Heath Ledger found dead
Jan 22nd, 2008 by Rosemary
This just in from the Associated Press:
NEW YORK (AP) — Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan residence, and police said drugs may have been a factor. He was 28. Police said Ledger was naked in his bed with an unknown number of sleeping pills near the body.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the Manhattan apartment believed to be his home. The housekeeper who went to let him know the masseuse 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 in SoHo, where several police officers guarded the door.
The Australian-born actor was nominated for an Oscar for “Brokeback Mountain,” where he met Michelle Williams in 2005. The two had lived in Brooklyn with their daughter, Matilda, until they split up last year.
He 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 will appear as the Joker this year in “The Dark Night,” 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.’”
This is tragic. I’ve been a fan of his since “10 Things I Hate About You” in 1999. I loved the way he seemed to be a chameleon in every role.
This is so awful. I wonder what went wrong here.
to “Heath Ledger found dead”
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1Jaden said:
*sigh* My friend called me last night to inform me of Ledger’s demise, wanting to share her depression with friends. It was hard to fully comprehend in between my 8-month-old’s screams of pain (she’s teething… erg), but it’s hitting me now. I loved his movies, and the sex appeal definitely didn’t hurt either (he was GORGEOUS in A Knight’s Tale). It’s seriously a shame. Another talented artist, gone to what could be suicide… I wonder why fame and fortune so often seem to kill people? Also, I heard he was in Mary-Kate Olsen’s apartment, but this could be wrong? Hmmmm…. food for thought, I suppose.
