Say It Ain't So, Joe

There are and have been a number of Hollywood types with the moniker of Brooks. Mel Brooks, the comedic genius behind "The Producers," "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein," immediately comes to mind, as does James L. Brooks, who produced the series "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Taxi" and "The Simpsons" and directed "Terms of Endearment," "Broadcast News" and "As Good as It Gets." Then there’s Richard Brooks, an award-winning writer-producer-director whose credits include "Elmer Gantry" and "In Cold Blood." Joel Brooks is a popular television actor who had regular roles on "My Sister Sam" and "Six Feet Under."

But now we come to Joseph Brooks (above), a successful composer of commercial jingles ("You’ve got to live and Pepsi’s got a lot to give" was one his most memorable) who fancied himself a Hollywood auteur when he wrote, produced, directed and composed the music for "You Light Up My Life" (1977), a syrupy slab of treacle about the daughter of a Borscht Belt comedian, striving to attain her own identity as a pop singer, despite disappointing relationships with two men.

Here’s how a guy-movie fan like your editor came to see this chick flick. There was this girl - I’ll call her Cathy, since that’s her name - I had something of a crush on back when we both lived here in town. She moved to Northern California. I moved to Southern California in the spring of 1977 and took a leisurely drive north to visit her in Sunnyvale in the Silicon Valley.

Any burning, anticipatory excitement I felt when she suggested we catch a showing of this new date movie, "You Light Up My Life," was quickly extinguished when she invited two of her gal pals, as well.

The ending of this reminiscent detour is that I made the leisurely drive back to Southern California, Cathy eventually married a fine gentleman in law enforcement, and I eventually moved back to Minnesota.

As lambasted as "You Light Up My Life" was by critics, star Didi Conn (above) emerged with her dignity intact. The New York Times critic Janet Maslin commented that the film "benefits enormously from the uncommon innocence and vulnerability of Miss Conn’s manner, the delightful eccentricity of her timing and the air of invincible hopefulness she brings to even the most heartbreaking of situations." Conn went on to portray "Frenchy" in the 1978 screen version of "Grease" (below) and landed a recurring role on the TV series "Benson."

The film’s title tune garnered Joseph Brooks an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Onscreen, Conn lip-synched to vocals by Kasey Cisyk, a popular singer of commercial jingles (who died of breast cancer in 1995), while the single became a big hit for Debby Boone. In 1997, LeAnn Rimes recorded her version for a single release.

Suffering from a critical condition of hubris, Joseph Brooks decided to not only write, produce, direct and score his next romantic opus, 1978’s "If Ever I See You Again," but star in it, as well, opposite Shelley Hack (one of TV’s future "Charlie’s Angels," below, center). The film was such a turkey that it waddled in (or however turkeys ambulate) under the cross-hairs of most critics. Brooks’ self-starring role as a commercial jingle writer who yearns to be a serious composer prompted a reviewer for BumsCorner.com to note, "As a romantic lead, he has about as much appeal as a potted plant." The same wag added, "The supporting players include authors Jimmy Breslin and George Plimpton, about whose acting the best thing that can be said is that they are good authors."

Flash-forward three decades to a June 23rd 2009 New York Daily News report that begins, "A sex-crazed septuagenarian played up his Hollywood connections to prey on 11 starry-eyed young beauties at his Manhattan pad." The news story went on to say that Oscar-winning songwriter Joseph Brooks "and his sleazy personal assistant are accused of luring the aspiring models and actresses to Brooks' apartment with promises of parts in his next movie."

The 71-year-old Brooks, four-times married, now single with three children, was indicted on numerous counts of rape, criminal sexual acts, sexual abuse, forcible touching, assault, grand larceny and criminal mischief. He faces up to 25 years on the most serious charges. His 42-year-old personal assistant, Shawni Lucier, was charged with criminal facilitation for the incidents which allegedly occurred between 2005 and 2008. The time span included the brief run of a Broadway show called "In My Life," for which Brooks wrote the book, music and lyrics, as well as directed. According to Kenneth Jones of Playbill On-Line, the "bizarre" musical was roundly panned by critics.

Brooks had suffered a stroke in 2008, but before then, according to an assistant district attorney, "was an intimidating presence." Brooks, who also co-produced the ‘80s flick "Eddie and the Cruisers," reportedly used his Oscar as a prop to entice women to audition for the purported role of a hard-drinking hooker. Lt. Adam Lamboy of Manhattan’s Special Victims Squad described the possible scenario as: "This could be you, this could be you holding the Oscar…I can make you a star." Lamboy told The New York Times, "At this time, we don’t believe this was an actual movie role he was casting for."

Assistant District Attorney Maxine Rosenthal said, "For the most part, they were people who read an ad and thought this might be the big chance to be a star." According to District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, Brooks would say, "You ought to have a glass of wine, that’s part of the procedure." Prosecutors claim the women, ages 18 to 30, were incapacitated by the drinks and later intimidated into silence. Lisa Friel, chief of the DA’s Sex Crime Unit, suggested, "He may very well have drugged them."

Brooks’ assistant, Lucier, is targeted as the one who lined up the auditions for her boss. Lt. Lamboy called her the "gatekeeper," who would accompany the misguided hopefuls on flights from California, Oregon, Washington State and Florida. According to a neighbor of Lucier’s, the gatekeeper herself has three daughters. "Didn’t she think how someone could do that to your daughter," the neighbor wondered. "That’s really messed up."

One of Brooks’ alleged victims, a 23-year-old resident of Washington State who also auditioned for "American Idol," told the media, "I feel like a weight has been lifted. I’m glad he is going to be held accountable for all the lives he’s destroyed and not hurt anyone else."