Who is Sy Kravitz?
Sy Kravitz was an American filmmaker and producer who worked for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), but is perhaps better known to the world as the father of the singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz. He was also a Green Beret who fought in Korea and Vietnam.
Sy Kravitz Wiki: Birth, Death, Childhood, and Education
Seymour ‘Sy’ Kravitz was born on 10 December 1924 under the Sagittarius zodiac sign, in Brooklyn, New York City USA. Of Jewish-Ukrainian ancestry, he was the son of Joseph Kravitz and Jean Kaufman. His father was working at a telecommunication company, while his mother was a stay-at-home mom, who raised him and his younger brother Leonard.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQV0KuoFviz/
During high school, Sy was a member of the drama club, but he also loved playing football and soccer. After high school, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree but there is no information about which university he studied at.
Sy Kravitz passed away on 29 October 2005 from leukemia, just a month and a half before his 81st birthday.
Military Career
Sy joined the US Army, which encouraged his younger brother to follow in his footsteps. Sy reached the rank of Sergeant as a Green Beret while serving in the Second World War and the Korean War. During his service in Korea, Leonard joined him on the field, and was killed in the line of battle. The entire family was hit hard with Leonard’s death and it left a huge trace on Sy as he would later name his son Leonard.
His brother was honored posthumously with the Distinguished Service Cross, and the Congressional Medal of Honour in 2014.
Career as a Producer and Filmmaker
Although he had an interest in becoming involved in the entertainment industry much sooner, life had other plans for Sy. He joined NBC later in life, and worked on the video aspect of news broadcasts. He developed and oversaw the entire process for years, but there is no information on when exactly he worked for NBC.
However, he still earned recognition for his work, and met a few important people who later helped his son with his own aspirations.
Personal Life, Marriage, Children
Sy had two failed marriages – his first wife was named Erika, from 1948 until 1955, and they welcomed two daughters, Laurie and Tedi. Once they divorced, Erika gained custody over their children and Sy was left out of their life until years later, when he tried to take a more active role in his daughters’ lives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7ECOTj5QG0
His second wife was Roxie Roker. The two married in 1962 and their marriage lasted until 1985, until after a series of cheating allegations on each side. In 1964 the couple welcomed a son, Leonard Albert Kravitz, who went on to become famous pop-rock guitarist Lenny Kravitz. Sy and Lenny weren’t on good terms as they entered an argument when Lenny was 16 years old, which forced Lenny out of the house, and for some time leave him estranged from his father. However, the two reconciled years later and made up for the lost time – he even got to meet his granddaughter Zoe Kravitz and spent quality time with her before he died.
Net Worth
At the time of his death, Sy Kravitz’s net worth was estimated to be around $1 million, earned largely through his work for NBC.
Sy Kravitz Wife, Roxie Roker Short Bio
Born Roxie Albertha Roker on 28 August 1929, in Los Angeles, California USA, to Albert Roker and his wife Bessie; her father is a native of Andros, The Bahamas. Roxie spent her childhood in Brooklyn, and became a member of the Negro Ensemble Company in the late ‘60s. While with them, she honed her acting skills on stage, and in 1974 won an Obie Award for her portrayal of Mattie Williams in the play “The River Niger”; she also received a Tony Award nomination for her work on the particular play.
https://www.facebook.com/That70sPage/photos/a.336848719750338/351404824961394/
In 1975, Roxie was chosen for the part of Helen Willis in the Primetime Emmy Award-winning TV comedy series “The Jeffersons”, with Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley and Marla Gibbs as the main stars. She entered the history books with the role of Helen by breaking the social barriers as the first African-American character in a TV series to be married to a Caucasian man, Tom Willis, who was portrayed by Franklin Cover.
Some other popular roles include Mrs Peoples in the television movie “Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid” (1977), then as Madge Davis in the television movie “Making of a Male Model” in 1983, and as Jennifer Bryce in the TV series “Murder, She Wrote” in 1991.
Roxie Roker passed away in 1995 after losing a battle to breast cancer, but was active as an actress until her final days – her last on-screen appearance was in the short film “Statistically Speaking” in 1995.
Roxie Roker’s net worth was estimated at around $6 million at the time of her death.
Sy Kravitz’ Son, Lenny Kravitz Short Bio
Leonard Albert Kravitz was born on 26 May 1964, in New York City, USA, and grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He wanted to become a musician since he turned five years old, and in the mid- ‘70s moved to Los Angeles, California once his mother got the role in “The Jeffersons”.
He quickly joined the California Boys Choir, and in the next three years performed a number of classical songs and sang with the Metropolitan Opera. He was introduced to rock music which inspired him to pursue the genre on his own – Lenny also learned to play piano and bass as well, and it was in the mid- ‘80s that he started creating music. However, he had trouble landing a record deal since the labels would tell him that his music didn’t suit either the black or white music scene enough to be released. However, with the help of Henry Hirsch who became his long-time collaborator, he recorded his debut album and in January 1989 he signed a deal with Virgin Records.
Lenny’s debut studio album “Let Love Rule” came out on 6 September 1989, and became more popular in Europe than the US at first, but later picked up in the US, eventually achieved gold status. Since then, Lenny has become one of the most popular musicians, and with albums “Mama Said” (1991), “Are You Gonna Go My Way” (1993), established himself with platinum sales, and continued to dominate the rock, funk, and soul scene with albums “5” (1998), and “Lenny” (2001). He has released 11 studio albums to the present day, with the latest album “Raise Vibration” in 2018, and as of late-2021 is working on his next album, but hasn’t revealed any details about it.
Lenny is also an accomplished actor, and made his acting debut in 2009 as Nurse John in the film “Precious”. Since then, he’s appeared in the films “The Hunger Games” (2012) and its sequel “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” (2013) and is now working on the film “Shotgun Wedding”, scheduled for release in 2022.
Lenny has a daughter with actress Lisa Bonet, born in December 1988. They were married from 1987 until 1991.
Since then he’s dated several celebrities, including French singer and model Vanessa Paradis, then Brazilian model Adriana Lima, and Australian actress Nicole Kidman.
Lenny Kravitz’s net worth has been estimated to be around $80 million, as of mid- 2021.
