Burt Bacharach’s tortured daughter commits suicide | London Evening Standard
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Author Burt Bacharach is mourning the suicide of his only daughter with actress Angie Dickinson at the age of 40.
Nikki Bacharach, who battled the brain disease of Asperger’s for years, committed suicide in her Thousand Oaks, Calif., apartment Thursday night.
She died of asphyxiation using a plastic bag and helium gas, according to the coroner’s office.
Linda Dozorets, a spokeswoman for Mr Bacharach, said: “She killed herself peacefully and peacefully to escape the damage to her brain from Asperger’s.
“She loves kittens and earthquakes, glaciers calving, meteor showers, science, blue skies and sunsets, and Tahiti.”
Her 78-year-old father cancelled all his acting commitments until July, saying he suffered a shoulder injury.
Born premature in 1966, Lea Nikki Bacharach spent the first three months of her life in an incubator.
Her father, who won an Oscar for writing the theme of Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head and Arthur, also wrote a song about his daughter called Nikki in 1969, when the extent of her confusion became clear.
It’s best known for its instrumental music, but the lyrics are written, including a moving chorus:
“Nikki, it’s you
Nicky, where are you?
It’s you, no one, only you for me
I’ve been lonely since you left
I won’t have a happy day
until you come back to my arms. “
The song was used as the theme song for this week’s Movie Slot on the US network ABC.
He has written a slew of other hits, including What the World Needs Now is Love, Magical Hour, 24 Hours from Tulsa, Walk Around, Always Something Reminds Me and What’s the New Cat?
Nikki studied geology at Cal Lutheran University. With the support of her father, she successfully completed her studies. But her poor eyesight prevented her from pursuing a career in the field.
Asperger’s is a form of autism in which people have difficulty understanding other people’s perspectives and tend to have narrow interests.
Nikki is the only child of Mr. Bacharach and Angie Dickinson, 75, his second wife, whom he married in 1965.
Miss Dickinson, who partnered John Wayne in Rio Bravo and starred in the TV show Policewoman, met the songwriter in New York and agreed to go to London with him, while he contributed to the film What’s the New Pussy? ” to create the soundtrack. Ten weeks later, they were married.
She said in a 1993 interview: “The first week of the marriage was great, and then it lasted about 10 or 11 years. I read about his first extramarital affair in the newspaper.
“He said it was nonsense, but I knew it was true. Of course, he had more.
“Why didn’t I leave him after the first time? I think I blocked it. If I opened the door and found him in bed with another woman, it would have been different.
“But when you don’t actually see it happening, you try not to think about it.”
The couple divorced in 1980.
Of her daughter Nikki, she said: “When you almost lose a child, you hold on to it even more, and I think I overcompensated. I spoiled her.”
Mr. Bacharach married songwriter Carole Bayer Sager in 1982, but they divorced in 1991.
He has three other children. He and Carroll adopted a son Christopher, 21, and have two children, Oliver, 14, and Raleigh, 11, with his fourth wife, Jane Hansen.
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