Remembering Tony Scott, the TV Producer

Late director also spearheaded some of CBS' most successful series

By Jenna Mullins Aug 20, 2012 7:53 PMTags
Tony ScottFRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

The late Tony Scott seemed to have his hand in all of the best movies of the past thirty years: Top Gun, Days of Thunder, Crimson Tide, Man on Fire and more. But Scott also produced and directed some great television, too.

Numb3rs, a CBS crime drama starring Rob Morrow and David Krumholtz, premiered in 2005 and ran for four seasons. While it was on the air, it was the most popular show on Friday night. Krumholtz, who played a mathematical genius who used numbers to solve crimes, took to  Twitter late last night to write a fond letter to Scott, who served as a producer/director on the series.

In the letter, he shared a memorable experience he had with Scott while filming an episode with guest star Val Kilmer.

"He spent way more money than he should have on shooting that episode. He had ACTUAL Vietnamese gangbangers, whom he knew personally, play themselves on the show," Krumholtz wrote. "He was wild and big and crazy and uncontrollable and he gave it his all, every moment, because he believed in his crew, his cast, and the show. It saddens me that something inside him told him to take his incredible life spirit away from us, from the film making community. May he rest in peace. What a great dude."

Most recently, Scott served as an executive producer on CBS' legal drama The Good Wife, which has been nominated for countless awards since premiering in 2009, including 21 Emmys. The Good Wife, which stars Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth, is currently in production on its fourth season.

CBS released a statement regarding Scott's passing: "One of the brightest lights in the industry has gone out. Tony was an accomplished creative and passionate producer and director. As an executive producer of Numb3rs, and most recently The Good Wife, he was a longtime friend of CBS, and we are deeply shocked and saddened over this loss. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family."

"It's very difficult to express the depth of our shock and sadness over Tony's death," Good Wife creators Robert King & Michelle King said in a statement. "We're at a loss.  His work has always inspired us and our thoughts are with his family."

Scott also produced Gettysburg, a 2011 American Civil War documentary that aired on the History channel. Narrated by Sam Rockwell, the two-hour film followed the stories of eight men in the legendary battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

Before his death, Scott was working on Labyrinth, a miniseries based on the 2005 novel by Kate Mosse. The three-part series, starring Tom Felton, Sebastian Stan, Jessica Brown Findlay and Vanessa Kirby, is set to air sometime this year in Europe.

The 68-year-old legendary movie and TV producer was found dead Sunday afternoon after an apparent jump from the Vincent Thomas Bridge spanning the Los Angeles Harbor in San Pedro. The Los Angeles County  Coroners office says Scott's "was reported as a suicide."