Heath Ledger Found Dead in NYC at Age 28 BY TOM HAYS, AP
NEW YORK — Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan apartment, and police said drugs may have been a factor. The Australian-born actor was 28. Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the residence in the tony SoHo neighborhood, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. A housekeeper who went to let him know the massage therapist had arrived found him dead at 3:26 p.m.
A large crowd of paparazzi and gawkers began gathering Tuesday evening outside the building on an upscale block, where several police officers guarded the door.
Ledger was nominated for an Oscar for "Brokeback Mountain," where he met Michelle Williams in 2005. The two lived together in Brooklyn and had a daughter, Matilda, until they split up last year.
Ledger most recently appeared in "I'm Not There," in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan — as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned an Oscar nomination Tuesday for best supporting actress.
Ledger was to appear as the Joker this year in "The Dark Knight," a sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins." He's had starring roles in "A Knight's Tale" and "The Patriot," and played the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in "Monster's Ball."
Ledger grew up in Perth, and began doing amateur theater at age 10. At 16, he moved to Sydney to pursue an acting career, quickly landing TV movie roles and guest spots on Australian television.
After several independent films and a starring role in the short-lived Fox TV series "Roar," Ledger moved to Los Angeles and costarred in "10 Things I Hate About You," a teen comedy reworking of "The Taming of the Shrew."
Offers for other teen flicks came his way, but Ledger turned them down, preferring to remain idle than sign on for projects he didn't like.
"It wasn't a hard decision for me," Ledger told the Associated Press in 2001. "It was hard for everyone else around me to understand. Agents were like, `You're crazy,' my parents were like, `Come on, you have to eat.'"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.. It's about learning to dance in the rain."
Yes, very sad indeed. I think it is very troubling that so many celebrities turn to drugs and let the drugs take away their life and/or their careers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.. It's about learning to dance in the rain."
I heard he only actually took 4 prescriptions drugs, so it might not have been planned. I'm so sad about this right now. "Brokeback Mountain" and "10 Things I Hate About You" are two of my favorite movies ever.
The Patriot was mine -- but I really wanted to see him as the Joker in the new batman movie, too
This article from The New York Times published just two months ago shed a new light on the untimely death of Heath Ledger:
“I stressed out a little too much,” Mr. Ledger said.
He tends to do that. He is here in London filming the latest episode of the “Batman”franchise, “The Dark Knight.” (Mr. Bale, as it happens, plays Batman; Mr. Ledger plays the Joker.) It is a physically and mentally draining role — his Joker is a “psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy” he said cheerfully — and, as often happens when he throws himself into a part, he is not sleeping much.
“Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night,” he said. “I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” One night he took an Ambien, which failed to work. He took a second one and fell into a stupor, only to wake up an hour later, his mind still racing.
Even as he spoke, Mr. Ledger was hard-pressed to keep still. He got up and poured more coffee. He stepped outside into the courtyard and smoked a cigarette. He shook his hair out from under its hood, put a rubber band around it, took out the rubber band, put on a hat, took off the hat, put the hood back up. He went outside and had another cigarette. Polite and charming, he nonetheless gave off the sense that the last thing he wanted to do was delve deep into himself for public consumption. “It can be a little distressing to have to overintellectualize yourself,” is how he put it, a little apologetically.
Two bottles of sleeping aids were found, one prescription and one over-the-counter, which would make an accidental overdose more likely. Experts say that it is harder to overdose on just prescription sleeping pills.
John Mayer // Elton John // Idols 08 // Daughtry // Jonas Brothers // Rascal Flatts
Sad that he couldn't get more help for his sleeping problem. Looks like he was just trying to get some sleep.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.. It's about learning to dance in the rain."
TMZ has been contacted by a rep from Heath's family. The cops told the family Heath's death was accidental and there is no evidence to support the buzz he may have committed suicide.
They are particularly distraught over media reports that he may have taken his own life. The family says he was not that kind of person.
As we just reported, Heath was ill with pneumonia when he died.
John Mayer // Elton John // Idols 08 // Daughtry // Jonas Brothers // Rascal Flatts
I found out at work, and I was hoping it was someone playing a joke, but I guess not. He was a favorite of mine, especially in 10 things and brother's grimm. I was looking foward to the dark knight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I <3 Organization XIII “I mean it. Let’s get married and have lots of babies that will throw boomerangs and rocks at people.”
I was looking forward to seeing Dark Knight too... But now it will be weird to watch it... And I think that The Brother's Grimm was my favorite of his movies..
Originally posted by joliefleur: I was looking forward to seeing Dark Knight too... But now it will be weird to watch it... And I think that The Brother's Grimm was my favorite of his movies..
Me too. I think him playing the Joker might've made him an even bigger star. The ad's make him look fantastic.
John Mayer // Elton John // Idols 08 // Daughtry // Jonas Brothers // Rascal Flatts
yeah...him and Christian Bale in the same movie = wowzers! but will be kinda sad seeing it now. in all the commercials Heath looks awesome in it. i read that the role might have contributed to his death, though. that he was only sleeping a couple hours a night and smoking a ton while they filmed it. last i heard they suspect he was physically exhausted and had pneumonia when he died. and i didn't know he had a two year old daughter...poor kiddo.
Asked about being a parent he said: "I guess you're forced into kind of respecting yourself more, you learn more about yourself through your child, I guess," he told WJW FOX in Cleveland, Ohio.
"You also look at death differently. It's like a catch 22. I feel good about dying now because I feel like I'm alive in her.
"But at the same time, you don't want to die because you want to be around for the rest of her life."
Batman is in post-production, meaning the movie has already finished filming. He will still be in it.
He was one of the best young Hollywood had. Such a loss! Really tragic and I am most certain, accidental.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Favorite quote from 2007: Some people are like a Slinky ... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.
