Joseph Brooks, the Academy Award-winning songwriter of You Light Up My Life who was awaiting trial on charges of sexually assaulting more than a dozen women, was found dead of an apparent suicide in his Manhattan apartment, police said. Mr Brooks, 73, was discovered in his Upper East Side apartment by a friend with whom he had planned to have lunch, police spokesman Paul Browne said.
It was not immediately clear how long his body had been there. The apartment door was left unlocked, police said.
Mr Brooks’ death comes five months after his son was arrested in an unrelated, high-profile case.
The son was charged with murdering his fashion designer girlfriend, whose body was found in December in an overflowing bathtub at a hotel in SoHo.
According to police, Mr Brooks told the doorman at his apartment that a friend was meeting him for lunch and had permission to enter the building. Police believe Mr Brooks left the apartment unlocked so his friend could find him.
The medical examiner will perform a post mortem to determine the cause of death. Police said a rambling, three-page suicide note was found that included complaints about his health. They did not elaborate.
He 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.
Mr Brooks was awaiting trial on allegations that he molested women who were lured to his apartment for supposed acting auditions. He pleaded not guilty. His lawyer and Manhattan prosecutors had no immediate comment about Mr Brooks’ death.
Mr Brooks won the Academy Award for best original song for the 1977 Debby Boone ballad You Light Up My Life and directed a movie of the same name.
It is about a comedian who has a one-night stand with a director. Mr Brooks 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 said 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”.