At least four women have accused the Academy Award-winning songwriter of “You Light Up My Life” of luring them to his home and sexually assaulting them while they auditioned for movie roles, police said.
Police are investigating whether director Joseph Brooks, who won an Oscar for Best Original Song for the 1977 Debby Boone ballad, advertised upcoming film roles on Internet postings as a ploy to assault women.
When a woman responded to an audition call, the 70-year-old Brooks would tell her she’d be playing a prostitute and would have her drink shots and perform sex acts on him, police said. Some women believe they might have been drugged, police said.
At least four incidents are alleged to have happened in March and May 2008, police spokesman John Sweeney said. One woman told authorities she had sex with Brooks after drinking wine with him, Sweeney said.
A woman from Seattle said she responded to an ad and after she arrived in New York, Brooks demanded she have sex with him, Sweeney said. Another woman told police Brooks sodomized her, Sweeney said.
Brooks hasn’t been charged, Sweeney said.
Telephone calls to Brooks’ attorney, Jeff Hoffman, weren’t immediately returned Monday. There was no telephone listing for Brooks at the Manhattan home address provided by police.
Brooks also wrote and directed the romantic comedy “You Light Up My Life,” for which the song was composed. The movie stars Didi Conn as Laurie Robinson, a comedian who dreams of being an actress and has a one-night stand with a director.
Actor Steve Guttenberg Returns To L.A. Neighborhood Now Charred By Devastating Wildfire
Steve Guttenberg awoke Thursday morning to a grim reality: The treacherous wildfire that tore through the Pacific Palisades had left his once-lush neighborhood charred and unrecognizable.
With homes smoldered, streets emptied and friends scattered by evacuation orders, Guttenberg counted himself among the fortunate. His property was miraculously spared. But the actor-producer still struggled to reconcile his relief with the haunting sight of his ravaged, once lavish community.
"Just this morning, I woke up and I was really conscious of my mental state and my mental health, because the last three days, I've seen so much tragedy," said Guttenberg, pacing through the ruins of his neighborhood. He said his home has electricity but no running water.
Guttenberg thanked God that his block was safe, but he said about 20 homes were burned "pretty bad" in his 80-home community after wind-whipped fires tore across Los Angeles, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled as the fires burned uncontained Wednesday. He said the fires are the worst he's ever seen in his 66-years.
The wildfires have burned the homes of several celebrities including Billy Crystal, Carey Elwes and Paris Hilton.
Guttenberg said he never expected all of this to happen.
"It's like when someone dies suddenly," he said. "It's like when someone gets hit by a car. You never expect that to happen. That's how shocking it was."
During Guttenberg's stroll, it was an eerie scene with scorched palm trees, homes reduced to ash and rubble, and the daytime skies casted an ominous twilight over the devastation.
"I've seen people scared, people in wheelchairs, mothers and fathers trying to find their kids, people having anxiety and panic... Read More