After the incredibly sad news that Tony Scott killed himself, his friend have revealed that he
had inoperable brain cancer and only killed himself so his family were spared watching him die slowly and painfully.

ABC News revealed why the 68-year-old director jumped to his death on Sunday, by leaping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge. He left a suicide note.

A friend told the New York Post:

‘He has been suffering from cancer and he had a relapse. He wasn’t depressed, he was a lovely guy. On Sundays everyone went to his house, there would be the guy who worked in his local restaurant sitting by the pool by Michael Caine.’

Another source added: ‘He did have cancer, and for a while he was cancer free. He didn’t have any money problems or marriage problems.’

Scott directed such classics as Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II and Enemy Of The State and was the younger brother of director Ridley Scott. He fell within feet of a cruise boat around 12.30 p.m in front of horrified tourists.

‘He landed right next to our tour boat, and many of us saw the whole thing,’ a witness, who had been on the cruise told TMZ.

The Contra Costa Times reported that Scott climbed a fence on the south side of the bridge, which spans San Pedro and Terminal Island, at 12.30 p.m. on Sunday and leaped off ‘without hesitation’.

Simon Halls, a publicist for the Scott brothers, said. ‘The family asks for privacy during this time,’

Ridley Scott is flying from London to Los Angeles to be with his brother’s family.

He leaves behind two twin sons and his wife Donna. Hollywood is poorer today at the loss of such an amazing talent.