Ridley Scott, the British film director, has spoken publicly for the first time about the suicide of his brother Tony, confirming that he had fought a long battle with cancer before he died.
On Aug 19, 2012 Tony Scott, 68, director of the Hollywood blockbuster Top Gun, jumped from a suspension bridge in Los Angeles that had been used as a backdrop in several of his films.
At the time his family rejected reports that he had been suffering from brain cancer.
But Ridley Scott, director of Blade Runner, Alien and Gladiator, confirmed his younger brother had undergone chemotherapy.
Speaking publicly for the first time about the events he told Variety his brother's death was "inexplicable".
Tony Scott and Tom Cruise on the set of Top Gun (Picture: ALPHA)
But he added: "Tony had been very unwell, actually, and that’s the moment I realised I had to get very close to him again, though we were always close.
"I miss a friend. I’d go to him even when he was doing his recovery, and I’d say, '**** the chemo, have a vodka martini'. And he and I would go out."
Scott, 76, described how he was at his home in the Luberon valley in France when he was telephoned by his sister-in-law, telling him his brother had gone missing. He said it was the start of the “the worst weekend of my life”.
Tony Scott and his trusty red baseball cap (Picture: REX FEATURES)
Ridley and Tony Scott's eldest brother Frank died from skin cancer in 1980 at the age of 45.
According to witnesses Tony Scott jumped without hesitation from the Vincent Thomas Bridge, 30 miles from his home in Beverly Hills.
He left a note detailing his contact information in his nearby car, and another note for his family in his office.
Two years on Ridley Scott told Variety that, at the time, the family had wanted to keep the cancer diagnosis private.
An autopsy did not pick up indications of cancer so he may have been in remission at the time of his death. In October 2012 a Los Angeles coroner concluded: "There was no evidence of neoplasia - cancer - identified."
Tony Scott's death led to an outpouring of grief in the film industry. In the days before his death he had visited a naval air station with Tom Cruise as they prepared for a Top Gun sequel.
Cruise spoke of his "deep sorrow" at the loss of his friend, while Keira Knightley called him " a firecracker and one of the world’s true originals".
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