Heath Ledger Found Dead

[redcar]

http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1636414.jpg

Hollywood actor Heath Ledger has been found dead in a Manhattan apartment from a possible drugs overdose, according to police.

A spokesman said Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the apartment in the trendy SoHo neighbourhood.
The housekeeper went to tell Ledger the masseuse had arrived and found him dead.

Police said they did not suspect foul play and added that pills were found near the body.
The 28-year-old Australian-born actor received an Oscar nomination for the hit film Brokeback Mountain.

Ledger met his partner, actress Michelle Williams, on the set in 2005.
They lived in Brooklyn and had a daughter, Matilda, but split up last year.
A crowd of paparazzi and onlookers gathered outside the building on Tuesday evening, where several police officers guarded the door.

Ledger most recently appeared in I'm Not There, in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan.
He played the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball and had starring roles in A Knight's Tale and The Patriot.

He was to appear as the Joker this year in the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight, a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins.

Sky's entertainment correspondent Matt Smith said: "He was not someone who troubled the headlines - he and his partner kept out of the limelight."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1301898,00.html

[Sapphire]

:( It's so sad

[redcar]

It's horrible, I have a hollow feeling now. It should not have happened.

[Whisper]

Drug overdose
his own fault

[Dante]

this is very very shocking!

so sad.

theyre saying that it probably was an accidental overdose and he mightve mixed his sleeping pills with other prescribed medicine.

[Maverick]

Drug overdose
his own fault
If a close friend or family member died would you really see it that way still?

[Gumleaf]

as an australian i find this especially sad. a very sad day for our country.

[Tatsuya]

I hope Jake Gyllenhaal won't be like this.....


~must be really sad for his daughter...:(

[redcar]

I hope Jake Gyllenhaal won't be like this.....



Why would he?

[Bobby]

CNN said it was Mary-Kate/Ashley Olsen's apartment. The giant one they were going to use for college. But since they didn't end up using it, they let him stay there for a little while.

[Gumleaf]

there are more reports and pics on the australian channel 9 website

http://ninemsn.com.au/

[Tatsuya]

Why would he?




I don't know......you just mentioned about the Brokeback Mountain and I accidently remember about Jake...:rolleyes:

[Dante]

that whole mary kat ething is bogus. the olsen twins lived nearby and the maid found teh body and called their bodyguard cuz apparently he is a licensed EMT but by the time he got there..the police was there already.

[MoveAlong]

really?

wooow, that suuucks

[Sugaree]

That's shocking. But then again no one knew that he was taking the pills.

Maybe he was intending to do it. I guess something about his private life was getting to him.

But I agree with Whisper that he had a drug overdose. it was by his hand and by no one else.

Well hopefully with his last movie comming out will be good. And I'm sure not many will see it.

[Sapphire]

He had actually mentioned that he was taking the sleeping pills in an interview.

[Sugaree]

It's still a huge loss for the acting community.

He did really good in Brokeback Mountain. Very good.

[Bobby]

that whole mary kat ething is bogus.

Yeah, I found that out later when CNN corrected themselves.

[Patchy]

The acting community as lost a great actor :(

I loved him in some of his films, have they filmed the batman film yet or is it done?

[Gumleaf]

Ledger death accidental, police say
Wednesday Jan 23 23:00 AEDT


Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose and not from suicide, according to reports.

Bottles of the generic forms of Xanax and Valium, both anti-anxiety drugs prescribed in his name, were found at his $26,000-a-month, three-bedroom loft apartment, the New York Post reported. (Map: Ledger's Soho address)

Police also found sleeping pills Donormyl, Zopiclone, and Ambien, the Post reported, quoting a police source who said: "it does not appear to be a suicide".

The 28-year-old actor was found nude, lying face down and unresponsive by his maid, Theresa Solomon, and masseuse Diane Lee at 3.20pm local time (7.20am AEDT) .

Ms Solomon said she had heard the actor snoring at midday.

The maid and therapist called 911 at 3.26pm. Emergency workers were unable to revive the star and he was pronounced dead at 3.35pm.

"We are investigating the possibility of an overdose," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

"There were pills within the vicinity of the bed."

One of the drugs at the scene, Ambien, is marketed as Stilnox in Australia and hit headlines last year when a national drug hotline fielded calls from users reporting strange side-effects. (Related article: Ledger's sleeping pill 'controversial')

In an interview with the New York Times last November, Ledger said he'd been taking Ambien which, according to the newspaper, "failed to work".

