Where Is Leba Strassberg Now? Inside the Lifelong Partnership Behind Neil Sedaka's Historic Career
By James H. Sterling
The bond between Neil Sedaka and Leba Strassberg began in the late 1950s in the Catskills region of Upstate New York. Leba was the daughter of Esther Strassberg, who operated Esther Manor, a prominent Borscht Belt resort hotel. Sedaka, already building his reputation as a young Juilliard-trained piano prodigy and staff songwriter for Don Kirshner's Aldon Music at the Brill Building, was hired to perform for the resort guests.
He was immediately struck by the proprietor's daughter. Leba possessed a sharp wit, an innate understanding of hospitality, and an unsentimental view of show business. They married in 1962, just as Neil was hitting the peak of his initial run on the Billboard charts with hits like "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do."
Their early married years unfolded under intense public scrutiny. Yet Strassberg deliberately kept her personal life out of the tabloids, focusing instead on building a secure home base for their young family in New York.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
