Tony Scott, the British film director behind Hollywood blockbusters including "Top Gun," has committed suicide at the age of 68 by jumping from a bridge.
He jumped from the Vincent Thomas Bridge over Los Angeles Harbour in California.
According to a coroner's report he was said to have left his car, climbed an 8ft fence, and then gone off the side of the suspension bridge into the water below.
Scott jumped at about 12.30pm on Sunday and his body was recovered by police and the US Coast Guard two hours later.
A note listing contact information was found inside his Toyota Prius. A suicide note was later found at his office. Its contents have not been revealed.
Lieutenant Joe Bale, of the Los Angeles Coroner's office, said there was no immediate evidence that Scott's death was anything other than a suicide. He said an autopsy had not yet been performed.
The bridge, is 185ft (56 meters) above the water and connects the port district of San Pedro at the southern tip of Los Angeles to Terminal Island in the harbour.
Scott, who was born in North Shields, in Northumberland, was the younger brother of Ridley Scott, the director of Blade Runner and Alien.
Top Gun, released in 1986, made a star of Tom Cruise, and Tony Scott later directed Cruise and Nicole Kidman in the car racing film Days of Thunder.
His other films included True Romance and Enemy of the State. He directed Denzel Washington in several films including Unstoppable in 2010.
The Scott brothers had recently finished making a television medical thriller called Coma. The two brothers ran Scott Free Productions and were working jointly on a film called Killing Lincoln.
Tony Scott lived in Beverly Hills. A spokesman for his family said: "I can confirm that Mr Scott has indeed passed away. The family asks that their privacy be respected at this time."
Tributes were expected to pour in as news of his death emerged. Director Ron Howard said: "No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day."
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