Director-producer Tony Scott, Top Gun helmer and brother of Ridley Scott, died Sunday when he fatally jumped off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, Calif, Deadline has confirmed. He was 68 years old. Scott climbed a fence on the bridge, which spans the Los Angeles Harbor, and jumped “without hesitation,” plunging 185 feet to his death, officials said. His body was pulled out of the water by the LAPD, California Highway Patrol, and U.S. Coast Guard officials, and the coroner’s office identified him Sunday evening. Investigators found contact information in his Toyota Prius, which was parked near the bridge, and a suicide note at his office.
Scott, who was born in North Shields, England, rose to prominence in the ’80s with Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop II, and later directed True Romance, Crimson Tide, Enemy of the State, and 2010’s Unstoppable, among others. He recently co-produced this summer’s alien blockbuster Prometheus with his brother, and was busy working on a Top Gun sequel with Tom Cruise at the time of his death. On the TV side, the brothers also shared production credits on the CBS dramas The Good Wife and NUMB3RS.
Scott is survived by his wife, Donna Scott, and their two young sons.
More as this story develops…
[Photo Credit: Columbia/Tristar]
