Oscar-Winning Songwriter Commits Suicide While Awaiting Rape Trial

Joseph Brooks, who won an Academy Award for composing the song “You Light Up My Life,” was found dead today in an apparent suicide. A friend discovered the 73-year-old’s body in his New York apartment. He had a dry-cleaning bag, which was attached to a helium tank, over his head, and left a suicide note.

In 2009, Brooks was charged with sexually assaulting 13 women, who he allegedly lured to his apartment for fake acting auditions. He pleaded not guilty and was out on bail. In December 2010, his 24-year-old son, Nicholas, was charged with murder after his girlfriend was found strangled in a bathtub. Officials say he insisted he would be exonerated on rape charges in his “rambling” three-page suicide note. He also referred to his deteriorating health, but said nothing about his son.