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| Joseph Brooks .Songwriter, an Oscar Winner, Is Identified Dead |
But any quantity of things may perhaps have precipitated his death, each serving as a benchmark of his downfall.
There was his stroke, which left him unable to play the piano - devastating for a man who grew wealthy early in life writing jingles for Dr. Pepper along with other items, then applied his wealth to elbow his way into creating movies inside the early 1970s. He won an Academy Award for the title song in “You Light Up My Life,” a low-budget film from 1977 about a young singer with dreams of stardom.
In 2009, at age 71, Mr. Brooks was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting what became a total of 13 girls, normally aspiring actresses whom he lured to his apartment in current years on the fiction that he was casting them for a function, prosecutors say.
Last December, his 24-year-old son, Nicholas, was arrested following the young man’s
girlfriend was found strangled inside a bathtub at the SoHo House, a private Manhattan club. He was charged with murder and is being held without bail.
In current months, Mr. Brooks, who was absolutely free on bail, was a diminished presence, walking with a cane and an ankle bracelet.
The manager with the Upper East Side restaurant where he ate most days, Burger Heaven, stated Mr. Brooks could no longer even chew toast, instead taking his customary egg salad or tuna fish sandwich on soft bread.
There was to be a lunch date on Sunday having a buddy, nevertheless it seemed as even though Mr. Brooks didn't intend to maintain the appointment. According to a law enforcement official, he told his doorman in the developing at 130 East 63rd Street that he was expecting a guest. The friend went upstairs and observed the door unlocked. Mr. Brooks was dead, lying, completely clothed, on a couch in a den. His head was wrapped in a plastic bag, which was linked to a tube from a nearby helium tank, the official mentioned.
The police stated that Mr. Brooks, 73, left a three-page note that one particular law enforcement official described as “rambling.” In it, Mr. Brooks said he believed that he would ultimately have already been exonerated on the rape allegations, the official mentioned, adding that the letter didn't appear to refer at all to his son, Nicholas.
Mr. Brooks wrote of a woman who he stated was physically abusive toward him and had stolen a big sum of his cash, the official mentioned, adding that the letter also described his deteriorating health along with the physical pain he felt.
Jeffrey C. Hoffman, a lawyer for both Joseph and Nicholas Brooks, did not return calls for comment.
A friend, Martin Davidson, a director in Los Angeles who worked with Mr. Brooks early in their careers, mentioned he had heard reports of Mr. Brooks’s treating ladies inappropriately as early because the 1970s.
“I assume the cause he killed himself is because of these allegations, and I believe them,” Mr. Davidson stated.
“It’s certainly tragic,” he said, adding, “I consider him all the time. What his life has been like. After which for that to happen to your personal son.”
The criminal charges against Mr. Brooks stemmed from accusations of attacks dating from 2005. The authorities have stated that there had been other victims, but that the other assaults occurred too lengthy ago to be prosecuted.
Prosecutors say he observed his victims on Craigslist as well as a talent Web site and lured them with probable acting roles. In some instances, officials stated, the girls flew from across the nation to meet with him in his apartment.
The authorities stated Mr. Brooks would impress the ladies with his Oscar, suggesting that if they followed his directions they, too, could someday win. In an audition of sorts, he encouraged them to play the function of a prostitute and he would ply them with wine, officials mentioned. His assistant, Shawni Lucier, who prosecutors said arranged for the travel of many of the girls, was charged with facilitating the attacks.
In the time of his death, Mr. Brooks appeared to have funds troubles. A Washington State court lodged a $2 million judgment against him in one particular situation. He owed a former business partner funds, in accordance with court records, and a different lawsuit was outstanding.
In recent years, Mr. Brooks was largely bereft of his close friends.
Mr. Davidson, who lost touch with Mr. Brooks, recalled his surprise at finding himself inside the seat of honor among Joseph and Nicholas Brooks for the opening of Mr. Brooks’ 2005 Broadway musical, “In My Life,” a adore story about a singer having a brain tumor and Tourette’s syndrome
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