LOS ANGELES – 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 Harbor 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.
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“I can confirm that Tony Scott has passed away. The family asks that their privacy is respected at this time,” Scott’s spokesman, Simon Halls, said in a statement.
An autopsy is scheduled for Monday, coroner’s Chief of Operations Craig Harvey said. He said investigators located several notes to loved ones that Scott left in his car and at another location, but that they were not described in initial reports as suicide notes.
He said Scott parked his car at the crest of the bridge, which is 185 feet above water, before leaping to his death.
Several people called 911 around 12:35 p.m. to report that someone had jumped from the Vincent Thomas Bridge spanning San Pedro and Terminal Island in Los Angeles Harbor, according to police Lt. Tim Nordquist.
A dive team with Los Angeles Port Police pulled the body from the murky water several hours later, Nordquist said. Scott’s body was taken to a dock in Wilmington and turned over to the county coroner’s office.
One lane of the eastbound side of the bridge was closed to traffic during the investigation. Cargo vessels moved at reduced speeds through the east side of the port’s main channel during the search, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.
The British-born Scott, who lived in Beverly Hills, was producer and director Ridley Scott’s younger brother. Distinct visual styles mark both siblings’ films — Ridley Scott mastering the creation of entire worlds with such films as “Gladiator,” “Blade Runner,” “Alien” and this year’s “Prometheus,” Tony Scott known for hyperkinetic action and editing on such films as his most recent, the runaway train thriller “Unstoppable,” starring regular collaborator Denzel Washington.
Scott was a thrill-seeker himself in his personal life, an avid rock climber who also liked driving fast cars and motorcycles. Still, filmmaking was his real thrill.
“The biggest edge I live on is directing. That’s the most scary, dangerous thing you can do in your life,” Scott said in an interview for his 1995 naval adventure “Crimson Tide.” “The scariest thing in my life is the first morning of production on all my movies. It’s the fear of failing, the loss of face and a sense of guilt that everybody puts their faith in you and not coming through.”
O’Donnell ‘lucky to be here’ after heart attack
NEW YORK – Rosie O’Donnell says she suffered a heart attack last week and is “lucky to be here.”
The 50-year-old comedian detailed the experience on her blog Monday, saying sudden nausea, aches and other symptoms pushed her to do an online search for “women’s heart attack symptoms.” She took a few aspirin and went to a cardiologist the next day.
She says her coronary artery was 99 percent blocked. A stent was inserted.
O’Donnell writes in a kind of verse on her blog. She says: “Know the symptoms ladies/ listen to the voice inside/ the one we all so easily ignore.”
The comedian recently hosted “The Rosie Show” on the Opera Winfrey Network. It was canceled in March.
‘Live’ co-host chosen but not revealed
More than nine months after Regis Philbin retired from ABC’s weekday talk show “Live!,” Kelly Ripa finally has a new co-host, the network announced Monday. But don’t get too excited just yet: Viewers will have to wait until Sept. 4 to find out who got the coveted job.
On Sept. 3, Ripa will kick off the new season of “Live!” by herself. The next day, ABC will end months of frenzied speculation when Ripa’s new partner finally joins her onstage. While we don’t know yet who’ll be sitting beside Ripa, the guests that morning will include “Homeland” actress Claire Danes and “American Idol’s” Phillip Phillips.
Since longtime co-host Philbin said farewell last November, “Live!” has cycled through a dizzying array of guest hosts — 59 in total — including Neil Patrick Harris, Taye Diggs, Daniel Radcliffe, Alec Baldwin, Jonah Hill and Michael Strahan. Earlier this summer, rumors swirled that “Saturday Night Live” head writer Seth Meyers would be the next Regis, but he quickly shot them down.
Also not in the running is Ripa’s husband, actor Mark Consuelos, Ripa told Vanity Fair.
– From news service reports
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