Tony Scott, director of such Hollywood hits as Top Gun, Days of Thunder and Beverly Hills Cop II, died Sunday after jumping from a towering suspension bridge spanning Los Angeles harbour and leaving behind several notes to loved ones, authorities said.
The 68-year-old Scott's death was being investigated as a suicide, Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. Joe Bale said.
The British-born Scott, who lived in Beverly Hills, was producer and director Ridley Scott's younger brother.
Tony was the first of the Scott brothers to enjoy blockbuster success with Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise, the top-grossing film of 1986 at $176 million. Scott teamed with Cruise again four years later on the hit Days of Thunder.
But Ridley Scott later managed more and bigger hits than his brother and earned a level of critical respect never achieved by Tony Scott. Gladiator won the best-picture Academy Award for 2000 and earned Ridley Scott one of his three best-director nominations; Tony Scott never was in the running for an Oscar, and critics often slammed his movies for emphasizing style over substance.
Scott worked with Denzel Washington on five films including the recent Unstoppable and The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3. Other films included True Romance, written by Quentin Tarantino, The Fan, with Robert De Niro, and Enemy of the State, starring Will Smith.
Scott was married to actress Donna Scott, who appeared in several of her husband's films. They have twin sons.
