Director Tony Scott committed suicide yesterday by jumping off a bridge in Los Angeles Harbor. He was 68.

Apparently, Scott had received a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer.

Scott, the younger brother of director Ridley Scott, is best remembered for directing Tom Cruise in Top Gun. He also directed Cruise in Days of Thunder. Some of his other credits include Beverly Hills Cop II, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and Unstoppable.

My personal favorite would be Crimson Tide co-starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman. Set aboard a nuclear submarine, my favorite line from that film was from Hackman whose character said, “We’re here to preserve democracy, not to practice it.”

Scott also co-produced two hit series with brother Ridley for CBS – Numb3rs and The Good Wife.

Oddly enough, The Fan with Robert DeNiro and Wesley Snipes was on late Saturday night. Under other circumstances, I might have watched a baseball movie but I had to get up early and went to bed after the first twenty minutes.

Here’s Scott being interviewed in 2009 about his remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.

UPDATE: Both Scott’s family and the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office have stated that Scott did not have brain cancer. So why did he end his life so violently?