Tony Scott, the director of Top Gun and production partner of brother Ridley Scott, died yesterday after jumping from a bridge near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California. He was 68.Authorities found a note in the car Scott drove onto the bridge, Los Angeles County Coroner Lt. Joe Bale said in an interview. He jumped around 12:30 p.m. local time yesterday and his body was retrieved about 3 p.m., Bale said.
“At this point, we are investigating this as a suicide,” Bale said. “There is nothing to lead us to believe otherwise.”
British-born Scott is best known for directing Top Gun, the 1986 movie that stars Tom Cruise as a daredevil naval aviator who attends an elite flight school. His directing credits also include Man on Fire and The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. He was a partner with his older brother in Scott Free Productions, which makes CBS-TV's THE GOOD WIFE.
"I was so deeply saddened to hear the news today of Tony Scott’s death," GOOD WIFE star Julianna Margulies said in a statement to Deadline. "I have had the pleasure of working with him for the past 4 years on The Good Wife and I couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful producer. His kindness, intelligence and talent inspired all of us. We will miss him every day. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family."