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Suicidal "Light Up My LIfe" Composer Liked His Personal Trainer More Than His Kids

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Joseph Brooks on his perp walk (AP).
Academy Award-winning composer and accused serial sexual assaulter Joseph Brooks is even a jerk in death, it seems. In his recently read will he deliberately made no provisions for any of his four kids. But you know who he did leave $250,000 to? His 30-year-old personal trainer.

Of coure the money may well never even get to Danielle Radosti, the bequeathed trainer in question who he called a "friend" in his will. Thanks to his lifestyle and legal troubles, Brooks, who won a 1977 Academy Award for the song "You Light Up My Life," was in serious financial troubles when he took his own life last month. In 2006 the songwriter had borrowed $2.4 million from former Morgan Stanley honcho Frederick Whittemore, putting his apartment up as collateral. And last year, a Washington state judge ordered Brooks to pay one of his victims $2 million.

To make matters even trickier, Brooks's son Nicholas—who is currently in jail awaiting trial (and mulling a plea deal) for the murder of Sylvie Cachay—was originally "the beneficiary of a large 'insurance trust' that Joseph set up for his son, but later used as collateral for a $300,000 loan." When Nicholas found about about the trust, he sued his dad and won a judgement for the money... which the family of Cachay are planning on making a play for.

We wonder if, considering the other big will read yesterday, Brooks' trainer wishes she had gotten into nursing.

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Comments [rss]

  • judy covey

    joe brooks had not been found guilty so i wish people would stop judging him...he had a stroke and was not well.  leave him alone and let him rest in peace.

  • dogbertt

    I know you're not supposed to speak ill of the dead, yadda yadda, but isn't everyone glad this schmuck is gone?  Now if his son would only off himself.

  • Minabee

    I am always impressed by how truly insane this man looks in all his photos. And then he actually is insane! How did he manage to walk into rooms without everyone going 'oh, that must be the crazy guy'? It's like a guy walking into rooms with a face mask on and a giant machete, and then everyone being  surprised when he turns out to be a serial killer.

  • ANGRYGOD11

    To obvious to be true? I can think of a lot of tough looking guys who look like they would burn children alive, but wouldn't hurt a fly.

  • Minabee

    Exactly! Too obvious indeed. I feel like this guy changes the phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover' to 'no, go ahead, this cover very accurately represents the contents of the book.'

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