Songwriter Joseph Brooks, who famously won an Oscar for his version of ‘You Light Up My Life’ in 1978, has been found dead in his New York apartment.
The 73-year-old was found by a friend last night (May 22) after apparently taking his own life. A three-page suicide note was also discovered in his home, according to police spokesman Paul Browne. He was awaiting trial at the time of his death on charges of sexually assaulting more than a dozen women he had allegedly lured to his apartment.
Brooks‘ son Nicholas is also awaiting trial in an unrelated case after being charged with the murder of his girlfriend in a New York hotel last December. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held in Rikers Island jail in the city, reports BBC News.
Brooks‘ track ‘You Light Up My Life’, which Kacey Cisyk sang for the 1977 movie of the same name has since been covered by Whitney Houston and Johnny Mathis. Brooks wrote and co-directed the film and also composed jingles for Pepsi and Maxwell House, and composed the music for West End play Metropolis.