Tuesday, January 22, 2008

RIP Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger, the Australian-born actor popular for such films as 10 Things I Hate About You, Monster's Ball, A Knight's Tale, and of course Brokeback Mountain, was found dead in a Manhattan apartment today by a housekeeper and a masseuse at just after 3:30 PM local time. He was 28.

PhotobucketRomantically linked with Naomi Watts and Heather Graham, in 2005 Ledger became engaged to his Brokeback costar Michelle Williams; in October of that year the couple had a daughter, Matilda Rose. Ledger and Williams confirmed their split in August 2007, citing conflicting work schedules.

At the time of his death Ledger had just completed work as The Joker in The Dark Knight, to be released this July; his performance was (and, indeed, still is) eagerly anticipated. In fact, he was at work on The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus when he died; no word yet on what's to become of that production.

While rumour and speculation are rampant, Ledger's haggard appearance of late has most pundits predicting that drugs played a major factor in his untimely death. Ledger's demise comes just one week after the death of another young actor, Brad Renfro, 25, also due to drugs-related causes.

The Plot Thickens... The New York Times is reporting that Ledger was found not at home but in the apartment of Mary-Kate Olsen, near a copious quantity of sleeping medication. An autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow; a spokeperson for Ms. Olsen insists the apartment (located at 421 Broome St. in the tony SoHo neighbourhood) belongs to neither her nor her sister.
share on: facebook

2 comments:

Seumas Gagne said...

So frackin' sad. Did you hear that Phred Phelps is going to protest at his funeral that he is now burning in Hell?

michael sean morris said...

I just left a comment on Joe.My.God to the effect I hope they picket my funeral; it'll be a badge of honour.

They're simply doing it for publicity, and no doubt Ledger's family will have a private ceremony in Australia, where hopefully the Labour government won't let any of them in the country, because they're terrorists.