Sy Kravitz - All About Lenny Kravitz's "Hardcore" Father Who Died in 2005

Publish date: 2024-05-04

Sy Kravitz was the father of Lenny Kravitz, an American singer-songwriter and actor. Sy Kravitz, born on 10th December 1924, was an iconic American TV producer with NBC and a former US military officer. He died on 29th October 2005 at the age of 80, after a struggle with Leukemia.

Born before the Second World War and the Korean War, Sy Kravitz was among the men who thought it was their duty to join the military in order to fight for the values of their country. After serving in the military for some years, he ventured into the media world and made his mark there. Sy Kravitz had quite a successful career life and left a legacy that his son Lenny Kravitz and granddaughter, Zoe Kravitz have judiciously carried on.

Summary of Sy Kravitz’s Bio

Sy Kravitz Was Born in Brooklyn in 1924

Going by records, the former US military officer Sy Kravitz lived a very successful life in all his 80 years on earth. He was born on the 10th of December 1924 in Brooklyn, New York, United States of America. His full name is Seymour Kravitz, and he used Sy Kravitz professionally. Sy was born and raised by his parents, Joseph Kravtiz and Jean Kaufman, in Brooklyn.

His father worked at a telecommunication company while his mother was a homemaker. Sy had a younger brother named Leonardo Martin Kravitz, who is also late. The two brothers were raised together by their parents in New York, and they both fought in the Korean War, but unfortunately, Leonardo died during the war. Sy is an American citizen with white ethnicity, tracing to Jewish and Russian ancestry.

For his education, Sy Kravitz attended Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California. He is also said to have a bachelor’s degree, but details of the institution and course he studied are unknown.

He Was An Ex-Army Officer Turned TV Producer

The American entertainment and media industry has, over the years, seen numerous talented individuals rise and gain prominence as stars, and Sy is one of them. Sy started his career after his studies and shortly became one of the biggest producers in America. He worked as a filmmaker and news producer for NBC. Even after his death, Sy Kravitz is still recognized as one of the most iconic producers ever.

Meanwhile, before joining the entertainment industry, Sy worked as a US Army soldier. He joined the US Army as a Green Beret and gradually rose to the position of sergeant. Sy was among the people that fought in the second world war and the Korean War. Also, he worked as a news reporter during the Vietnam War. After spending much of his life in the military, Seymour decided to venture into TV production.

He was employed by NBC to oversee their overall video production and development. Moreso, he served as the former President of the North East Chapter of the Society of Singers and made several media appearances. Sy’s job at NBC was what gave him prominence in the media world. In 2010, he was featured in the documentary Sid Bernstein Presents. At the time of his death, Sy was one of the high-profile news executives at NBC.

His net worth was estimated to be around $6 million. He made part of his fortune from his military career and a major part of it from his media engagements. Details of his other properties, investments, and assets are not disclosed.

Sy Kravitz’s First Marriage To Erica Spanned 7 Years

Lenny’s father, Sy Kravitz, went through two marriages before his death. His first marriage was to a woman named Erica. Unlike Sy, Erica is not anywhere close to the media; as such, there is little or no information about her. She was a private person and kept a low profile as long as her marriage with Kravitz lasted. However, from the records, we know that the couple tied the knot sometime in 1948.

They stayed together and married for seven years before they split. Their marriage was blessed with two daughters named Laurie and Tedi Kravitz. The marriage packed up in 1955 with a divorce. Details of the reason for their divorce are not public knowledge, but some unverified sources cited infidelity as the cause. However, the court granted Erica full custody of their two daughters, and Sy was given visitation rights and asked to pay child support.

His Second Marriage to Roxie Roker Lasted 23 Years

After staying single for the next seven years, Sy decided to try marriage for a second time. He met and fell in love with Roxie Roker, an American actress, TV personality, and news anchor known for her role as Helen Willis on the CBS sitcom, The Jeffersons. Roker was born in Miami, Florida, on 28th August 1929 and died of breast cancer on 2nd December 1995 at the age of 66 in Los Angeles, California.

Roxie had quite a successful career in the American film and TV industry, with some of her popular screen roles coming in The Jeffersons, Fantasy Island, A Different World, and Making of a Male Model, among many others. She and Kravitz exchanged marital vows in a low-key wedding ceremony in 1962. After their marriage, they became one of the first interracial couples, which is similar to what was portrayed in The Jeffersons.

Consequently, Kravitz and Roker’s marriage faced some unique challenges – while Roxie was a black Bahamian woman, Sy was a white Jewish man. Regardless of the societal pressures, however, the couple managed to stay married for the next 23 years. They welcomed their first and only child, Lenny Kravitz, two years into their union, on 26th May 1964 in Manhattan, New York, USA. Lenny was named after his father’s late brother, who died in the Korean War.

