Prominent Hollywood film director Tony Scott (68), whose signature works included Top Gun , jumped to his death from a bridge in San Pedro, California, city officials announced late on Sunday.
Police and U.S. Coast Guard officials pulled Mr. Scott’s body out of the water near the Vincent Thomas Bridge over Los Angeles Harbour, the coroner’s office said.
Investigators found a suicide note in his office, the Los Angeles Times reported. Its contents have not been revealed.
Mr. Scott was the younger brother of fellow film director Ridley Scott — maker of Oscar-winning movies like Gladiator and Black Hawk Down , as well as other hits like Blade Runner .
The family has confirmed Mr. Scott’s death, but offered no details.
Mr. Scott, who was born in Britain in 1944, made his mark in the mid-1980s when he directed Top Gun , an action-filled blockbuster about elite navy pilots featuring then-rising star Tom Cruise.
It was one of the highest-grossing films of 1986, taking in more than $176 million and giving a major boost to Mr. Scott’s and Mr. Cruise’s careers. It also won an Academy Award for best music, original song.
The British filmmaker sought out Mr. Cruise again in 1990 when he started working on Days of Thunder , another thriller exposing the rough-and-tumble world of NASCAR stock car racing.
Besides Top Gun and Days of Thunder , Mr. Scott directed Enemy of the State , Beverly Hills Cop II , Spy Game , Unstoppable and Crimson Tide — a submarine thriller starring Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington.
He started his career under his brother’s patronage in the early 1970s and directed thousands of television commercials for his brother’s company Ridley Scott Associates.
A prolific filmmaker, Mr. Scott had more than 30 new projects in the pipeline, including Top Gun 2 . — AFP
