Bacharach, Dickinson say daughter commits suicide in California

[kskiska]

Nikki Bacharach, daughter of songwriter Burt Bacharach and actress Angie Dickinson, committed suicide, Bacharach and Dickinson said in a statement Friday.

Nikki Bacharach, 40, suffered from Asperger's Disorder, a form of autism. She killed herself Thursday night at her condo in Thousand Oaks, said Linda Dozoretz, a spokeswoman for the family.

"She quietly and peacefully committed suicide to escape the ravages to her brain brought on by Asperger's," the statement said.

Nikki Bacharach died of suffocation using a plastic bag and helium, said Mike Feiler of the Ventura County coroner's office.

(snip)

Nikki Bacharach was the only child of Burt Bacharach, 77, and Dickinson, 75, who were married from 1965 to 1981.

It was the second marriage for both Bacharach, the Oscar-winning composer of "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," and "What the World Needs Now is Love," and Dickinson, star of the film "Dress to Kill" and the TV show "Police Woman."

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[MichiganVote]

1. How sad....

[UndertheOcean]

9. This terrifies me , because my wife is an Aspie.

never heard it can drive to suicide. :(

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

11. My doctor works with autistic people

mostly kids, and has found ways of helping most of them. She says each case is unique, and sincerely tries to heal them.

[UndertheOcean]

13. But Autism is such a rainbow of symptoms I think that only the exteme cases get help...

while those whose Autism is not delibitating and can just manage as "nerds" or "weirdos" get little help.

[MichiganVote]

19. Its true we need more effective ways of reaching out

[PA Democrat]

20. There has been such an explosion of new cases, while funding

for services has been cut or stagnant. There's less and less to go around even for the most severe cases. There have been cuts in services for kids in early intervention, kids who are school age, as well as for adults. It's heartbreaking.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

25. Not with this doc

We have a friend who has a son who is mildly autistic. We suggested she take the kid to our doc, and the results have been amazing. He can feel emotions now, will look you in the eye and initiate conversations--he even volunteered to be the greeter at his church!

[MichiganVote]

17. I love them! Always interesting, always challenging.

[MichiganVote]

16. Rare, rare, rare.....and I question the idea that Aspergers drove the woman to suicide

I work with children and adults with Aspergers. Haven't had a suicidal person yet. Love your wife.

[libnnc]

2. Oh how sad.

I love Angie Dickinson. I had forgotten she and Bacharach were married once.

[Horse with no Name]

3. How very sad

May she find the peace in death that she couldn't find in life.
My prayers to her family.

[LA lady]

4. So sad!

I remember when she was born, very premature, not expected to make it.

[Cleita]

5. Oh, that's tragic.

My sympathy to both the parents. What a terrible thing for all of them to have to go through and I mean Nikki too. I hope she has found peace.

[Benhurst]

6. How sad for her parents. May she rest in peace. NT

[Tuesday_Morning]

7. So sad...

[Booster]

8. I had the privilege of sitting at Angie's table at a Hollywood party

and found her to be a really, really nice person. We had a ball that night and mostly because of Angie. My thoughts are with her tonight; extremely sad news. Rest In Peace, Nikki.

[kskiska]

12. Angie kicked a**!

In 1993, she became the first and only 'This Is Your Life'
honoree to refuse to do the retrospective show. Friends,
acquaintances, and co-workers from her career were waiting
to regale viewers with their memories of Dickinson, but as
part of the program's format, honorees were never told in
advance. She had been lured to a studio on the pretext that
she was appearing in a tribute to Brian De Palma, who had
directed her in Dressed to Kill. When Ralph Edwards, the
show's host, walked on stage and said, "Angie Dickinson,
this is your life!" she responded, "F**k no, I won't do it."

After this incident she was never invited back on NBC’s
'Tonight Show', where she says she’d been a Johnny Carson
guest "40 times."

[libnnc]

15. I LOVED her in Dressed to Kill and as a kid

I remember very well her appearances on The Tonight Show and her TV drama Police Woman. She's still a beautiful lady and I'm so saddened to learn of this tragedy.

[Booster]

23. Sounds just like her. I found her to be almost shy and very

humble. We were all drinking and it was just like a night out with your best girlfriends. What I remember most about her were her beautiful and kind eyes - like the saying goes "the eyes are the windows to the soul". Angie has a very good soul.

[Hieronymus]

24. Good for her ..

I'm surprised more people didn't refuse Ralph Edwards. No doubt lots of people were subjected to people they would like to have forgotten.

[kskiska]

10. Angie cared for her sister, who had Alzheimer's for years

and eventually died.

[trumad]

14. A song that Burt wrote for her...

Somewhere there is sunshine.
Somewhere days are warm.
Somewhere there's a happy harbor
far from the storm.
Out where the sun shines there is someone
I'm meant to adore,
and I know the day I find her,
I'll smile once more.

Nikki, it's you.
Nikki, where can you be?
It's you, no one but you for me
I've been so lonely since you went away.
I won't spend a happy day
'til you're back in my arms.

For ev'ry dream there is a dreamer,
and when dreams are gone,
for each wish
another star shines to wish up on.
Take all my dreams and all my wishes
Hold them in your heart.
Tell me soon we'll be together,
never to part.

Nikki, it's you.
Nikki, where can you be?
It's you, no one but you for me
I've been so lonely since you went away.
I won't spend a happy day
'til you're back in my arms.

Don't make me wait here in the shadows
till my life is done.
I can't live without the sunshine,
you are the sun.

Oh Nikki, it's you.

[me b zola]

18. Oh God, now the tears are flowing...

I wish peace and comfort to Nikki's family.

[PA Democrat]

21. Rest in peace, Nikki.

My sympathies go out to her family. The world is not always a kind or easy place for people on the autism spectrum.

[readermostly]

22. How very tragic. I remember pictures of them all together when Nikki

was small. Beautiful, all of them. For some unknown reason, I was thinking about the three of them this last week. I must have seen something with Burt, and it got me thinking about them and the Martini and Ross commercials Angie and Burt did together. I knew when Nikki was small it was mentioned that she had some type of condition, but I didn't know what it was. My heart goes out to Burt and Angie, and may Nikki rest in peace.