kids, they both shared a close bond and would always stick together.
When they both grew up, they served in the Korean war where tragedy struck the Kravitz family as Leonard lost his life during the war, leaving a gaping hole in Sy’s life. After his death, Leonard was honored with a Distinguished Service Cross by the government of the United States of America.
3. Relationship with his family
Sy Kravitz married a prominent African American actress, Roxie Rocker in the year 1962. She is best known for portraying Helen Wills on the show, The Jeffersons. Lenny Kravitz, the iconic musician, was born as a result of this marriage. He is named after his late uncle. Sy and Rocker’s marriage was far from any fairy tale.
Although it was blissful at the beginning, it soon turned into a nightmare when Sy was caught cheating on his wife, not once but several times. After learning about this infidelity on his husband’s part, she couldn’t take it any longer and decided to end the marriage with a divorce in 1985.
'Jeffersons' actress Roxie Roker (Al Roker's cousin) and her then husband, NBC News producer Sy Kravitz, with their son who grew up to be a famous musician name…………
………………….. Lenny Kravitz. pic.twitter.com/H4QbnjjMkG— Kris Langland (@crosscounties) June 24, 2021
Sometime after his split from Rocker, he remarried a lady called Erica and the couple had two daughters. Lenny Kravitz emerged as a tremendously successful rock musician with millions of fans across the world. Lenny’s daughter Zoe Kravitz is a stunning actress and performer who has been in several blockbuster and highest-grossing films.
Sy Kravitz was a fantastic producer but was not a dedicated or loving father figure. Despite shouldering the household’s financial duties, he allegedly displayed little affection for his spouse and kids.
In Sy’s own life, he bore a great deal of enthusiastic weight. The awfulness of his sibling’s passing, the fault he got from his family, and the detestations he encountered from the conflict direct consolidated to make Sy Kravitz a bundle of nerves as a grown–up.
Every one of the apparitions from his previous existence surfaced when he attempted to begin a family. Sy’s first marriage was with Erika in 1948, and they had two little girls together–Laurie and Tedi Kravitz. The association didn’t keep going long, as Sy and Erika were separated in 1955, with Erika holding the authority over the youngsters.
In 1962, Sy Kravitz wedded entertainer Roxie Roker, and they invited a child on 26 May 1964, naming him Leonard (Lenny) Albert Kravitz, after Sy’s expired sibling.
Roxie brought some kind of security into Sy’s life, as she urged him to play a more dynamic job in his girls‘ lives. In any case, as Lenny became older, he and his dad had a violent relationship. On Oprah’s Master Class, Lenny shared that his dad was extreme and no–nonsense, ‘I feared him as a kid‘.
At the point when Lenny was 16, he had a contention with his dad that brought about him venturing out from home. For quite a long time father and child were alienated, yet figured out how to accommodate later on and compensate for some recent setbacks.
Following 23 years of marriage, in the midst of a few conning claims, Sy and Roxie were separated in 1985.
4. His Death
At the age of 80, Sy Kravitz died of leukemia on 29th October 2005. He was admitted to a New York City Hospital at that time. After his death, Lenny Kravitz paid tribute to his father during one of his shows in Connecticut, performing the famous song, Let Love Rule.
Years later, dying of cancer, Sy Kravitz had a deathbed conversion. From the story:
‘It sounds like…’ [Lenny] Kravitz begins, and then says, ‘It’s going to sound like whatever it sounds like, but this is what it was. I mean, spiritually hospitals are very intense places. It’s like death’s doorstep. And he was in his bed one night and he looked at me, and he wasn’t on drugs, and he said to me, “There are these things flying around my bed, and these things crawling on the floor.” I said, “What are you talking about?” This is from my dad. He doesn’t do with any kind of spiritual thing. No heebie-jeebie kind of thing. And he’s, “There’s black-winged things and they’re flying around my bed… the things that are crawling on the ground, they look like they’re rats and they’re not… I see them.” I didn’t quite know how to take it. And he then began having this revelation and he accepted Christ – this is a non-religious Jewish man – and somehow the spirit world opened up to him. Almost like he had spiritually been bound his whole life and now this thing was released.’
After this spiritual experience, his father started answering some of the questions Kravitz would never get answers for. When Kravitz asked him before, “Why did you do what you did? Why did you do this to Mom?”, his father would stonewall. ‘That’s just the way it is,’ he would say. But a couple of nights after the experience, sitting in hospital with Lenny and his two half-sisters, Sy started talking. ‘He apologised to us in the most sincere, heartfelt manner. “I am sorry for what I’ve done, how I’ve been, how I’ve treated you, and I love you.” Real. And it was shocking… And what he said to me is that he always wanted to change his life, and he felt there was this thing on his back and he couldn’t get it off. His whole life, he knew inside himself that he wanted to change. But, he said, “I couldn’t.”?’
There would be one further unexpected moment: ‘As he got closer to his death, another night in the hospital, he was really tired and he looked over at me and he goes, “There’s angels all around the room. Because of Jesus.” And that was it. He turned and looked away. If you knew my dad – it was the furthest thing from him.’
These were the last words Sy Kravitz would say of this kind. But for the son, something real happened in those hospital days that changed everything. ‘The last three weeks of his life was the best relationship I had with him. And it cancelled out the 40 years before.’
5. Net Worth
Sy Kravitz is a person of treasured remembrance, who acquired quite a fortune while having spent years in the field of movie production. It is estimated that his talent and achievements have resulted in a net worth of approximately $1 million.
His contributions and impact on the entertainment industry remain unparalleled.
Stay tuned with Stanford Arts Review for more latest updates.