"He took a second one and fell into a stupor, only to wake up an hour later, his mind still racing," the journalist reported. Some reports said Ledger was sick with pneumonia before he died.


Family grief

Ledger's family have expressed their grief at the "accidental" death of their son as they await an autopsy.

Ledger's father Kim, mother Sally and sister Kate described the late actor as "down-to-earth, generous, kind-hearted [and] life-loving". (Watch the video)

"We, Heath's family, confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda" Kim Ledger said, reading from a prepared statement.

"Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his life, but few have had the pleasure of truly knowing him."

Tributes poured in for the West Australian, including a remarkable endorsement from one of his oldest co-stars.

Legendary Australian actor Charles "Bud" Tingwell worked with Ledger on Ned Kelly and told A Current Affair Ledger was a "marvellous example" for young actors.

"You're never quite sure when you're an elderly actor who people are going to accept you but he was just marvellous," Tingwell said.

"Somebody told me that Michael Caine said one of his recent roles — I think it was as The Joker in Batman — was one of the greatest performances he's ever seen on screen.

"That's not bad, is it?"

Ledger's body was removed from the building on a stretcher in a black body bag, in front of 200 onlookers and more than 70 photographers and television cameramen.

The New York Times initially reported that the apartment belonged to actress Mary-Kate Olsen. But Olsen's representatives have since denied this.

According to celebrity website TMZ, Ledger's ex-fiancée Michelle Williams — with whom he had a daughter — is "devastated" by the news.

Australian actress Naomi Watts, who dated Ledger between 2002 and 2004, was reported to have collapsed in tears when she learned of his death at the Sundance Film Festival.


Film industry mourns

Producer Emile Sherman, who worked with Ledger on the Australian film Candy, said the actor had a "sensitive, artistic soul".

"I received calls and e-mail and texts from a large number of people and that’s how I found out. The word got around very quickly," Mr Sherman said.

"I was in disbelief. I haven't spoken to Heath for a while, but we were planning on catching up via e-mail soon.

"For someone of his age to die is a huge tragedy, it's a huge tragedy for the Australian Film Industry and the International Film Industry."

Mr Sherman denied that Ledger was difficult to work with, saying he was often misunderstood.

Actress and fellow Australian Nicole Kidman called Ledger's death "a terrible tragedy". "My heart goes out to his family," Kidman said.

Wendy Day, publicist for Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe, was unaware of Ledger's death when contacted by ninemsn.

"It's news to me. I guess I should find out about it," Ms Day said.

"It's very sad news. Oh my God, that's very sad."

Ledger's former school principal, Robert Zordan, described Ledger as a "humble and loyal friend" to his schoolmates.

"One of the great things about him as a person, was that with all the stardom and with all the lights that were focused on him, it was with a degree of humility and loyalty that he remained very, very closely in touch with many of his peers from his particular year group," Mr Zordan said on ABC radio.

"I know for example that when his friends from school days were in New York he would be a very, very generous and loyal host, often putting them up in his own home.

'Stressing out'

In an interview with the New York Times two months ago, Ledger admitted to "stressing out a little too much" on the set of The Dark Knight.

The actor told the paper he was sleeping an average of two hours a night and took the drug Ambien to help him fall asleep.

He said in another recent interview that he felt "good about dying".

While promoting his latest film I'm Not There, Ledger became extremely serious when asked about his two-year-old daughter, Matilda.

"You also look at death differently," Ledger told WJW FOX in Cleveland.

"It's like a Catch-22.

"I feel good about dying now because I feel I'm alive in her.

"But at the same hand, you don't want to die because you want to be around for the rest of her life."

Ledger split last year with his fiancée Michelle Williams, Matilda's mother.

He dropped out of school at 16 and moved from Perth to Sydney and then to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career.

Ledger received an Academy Award nomination for his role in Brokeback Mountain. He stars as the Joker in the upcoming Batman movie, The Dark Knight.

He had recently been romantically linked to Australian model Gemma Ward.

[Octo22]

To whomever asked, the batman movie WAS completed and is being released as per schedule.
Thank god! He looked like an awesome joker.

[goin to work]

um i have an eriie3 fealing he may have benn gay and he may have tryted to hide it and some one found out so that could be the cace but idk its to bad now thats what a local detroit tv station seid but idk

[Sapphire]

um i have an eriie3 fealing he may have benn gay and he may have tryted to hide it and some one found out so that could be the cace but idk its to bad now thats what a local detroit tv station seid but idk
what this based on?

[goin to work]

fox 2 news in detroit
im not in anny way saying gay is bad
im just sayin itt is an opion that was put out there

[ScotsGirl]

Who knows what happened, I guess none of us can ever be sure.

