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An Academy Award-winning songwriter who was awaiting trial for rape has been found dead of an apparent suicide in his Manhattan apartment.
You Light Up My Life writer Joseph Brooks (73) was discovered in his Upper East Side apartment around 12:30 pm by a friend with whom he had planned to have lunch – police spokesman Paul Browne said.
Brooks was found with a plastic bag around his head. A hose attached to a helium tank was hooked up to the bag – police said.
Police did not know how long he had been there for.
Brooks’ son (Nicholas) has also been implicated in a high-profile criminal case in New York.
He is charged with murder in the death of his girlfriend, Peruvian-American swimsuit designer Sylvie Cachay.
She was found dead in an overflowing bathtub at the swank Soho House club and hotel in December. He has pleaded not guilty.
The medical examiner will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death in the case of Joseph Brooks.
Police said a suicide note was found but they didn’t reveal its contents.

Joseph Brooks.

Joseph Brooks, the Academy Award-winning songwriter of the ’70s hit ‘You Light Up My Life,’ apparently committed suicide, CNN reports.
His death comes two years after Brooks was charged in the sexual assault of about a dozen women, and five months after his son (Christopher Brooks) was charged in the death of his former girlfriend in a separate case.
Brooks (73) was found by a friend who was supposed to have lunch with him at his home, the NYPD told CNN. He was near a helium tank with a tube attached into a dry cleaning bag, and a towel wrapped around his head and neck, according to police. He left a suicide note.
Released in 1977, ‘You Light Up My Life’ was the theme song of a film of the same name that Brooks also directed. The ballad was performed by Kasey Cisyk before the Debby Boone rendition soared to the top of the charts.
Brooks won Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy awards for the tune. He directed two films after ‘You Light Up My Life’, and later composed music and wrote lyrics for the stage.

Academy Award-winning songwriter Joseph Brooks was found dead Sunday of an apparent suicide in his Manhattan apartment – police said.
Brooks (73) was awaiting trial on charges of molesting women who were lured to his apartment for supposed acting auditions. He pleaded not guilty to rape and other charges.
Police spokesman Paul Browne said Brooks was found in his Upper East Side apartment by a friend with whom he had planned to have lunch.
It was not immediately clear how long Brooks had been there.
The medical examiner will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Police said a suicide note was found, but they didn’t reveal its contents.
Brooks won the Academy Award for best original song for the 1977 Debby Boone ballad ‘You Light Up My Life’ and directed a related movie. He 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 say 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.’