From TMZ:
Famed director Tony Scott — who directed “Top Gun” among many other major films — jumped to his death today off an L.A. bridge … this according to the L.A. County Coroner.
According to the Coroner, 68-year-old Scott — Ridley Scott’s brother — jumped from the Vincent Thomas Bridge spanning San Pedro and Terminal Island around 12:30pm.
U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Jennifer Osburn said a suicide note was found in Scott’s Toyota Prius, which was parked on one of the eastbound lanes of the bridge.
Scott directed such films as “Top Gun,” “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “Enemy of the State,” and “The Taking of Pelham 123.”
Authorities used sonar equipment to find Scott’s body in the port’s murky waters. His body was recovered at approximately 4:30pm … four hours after he jumped.
Too, too sad. I know it probably sounds silly and stereotypical and rather uneducated to say, but it always floors me when someone in such an advanced age would kill themselves. It’s like, you’ve lived this long, what could be so bad that you’d want to cut it short with a suicide?
RIP Tony, and condolences to the family. Man.
Update: It was confirmed that Scott suffered from an inoperable brain tumor, so I guess *that’s* why you’d kill yourself at the age of sixty-eight. TMZ also claims that there were two notes left at the scene—one was a suicide note, allegedly detailing why Tony took his own life, and another was a “contact” list of people to call so they’d know that Tony was gone.
A new report from People also claims that Tony didn’t even hesitate when he jumped:
Witnesses told authorities that at around 12:35 p.m., the filmmaker left his parked Toyota Prius on the Vincent Thomas Bridge in the city of San Pedro, scaled an 8- to 10-ft.-high fence and then leapt without hesitation.
This is so sad.
Heard on the news that he had inoperable brain cancer, that is a good reason to want to cut it short, to forgo the great pain he would have suffered.
Now they’re(his wife) saying he didn’t have brain cancer, I guess we have to wait for an autopsy for the facts.
How terrible! I can definitely see his reason for committing suicide. I think I probably would, too, but jumping off a bridge?! I would have O.D’d because it would be painless for me and less violent for my survivors to deal with. I had an uncle with incurable cancer and he killed himself. He also left behind manila folders with instructions and bank papers and as kind a letter as you could hope to get under those circumstances. More to the point, my condolences to his entire family and the people who worked with him and were his friends.
Sad!