Its just really sad. I love a lot of the films he was in.

xxx

[The Resurrected One]

fox 2 news in detroit
im not in anny way saying gay is bad
im just sayin itt is an opion that was put out there

He was straight. But maybe you are referring to him playing a gay man, in Brokeback Mountain.

But right now the cause of his death, is unknown.


RIP Heath :(

[redcar]

um i have an eriie3 fealing he may have benn gay and he may have tryted to hide it and some one found out so that could be the cace but idk its to bad now thats what a local detroit tv station seid but idk
Thats a very far fetched claim. I have trouble believing it.

[Gumleaf]

Heath Ledger's family heads to New York
Friday Jan 25 06:00 AEDT
By ninemsn staff
with wires


Funeral arrangements for Australian actor Heath Ledger have been completed and his relatives are en route to New York, a funeral home spokesman says.

The Ledgers — who bravely fronted the press just hours after the actor's death on Wednesday — are expected to arrive in the city tomorrow.

George Amado, the general manager of the Frank E Campbell funeral home, refused to disclose any more details, saying that any additional information would have to come from Ledger's manager.

"The family doesn't want us to give out any information," he said today.

The funeral home director, Dominick Capella, told The New York Daily News that the actor's father, Kim Ledger, was focused on his objective.

"He wants to be with his son," Mr Capella said.

The 28-year-old actor's body was taken to the funeral home on Manhattan's Upper East Side yesterday, a day after he was found dead in his SoHo loft with bottles of prescription drugs nearby.

An autopsy yesterday was inconclusive and further test results were not expected to be known for several days, the medical examiner's office said.

Police have said the actor's death may have been caused by a drug overdose and appeared to be accidental.

Today, the makeshift memorial outside Ledger's apartment building had grown to more than 100 bouquets of tulips, daisies, carnations and tropical flowers, along with candles, signs, notes and other memorials.

A computer printout of an Australian flag bore the message: "We will always be proud of you, Heath. Rest in peace, mate. You will be missed."

[Gumleaf]

Masseuse made more Olsen calls
Friday Jan 25 13:00 AEDT


The woman who discovered a lifeless Heath Ledger spent nine minutes making three calls to Mary-Kate Olsen before she dialled emergency authorities for help, New York police have now revealed.

She also called Olsen a fourth time after paramedics arrived.

The new detail of the calls made in the frantic period after Ledger's body was found do not have any significant bearing on the police investigation, because authorities believe the Australian actor was already dead.

The woman, masseuse Diana Wolozin, reportedly called Olsen instead of immediately dialing 911 because wanted "guidance" on what to do with her A-list client.

"She knows when something goes bad, you call 'insiders' first to see how to handle things," a source told The New York Daily News.

Ledger, who was sick with pneumonia, was found dead from a suspected drug overdose in his New York apartment on Wednesday morning.

New York police said they believed Ledger died between 1pm and 2.45pm Tuesday, local time (5am and 6.45am, Wednesday AEDT), as he was heard snoring by his housekeeper about 1pm.

Police originally said Ms Wolozin, who had an appointment with Ledger that afternoon, called Olsen twice.

However today, police said closer examination of phone records showed that at 3.17pm, Ms Wolozin made a call to the Olsen twin that lasted 49 seconds. At 3.20pm she made another call — this one lasting a minute and 39 seconds. She made a third call at 3.24, which lasted 21 seconds.

She called emergency dispatchers at 3.26pm.


Suicide denied again

As Ledger's family headed to New York to bring the 28-year-old's body home to Perth for his funeral, two of his uncles told US television it was not possible their nephew set out to end his own life.

"No. Not possible," Mike Ledger said during today's interview on CBS's Early Show.

"No, we know Heath well enough to know," Haydn said. "It just wouldn't come into the equation at all.”

Reports bottles of prescription medicines were found near Ledger's body and in his bathroom forced his distraught parents to deny their son took his own life several hours news of his death broke.

New York police have confirmed that six different types of medication were found in the actor’s rented Soho home.

These included the anti-anxiety medications Xanax, Valium, and Ativan, the sleeping medication Lunesta and the sedative Restoril, used by people with "debilitating insomnia", according to the celebrity gossip website TMZ.com.


Overdose claims

Although the exact cause of Ledger’s death has yet to be determined, it is "highly unlikely" Ledger would have overdosed accidentally, according to the chief forensic pathologist for the New York State Police, Michael Baden.

