LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The brother of director Ridley Scott, some of Tony Scott's best known films included "Beverly Hills Cop II" and "True Romance."  Lieutenant Joe Bale of the Los Angeles coroner's office says that his death was a clear-cut case of suicide. "There's nothing to indicate it is anything else at this time," Bale said.

A friend found a note from Scott apparently written for his family, Deputy Chief Coroner Ed Winter said. A note left in his car on the bridge included names and phone numbers for his family was probably intended for officials investigating his death.

A passerby saw Scott jump from the bridge and called 911. "The L.A. Port Police recovered the body from the water," the statement said.

"The family asks for privacy during this time," Halls said.

Scott's life was steeped in film from the beginning. Born in North Shields, England, in 1944, got his start in front of the camera, starring in his older brother Ridley Scott's film "Boy and Bicycle." In 1995, the two joined forces to create the production company Scott Free Productions.

Tony Scott became a household name in 1986 as director of the mega-hit "Top Gun," starring Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis and with the Eddie Murphy action movie "Beverly Hills Cop II" in 1987.

Scott continued his string of hits with 1990's "Revenge" starring Kevin Costner and "Days of Thunder" with Tom Cruise. In 1998, he directed "Enemy of the State" with Will Smith and Gene Hackman.

It was on the set of "Days of Thunder" Scott met actress Donna Wilson, whom he married in 1994. They had twin sons.

Pepperdine University film professor Craig Detweiler called Scott "the supreme stylist" who "operated at the top of his game throughout each decade of his career."

"He was able to make the thinnest of premises into something pulse-pounding and exciting and he's almost a filmmaker as a magician who found drama amidst almost contrived situations," Detweiler said.

"He put Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Tom Cruise in movies where one man overcomes all struggles, triumphs over struggles, and yet it appears he was not able to write that story for himself," he said.

Scott directed his last film, the train thriller "Unstoppable" starring Denzel Washington, in 2010.

© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.