NEWSMAKERS | Songwriter Brooks apparently kills self

NEWSMAKERS

Songwriter Brooks apparently kills self

NEW YORK

Joseph Brooks, the Academy Award-winning songwriter of “You Light Up My Life” who was awaiting trial for rape, was found dead Sunday of an apparent suicide in his Manhattan apartment, police said.

Brooks, 73, was discovered in his Upper East Side apartment around 12:30 p.m. by a friend with whom he had planned to have lunch, police spokesman Paul Browne said.

Brooks was found on the living-room couch with a plastic dry-cleaning bag around his head and a towel wrapped around his neck, Browne said. A hose attached to a helium tank was hooked up to the bag, he said. It was not immediately clear how long Brooks had been there.

The apartment door was unlocked, Browne said.

The medical examiner will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Police said a suicide note was found but they didn’t reveal its contents.

Brooks was awaiting trial on allegations that he molested women who were lured to his apartment for supposed acting auditions. He pleaded not guilty to rape and other charges.

Brooks’ lawyer and Manhattan prosecutors had no immediate comment about Brooks’ death Sunday.

Brooks won the Academy Award for best original song for the 1977 Debby Boone ballad “You Light Up My Life” and directed a related movie. He also won a Grammy for the song.

He pleaded not guilty in 2009 to rape, sexual abuse and other charges in the attacks on 13 women. His trial date had not been set.

Prosecutors say he lured most of the women to his apartment through an online ad offering auditions for a movie role, then sexually assaulted them after making them drink apparently drugged wine as part of an “acting exercise.”

Brooks suffered a stroke in 2008, and his lawyer had said the songwriter’s health was deteriorating during the court case. He appeared gaunt and shuffled slowly as he came to recent court dates.

‘Pirates’ sets overseas box-office record

NEW YORK

The re-engineered “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequel “On Stranger Tides” found its smoothest sailing overseas, where it took in a record $256.3 million at the international box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.

That surpasses the previous record foreign opening of the sixth “Harry Potter” film, 2009’s “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which earned $236 million internationally.

Walt Disney Co. said “On Stranger Tides,” the fourth “Pirates” installment, earned $90.1 million domestically. Its combined worldwide total is $346.4 million, the fourth-largest global opening ever.

The new 3-D film jettisons co-stars Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, but brings back Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow. “Chicago” director Rob Marshall took the helm from Gore Verbinski, who directed the trilogy. Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane introduce new characters.

It was a risky reboot considering the popularity of the previous “Pirates” films. The last, 2007’s “At World’s End,” opened with $114.7 million.

Associated Press