"The pills generally have a large safety margin," he was quoted as saying in The Daily Telegraph.

"You just don't take one extra pill and die."

Mr Baden, who is not involved in the investigation, said the "inconclusive" result of yesterday’s initial autopsy pointed to drug overdose as the cause of death.

"My interpretation [of "inconclusive"] means they didn't find a proper cause of death,” he told People magazine

"That kind of rules out the natural causes, such as a brain hemorrhage, pneumonia or a cardiac abnormality, that is common in that age group. That leaves drug overdose as the most likely cause of death."

The results of further toxicology tests, which are due in eight days, will determine what drugs, if any, were in Ledger's body at the time of his death.

But science may not be able to shed any light on whether Ledger’s tragic death was accidental or intentional, according to Mr Baden.

"[Drug overdose as a cause of death] still needs an interpretation as to intentional or unintentional, but that's done by gathering information about his mental health and his recreational activities by interviewing physicians, neighbours, friends and family,” he told People.

A leading NSW pharmacologist said it would be unusual for the cocktail of Ledger's medications alone to cause death, but in combination with a physical impairment it could be fatal.

Ric Day, a professor of pharmacology at the University of New South Wales, said all the drugs found act on the brain in a similar way, by depressing the central nervous system.

"If you took a combination of these it's like taking a massive dose of one," said Professor Day, who could not comment on Ledger's specific case.

"If you took a lot you'd be sleeping very, very soundly," Professor Day said.

"If your airways then became blocked because you inhaled a bit of vomit or were sleeping in an awkward position, you couldn't do much about it."

[goin to work]

y the hell would u call one of the olsen twins even if is there house thats lik calling brtiny speres

[Sapphire]

y the hell would u call one of the olsen twins even if is there house thats lik calling brtiny speres
She wanted information on how to deal with the situation. As the article says, she knew to call an "insider" first to seek that sort of info.

[Gumleaf]

Ledger begins his final journey home
Saturday Jan 26 13:56 AEDT


Heath Ledger began his final journey home to Perth today.

It was not a serene exit for the Australian actor who, despite worldwide fame, avoided the spotlight in life.

In a Manhattan street, New York police officers were forced to fend off more than 50 members of the paparazzi and news crews as five employees from New York's Frank E Campbell funeral home carefully loaded a large, plain pine crate containing Ledger's body into a traditional black hearse.

"Back up. Back up, please," an NYPD officer yelled at swarming photographers as the funeral parlour employees wheeled the crate to the hearse.

The journey to Perth is expected to take two days.

Ledger's departure came just hours after his grieving father Kim, mother Sally and sister Kate landed in New York.

The Ledgers, along with their son's former fiancee Michelle Williams and Ledger's two-year-old daughter Matilda and close friends, attended a private memorial service in Manhattan.

Another memorial service is expected to be held in Los Angeles next week.

"There is a private memorial service today and I also understand that there will be a public memorial service in Los Angeles later this week," Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, in New York for meetings at the United Nations and to attend G'Day USA events, told reporters at a Manhattan hotel.

The Australian government has offered to assist the Ledger family in anyway it can.

"Whatever decision they take Australia stands ready to help them," Mr Smith added.

Ledger's body is expected to be laid to rest at a funeral for family in Perth next week.

While in Manhattan the actor's parents will also meet with New York's chief medical examiner, who conducted the autopsy, in the hope of finding answers to why their 28-year-old son died.

New York police sources say investigators are leaning toward an accidental drug overdose with prescription pills as the cause of death, although toxicology results expected in a week will likely solve the riddle.

New York police found six different types of prescription drugs in Ledger's apartment, including pills to treat insomnia and anxiety.

Ledger died on Tuesday in a $US23,000 ($A26,000) a month SoHo loft apartment he was renting from friend and actress, Mary-Kate Olsen.

Olsen has become a central figure in Ledger's death, despite being in Los Angeles when a masseuse, Diane Wolozin, found him face down in bed when she arrived at the loft for a scheduled massage appointment.

Wolozin made repeated calls to Olsen before calling the New York emergency phone number, 911.

New York police said they have no reason to interview Olsen.

Olsen, in her first public comment on Ledger's death, released a short statement through her publicist.

"Heath was a friend," Olsen said.

"His death is a tragic loss.

"My thoughts are with his family during this very difficult time."

Wolozin may not escape the attention of authorities.

It was revealed the New York Education Department has notified the NYPD that Wolozin does not have a licence to practice as a masseuse in New York.

Under New York law, anyone not authorised to practice a licensed profession could be charged with a felony.