Although his second marriage with the actress seemed somehow more stable than the first, Sy and Rokie also shortly began to face challenges that weighed heavily on them. Although it lasted longer, it still ended in the same way as the first one. Their union was reportedly marred by an infidelity crisis, and they divorced in 1985 after 23 years of marriage.

The Actual Reason For Sy and Roker’s Divorce

Sy and his second wife went their separate ways after 23 years of being married. Although they themselves did not reveal the exact reason behind their divorce, their son Lenny has, through a memoir he released in October 2020, revealed some details of his parent’s marriage. According to Lenny, when he was in his early 20s, he one day overheard his father speaking to his mistress over the phone and reported it to his mother.

The news, he said, broke his mother’s heart, and she also told him that Sy had been unfaithful to her throughout their marriage. The said mistress was an employee at their bank. Roxie hired a private investigator who compiled a series of evidence that made Sy admit to cheating on her. The investigator included a compilation of photos and copies of plane tickets to Paris.

Although she initially was hesitant about filing for divorce as a result of her Bahamanian upbringing, which forbids divorce, Roxie Roker eventually did, and she and Sy officially parted ways in 1985. Roxie died ten years later, in 1995, and it is not known whether she got into another relationship before her death.

Sy Kravitz Had a Strained Relationship With His Son Lenny

Although his family at that time seemed like a perfect one from the public perspective, Sy Kravitz was less than an ideal husband and father. He not only had a turbulent marriage with his wife, Roker but also a strained relationship with his son Lenny. Reportedly, it was his disciplinary tendencies and jealousy that strained their relationship.

According to the multiple Grammy award winner, he and his father had an emotional distance, describing him as a hardcore disciplinary father. This was a result of the harsh parenting style practiced by his father, which made him afraid of him. Moreover, apart from his strict disciplinary measures in the household, Lenny revealed that he once noticed that his father might have been jealous of him and his mother’s flourishing career.

As a result, he got closer to his mother and relatively became a “mama’s boy”. When Lenny was 16, he got involved in an argument with his father and decided to leave the house. He and his father officially parted ways with each other for good, but before then, they had a final family chat where Roker asked Sy if he had anything to say to their son.

Sy said, “You’ll do it too” meaning that his son will definitely follow in his footsteps of marital infidelity.

They Eventually Reconciled On His Sick Bed

Lenny Kravitz, even while his father was still alive, managed to make a mark in the American entertainment industry and became very successful in his career as a singer and actor. His music style incorporates elements of rock, soul, blues, psychedelic, R&B, jazz, reggae, funk, hard rock, folk, and pop. However, his relationship with his father remained complicated until the time he (Sy) became seriously sick.

That was when they eventually reconciled and had the kind of relationship Lenny had always wanted with a father. In his 2020 memoir titled Let Love Rule, Lenny Kravitz recounts some details of his late parents’ relationship. He has also, over time, granted some interviews wherein he discussed his parents’ marriage, giving a glimpse into their marital life.

Sy and his son were estranged for several years but later reconciled and became close again, although very briefly before his death. It was in 2005, when he became severely ill, that they eventually reconciled their differences. They spent a short while together, and according to Lenny, it was the best time they ever shared.

Sy Kravitz Died in 2005 at the Age of 80

Lenny Kravitz’s father, Sy Kravitz, died on 29th October 2005, in a New York City hospital. He died of leukemia at the age of 80, a few weeks before he could turn 81. As earlier stated, he and his son put their differences behind only on his sick bed and managed to make peace before he passed away. Thus, Lenny has continued to speak fondly of his father’s last days stating that it was the best month of their lives together.

Two days after his death, Lenny paid tribute to his father by performing Let Love Rule live at Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. Today, anyone who knew and loved Sy remembers him with respect and admiration. His contribution to the film industry has remained unmatched, and his legacy lives on through his lineage.

Although the American entertainment and media industry has seen many stars come and go, only a few notable ones are remembered long after their death, and Sy Kravitz is clearly one of them. His legacy lives on through his son, Lenny. Six years after his death, Lenny took to Instagram with some lovely photos of him and his father alongside the caption; “I wish I had more time with you as I matured and as you softened, nonetheless, we are always together“.

Lenny Kravitz has continued to push his father’s name by building a sustainable music career for himself. He is a very successful rock artist who has sold millions of records across the globe. On the personal front, Lenny got married in 1987 to actress Lisa Bonet, and they together had one daughter named Zoe Kravitz. Lenny and Lisa got divorced in 1993 following claims of infidelity.

His daughter, Zoe, has also followed in the family’s career path and is fast-rising as a singer and actress. She is popular for starring in the films Big Little Lies and Divergent, among others.

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