NYC Opera Tenor Jerry Hadley Attempted Suicide

As of last night Jerry Hadley, known as a top tenor at opera houses worldwide, was on life support after shooting himself. This morning it's being reported that he isn't expected to survive. Last year the 55-year old was arrested on Riverside Drive in Manhattan for driving while intoxicated, and even though the case was dropped - he had other problems to deal with. More recently, despite his success, Hadley had been filing for bankruptcy, was concerned about his career and was being treated for depression.

Tuesday morning at 7am he shot himself in the head with an air rifle just outside of Poughkeepsie, NY - and is currently brain damaged and on life support. After a woman who lived with him heard the shot she called the police, who found him on his bedroom floor.

Hadley had a successful career, which really began when he was discovered by the late Beverly Sills in 1978 at the National Opera Institute auditions, she was the general director of the New York City Opera at the time and offered him a contract on the spot. His accomplishments, on top of being a part of Emmy and Grammy award winning projects, include creating the title role in composer John Harbison's "Great Gatsby" at the Metropolitan Opera. He did the same as the lead in Paul McCartney's "Liverpool Oratorio," and Leonard Bernstein selected him to sing the main part the musical "Candide." Since he was on his way to making a comeback, many close to him are baffled by his actions on Tuesday.