The man behind movies like "Beverly Hills Cop II", and "True Romance" was seen leaping from the bridge on Sunday. He was 68. A suicide note was found in his car, but the contents of it are not yet fully known.

His death was one of the top trends on Twitter on Monday.

"No more Tony Scott movies. Tragic day," tweeted Ron Howard, director of "The Da Vinci Code".

Actor Samuel L. Jackson tweeted that he was "taking a moment to reflect on Tony Scott's life & work."

Veteran actor Peter Fonda Tweeted "Wow! Such sadness. Tony Scott, brilliant film director died," while "Hairspray" director Adam Shankman said, "My heart stopped when I heard of the tragic death of 1 of r most inspiring directors, Tony Scott."

"Shocking and devastating news. He was the best and will be greatly missed," said Christian Slater, who starred in Scott's 1993 thriller "True Romance".

British-born Scott, the younger brother of "Blade Runner" director Ridley Scott, is survived by his third wife, Donna, with whom he had two children. A spokeswoman said the family was asking for privacy.

"GLORIOUS ROAD TRIP"

"Donnie Darko" director Richard Kelly, who wrote the screenplay for "Domino" which Scott directed, joined a growing chorus of thousands of online tributes.

"Working with Tony Scott was like a glorious road trip to Vegas on desert back roads, a wild man behind the wheel, grinning," Kelly said.

Scott, born in North Shields, Northumberland, in England, was frequently seen behind the camera in his signature faded red baseball cap. He directed more than two dozen movies and television shows and produced nearly 50 titles.

He was best known for muscular but stylish high-octane thrillers that showcased some of Hollywood's biggest stars in a body of work that dated back to the 1980s and established him as one of the most successful action directors in the business.

His big breakthrough came in 1986 fighter jet adventure "Top Gun," which starred Tom Cruise as a hot-shot pilot, and he followed that with another big hit, the 1987 Eddie Murphy comedy "Beverly Hills Cop II."

He also worked frequently with Denzel Washington on movies such as "Unstoppable" and "Man on Fire."

Susan Sarandon, who worked with Ridley Scott on 1991 movie "Thelma & Louise," said she was saddened and called Tony Scott "a wonderful film maker and a funny, sweet guy."

Actor Val Kilmer, who appeared in both "Top Gun" and "True Romance", called Scott "the kindest film director I ever worked for. You will be missed."

U.S. film critic Roger Ebert said that "the death of Tony Scott is shocking and saddening. He was an inspired craftsman."

Duncan Jones, who made science-fiction movies "Moon" and "Source Code", wrote: "Just heard about Tony Scott news. Horrible ... Tony was a truly lovely man who took me under his wing & ignited my passion to make films."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White in London and Jill Serjeant in Los Angeles; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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