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Tony Scott biography

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Quick Facts

  • NAME: Tony Scott
  • OCCUPATION: Director
  • BIRTH DATE: July 21, 1944
  • DEATH DATE: August 19, 2012
  • PLACE OF BIRTH: North Shields, Northumberland, England, United Kingdom
  • PLACE OF DEATH: Los Angeles, California
  • AKA: Tony Scott
  • Full Name: Anthony David Scott

Best Known For

English film director Tony Scott was best known for his first box-office success, Top Gun, as well as later films like True Romance and Enemy of the State. He was the brother of  Ridley Scott, also a famed producer and director.

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Synopsis

Famed film director Tony Scott, born in North Shields, England on July 21, 1944, followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Ridley Scott, and took an interest in the world of film. He began by joining his brother's commercial production company, and directed many television commercials and shows. Eventually, he began directing feature films and produced several box-office successes, including Top Gun,

Quotes

"I like changing the pace of my life, changing my discipline. It gives me ideas for how to see the world differently."
– Tony Scott

True Romance and Enemy of the State. Despite his success, Scott was never nominated for an Oscar or other film award. He committed suicide by jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles on August 19, 2012.

Early Life

Famed English film director Tony Scott was born Anthony David Scott on June 21, 1944, in North Shields, Northumberland, England. He was the youngest of three sons born to Elizabeth and Col. Francis Percy Scott, and looked up to and followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Ridley Scott, who also became a noted film director and producer. Ridley cast Tony in the short film Boy and Bicycle, his directorial debut, in 1960. After that, Tony went on to attend several art schools, but turned his attention back to film in 1967, when his brother founded Ridley Scott Associates, a television commercial production outfit.

Over the two decades that followed, Tony directed thousands of television commercials for his brother's company and took over when Ridley developed his feature film career. In the 1970s and early '80s, Ridley's feature films met considerable success, which directed Hollywood's attention to Tony.

Film Career

In 1982, MGM Studios hired Tony Scott to direct the vampire film The Hunger, which starred David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve, and introduced Willem Dafoe, but ultimately failed to generate positive attention. Although it would later become a cult favorite, at the time of its release, the film had disappointing box-office sales.

As a result, Scott was unable to find work as a feature film director until several years later, when producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson asked him to direct Top Gun. In addition to being the Scott's first blockbuster—which placed him ahead of his brother and made him a Hollywood A-list action director—the film was among highest-grossing films of 1986, generating more than $176 million. It also launched lead actor Tom Cruise into fame.

Scott worked Bruckheimer and Simpson again in 1987, directing the film Beverly Hills Cop II, which starred Eddie Murphy and Brigitte Nielsen, and was among that year's highest-grossing films.

Scott continued to direct films that became box-office success throughout the 1990s and 2000s. One film that was considered a box-office failure, but nevertheless one of Scott's most notable films, was True Romance, written by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary. The cast comprised several well-known actors, including Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Christian Slater, Christopher Walken and Samuel L. Jackson.

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