Tony Scott had anti-depressant, sleep aid in system at time of suicide
October 23rd, 2012 by faye
Prominent action film director Tony Scott had several prescription drugs in his system — including an anti-depressant and sleep aid — when he committed suicide by leaping off a Los Angeles bridge to his death back in August.
Reports from the Los Angeles County Coroner said that 68-year-old Tony Scott — who is known for directing “Top Gun,” “Beverly Hills Cop II,” and Crimson Tide” — had a therapeutic level of Mirtazapine, sold under the brand name Remeron, and the insomnia medication Lunesta in his bloodstream at the time of his death.
The coroner officially ruled the death of Scott as suicide caused by “multiple blunt force injuries” and drowning.
“The multiple blunt force injuries would be from striking the water,” Chief Coroner Investigator Craig Harvey said in a statement.
Police earlier confirmed that Tony Scott climbed a barrier fence on August 19 and hurled himself off the top of the huge Vincent Thomas suspension bridge in broad daylight.
The newly released findings of the coroner come after authorities released 911 recordings from at least five witnesses who reported the suicide of Tony Scott with a mixture of horror and shock.
“We are just on the Vincent Thomas Bridge, and there’s a guy that looks like he’s just about to jump off. Oh my God, he’s jumped! He’s jumped!” an unidentified woman told an emergency dispatcher in the recordings first obtained by media outlet TMZ.
“It’s dangerous. He just parked his car in the lane there, and he’s jumped.”
One early call said Scott was perched on top of the towering 18-foot fence in San Pedro, California, apparently taking his time to survey the situation.
“There’s a man that looks like he’s trying to jump. He crawled on top of the wall,” the woman who was driving toward Long Beach said. “He’s actually on the top. He’s straddling the top of the wall there.”
The witnesses said Tony Scott parked his black Toyota Prius, with its emergency lights flashing in the slow lane.
“Oh my gosh. He just jumped off the bridge…we slowed down on the freeway and saw him jump. Oh my God,” another 911 caller said.
“A guy just jumped from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Long Beach,” yet another called said.
“I’m sorry, a man just jumped?” asked an emergency dispatcher who was surprised.
“A man just jumped!” the woman shouted.
Earlier reports stating Tony Scott had been suffering from inoperable brain cancer was immediately discredited by his family.
“We have been advised that Mr. Scott did not have brain cancer or (an) inoperable tumor,” Chief Coroner Investigator Craig Harvey said, adding that the director did not have cancer of any kind and left notes in his vehicle and office. However, such notes purportedly did not list a clear motive.
A full autopsy report that might shed light on the contents of the notes left by Scott is expected in about two weeks.
“Tony was my dear friend, and I will really miss him,” Tom Cruise said in a statement following Scott’s sudden demise. “He was a creative visionary whose mark on film is immeasurable.”
In a bizarre twist of the story, Tony Scott visited train tracks which is just adjacent to the bridge where he jumped, exactly two years earlier for work related to “Unstoppable,” his last movie, which featured actor Denzel Washington.
“Very sad. We did reshoots of #Unstoppable in the RR yard on Pier A Street under the bridge,” location scout Scott Trimble wrote on his Twitter account shortly after the director’s suicide. “Tony Scott was a good man.”
Trimble told The News he was shocked to see photos dated August 19, 2010, showing Tony Scott in the shadow of the bridge where he would eventually take his own life.
British-born film director Tony Scott was survived by his third wife and their twin sons.
Family of Tony Scott ruled out brain cancer in his suicide
August 22nd, 2012 by faye
British film director Tony Scott did not suffer from brain cancer or any serious illness before he jumped to his death from a suspension bridge in Los Angeles — this according to the director’s family and the County Coroner Department official.
According to reports, operations chief for the coroner Craig Harvey said that Monday’s autopsy revealed that 68-year-old Tony Scott did not have obvious signs of a brain tumor. However, more lab tests will be needed to rule out any microscopic traces of brain cancer that would have been too small for a physician to detect while the director was alive.
“The family told us it is incorrect that he had inoperable brain cancer,” Harvey said, adding “they advised us … he had no serious medical issues.”
The disclosures added to the mystery that surrounds the suicide of Tony Scott, and also contradicted earlier reports from ABC News, where the network said that an unidentified source close to Scott told them that he suffers from inoperable brain cancer.
Tony Scott, whose famous works included “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “Crimson Tide,” “Days of Thunder” and “The Hunger” parked his vehicle on Sunday afternoon in the middle of a suspension bridge over Los Angeles Harbor, then proceeded to climb on an 18-foot-tall (5.5 meters) fence and jumped nearly 200 feet (61 meters) to the water below the bridge.
