Director-producer Tony Scott apparently committed suicide on Sunday at the age of 68. The obituary I read said he drove his car up to a bridge, got out of the car and jumped off the bridge “with no hesitation.” Reports say that he left a suicide note in the car but have not divulged the contents.
Scott is the younger brother of director Ridley Scott. They had a production company together, Scott Free, and Tony gets a producer credit on some of Ridley’s films, including the recent Prometheus. Tony never received the same critical respect as his brother – he never received any Oscar nominations – but in my opinion his films were consistently entertaining. Here’s a few of the films he directed:
The Hunger – an extraordinarily stylish vampire movie starring Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon and David Bowie.
Top Gun – one of the biggest grossing films of all time, Tom Cruise at the height of his career.
True Romance – The first Quentin Tarantino screenplay to be produced and an amazing cast. I’ve watched this film 20 times, mostly because Scott does something here that should have been impossible: a scene between Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken that not only doesn’t disappoint, it surpasses expectations.
Enemy of the State – Pairing Will Smith and Gene Hackman, with a subtle nod to Coppola’s The Conversation, this was a big step in Smith’s transition from TV star to movie star.
Man On Fire – Just one of many films that Scott made starring Denzel Washington, I think this marks when Scott went into his “over the top” period, lots of quick cutting, different film stocks, words on screen in different fonts – it’s a B movie but it’s a satisfying B movie.
Scott’s last 3 films all starred Denzel – Deja Vu, the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3, Unstoppable.
Whatever the reason that led to this, Scott leaves behind a solid legacy.
Also gone – William Windom, whom most of you will not know, a great character actor who won an Emmy starring in a great sitcom that no one saw (but I loved it), My World and Welcome To It, based on the works of James Thurber. IMDB lists 252 titles for him, mostly guest appearances in TV series. He was in everything – from Gunsmoke to the Partridge Family to Mission Impossible to Star Trek. He made his film debut in To Kill a Mockingbird. Possibly his greatest fame was as a regular on Murder She Wrote.
Ron Palillo, the actor who played Horshack on Welcome Back Kotter, died last week. He was so good in that role that he had trouble finding work afterwards. He did okay in New York off Broadway shows in the 90s but he ended up as a high school drama teacher in Florida. It seems that he was more successful in love; he was with the same guy for 41 years.
Also gone is Scott McKenzie – a one-hit wonder whose one hit has seemingly never gone away – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair). McKenzie had been in a band with John Phillips before Phillips formed the Mamas & the Papas; Phillips was the writer of McKenzie’s sole hit. McKenzie turned down a spot in the original Mamas & Papas but later joined them in the 80′s and also co-wrote the Beach Boy’s Kokomo.
Saddened to hear of the death of Windom.
I have to disagree that his greatest claim to fame was “Murder, She Wrote.” Windom’s turn as the half-mad Commodore Decker on the “Star Trek” original-series episode “The Doomsday Machine,” one of the most popular episodes of the entire franchise, has endeared him to Trekkies forever.
Of course, he SHOULD be remembered for “My World and Welcome To It.” I am old enough, barely, to remember the show, but not old enough to remember that he was its star. “My World” deserved more than the one season it got, but at least Windom got an Emmy out of it. R.I.P.
1) First, about Tony Scott. TOPGUN was a popular movie-and a lousy portrayal of Naval Aviation. He did not get the facts right at all. Nonetheless-I and a whole lot of Naval Aviators owe a debt of gratitude for being to be able to make the “walk of shame” from the Miramar O’Club across the street to the BOQ on many a Wednesday night. Back in the 80′s-before I discovered the delights of Wanchai-it was the best thing going, Moreso after TG came out. Nonetheless-Tom Cruise’s character would not have even gotten the opprotunity to fly “rubber dogshit out of HK” if he had done half the stuff that happens in the movie. Contrary to what the movie postulated-work hard, play hard meant a pretty unforgiving stance on the quality of one’s airmanship. That is the way it was in those days-now its just the opposite. You can be a lousy aviator, but just naile one girl in Wanchai-that’s all they remember you for.
As for William Windom-he has a solid body of work to be remembered for. Besides his TV work, he also was a perfect match in the remake of Miracle on 34′th Street, he played a pretty effective villian more than a couple of times-and was a father figure more times than we should count. I agree with Gary though-as Commodore Decker he was outstanding. “They are on the 4th planet” “There is no 4th Planet!” ” Don’t you think I know that?!?! THERE WAS! 400 people all screaming ! AND THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO FOR THEM!”
( Can you tell I watch too much Star Trek?”)
Can’t believe Top Gun is being criticised for not being militarily accurate. You may as well make the same criticism of Shrek, neither are serious portrayal’s of life nor are they meant to be.
JC, but here’s the difference. Topgun had the active cooperation of the Navy ( I have a friend who flew one of the balck F-5′s during the scenes in the Desert). Jon Lehman was gambling that cooperating with the movie would boost Navy Recruiting. And it did.
It also gave the Topgun guys and even bigger ego than they already had-and in the long run that was to theirs and the Navy’s detriment. And it also gave the critics plenty of ammunition when the Tailhook witch hunt ( something I lived through and watched a lot of guys get screwed by).
So I understand your point-but that particular movie is kind of personal to Naval Aviation professionals. For good and for bad.
It is still a very watchable movie though and I think that is probably a great tribute to Tony Scott. All his movies were very watchable-albeit not as “epic” as his brother’s. Damn shame all of this had to happen.