The director’s body was recovered about three hours later after committing suicide. Coroner’s officials said a suicide note was found in his office and a list of people to contact was found in his car. However, authorities declined to disclose the contents of the note.
Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter has said investigators do not have any theories about what led Tony Scott — one of the most productive and acknowledged directors in Hollywood — to commit suicide.
Tony Scott was reported to be involved in developing numerous film projects, including a sequel to his biggest hit, the 1986 fighter-jet adventure “Top Gun,” which made Tom Cruise a big star and helped launch Scott’s directing career.
Tony Scott death video being shopped
August 22nd, 2012 by faye
The fatal jump of English film director Tony Scott at a 180-foot Los Angeles Harbor bridge has been captured on tape by several cameras, and now the death video is being shopped around to various news outlets.
According to reports, several people reached for their mobile phone and started taking photos and videos when they noticed that someone (Tony Scott) was climbing over a fence on the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro in the middle of the day, then continued to roll as he jumped off and the bridge and fell down to his death.
The suicide of Tony Scott was also apparently captured by a surveillance camera at a nearby business. At least one of those videos has now gone up for sale. It is still unclear how much the seller is asking for the death video of Tony Scott, but as of the moment, no one has bought the video.
The authorities are still looking for a motive behind the suicide of the prominent film director, and an autopsy is currently underway.
There have been reports that Tony Scott had inoperable brain cancer, but the widow of the director insists that the rumors are not true.
Scott is the master behind action classics such as “Top Gun” with Tom Cruise and “Man on Fire” with Denzel Washington. After the death of the director, actor Cruise said:
“He was a creative visionary whose mark on film is immeasurable…. My deepest sorrow and thoughts are with his family at this time.”
In the wake of Tony Scott’s death, his brother Ridley Scott, announced that he will be stopping production on his current movie so that he could spend time with his family.
Mystery surrounding the suicide of Tony Scott shot down
August 21st, 2012 by faye
The suicidal leap made by “Top Gun” film director Tony Scott from a Los Angeles bridge was surrounded by mysteries when authorities shot down reports on Monday that the action movie director had suffered from inoperable brain cancer.
According to reports, Chief Coroner Investigator Craig Harvey told the Daily News, “Through a family spokesperson, we have been advised that Mr. Scott did not have brain cancer or (an) inoperable tumor.”
ABC news had reported about the dire health diagnosis of Tony Scott, citing a source close to the English film director.
As an autopsy on Tony Scott begun Monday, Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said, “We will look at any medical history. We don’t have anything medically confirmed at this time.”
Winter added that 68-year-old Tony Scott left a suicide note in his office, and then another note in his vehicle that listed contact numbers. However, Winter chose not to discuss the contents of the suicide note.
Previous reports have stated that on Sunday afternoon, Tony Scott parked his vehicle at the crest of the Vincent Thomas suspension bridge in San Pedro, scaled a towering 18-foot barrier fence and — as the witnesses watched in horror — jumped some 185 feet to his death in Los Angeles Harbor.
“He was on the roadway close to the fence looking around. … He looked nervous,” David Silva, a passenger in a vehicle that was crossing the L.A bridge at the time, told The Los Angeles Times. “I thought it was some extreme sports guy,” he added.
“(Scott) paused a couple of seconds and then began to climb the fence,” Silva went on, detailing the suicide of Scott. “He put his foot on the top of the fence and paused again — and then he threw himself off.”
Authorities said that a bystander at the scene of the suicide placed a 911 call around 12:35 p.m. Hours later, divers recovered the body of Tony Scott from the dismal harbor. In an bizarre coincidence, the well-known director along with four other men, had checked out some railroad tracks which were adjacent to the bridge — exactly two years earlier for work related to his Denzel Washington movie “Unstoppable.”
“Very sad. We did reshoots of #Unstoppable in the RR yard on Pier A Street under the bridge,” location scout Scott Trimble posted on his Twitter page. “Tony Scott was a good man.”
Trimble told The News he was shocked to find images dated August 19, 2010 — two years to the day of Scott’s suicide — showing the English director in the shadow of the bridge, donning a red hat, his trademark.
British-born director Tony Scott was survived by his third wife, Donna Wilson Scott, and their twin sons, Frank and Max. His famous brother Ridley Scott, also a film director and producer, known for his work on “Gladiator,” was spotted at London’s main airport Monday heading to the United States.