Heath Ledger dead at 28

[Alatar]

What a waste.

Hollywood Actor Found Dead

Updated:22:32, Tuesday January 22, 2008
Hollywood actor Heath Ledger has been found dead in his 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.

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."

[Teremia]

That's very hard for me to fathom, somehow. I'm sorry to hear this.

[Primula Baggins]

I agree, what a waste. It's very sad to hear.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I just heard this on the radio (although they said nothing about it being a possible drug overdose). I'm very sad to hear it.

[axordil]

It's a celebrity. They had sleeping pills in the building. It's a drug overdose until proven otherwise, in the court of public opinion.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

The latest news is that a rolled up 20 dollar bill was found near his body. No illegal drugs were found, and apparently there was no residue of any illegal drugs found on the bill, but that is sure to ramp up the speculation.

[Primula Baggins]

There's more reason than that to think it was an overdose, though that's based only on gossip I won't link to. However, we'll know eventually.

Unlike some other similar sad events, people seem to be coming out of the woodwork to say what a nice person Ledger was—personally kind, and always gracious to fans and kids.

[Primula Baggins]

Just posting to say I was right not to trust my sources and wrong to hint what I did: there were no illegal drugs in Ledger's apartment, only prescription meds that were in their proper containers. Also, in contrast to early stories, he was found in bed, not on the floor.

CNN link

[Hachimitsu]

You know it's very sad to hear and on top of that the way the media is dealing with things it's pretty disgusting. There are pictures of Michelle Williams and their daughter Matilda taken by some papparazzi who stalked the apartment building. This is sickening, the woman is now a single mother and the poor child lost her father. (Everyone has said he was a loving and attentive father). It hadn't even been like 3 days. (I am stunned none of the paparazzi were attacked because if it was me, someone would've been injured by now.)

One of the worst gossip bloggers Perez Hilton, was so sickened that he refuses to post those pictures his blog. For him to be disgusted it has to be pretty bad, he usually has no scruples. I wish other "news" sources took a stand like he did.

[Trazúviel]

I really hate paparazzi. Sure, the stars choose a life that is mostly public, but there are times when everyone needs at least some privacy. And when these conniving sneaks spy on a person's every move just to line their pockets, it just makes me ill. Especially when it's at the expense of a widow and her young child. It uncomfortably brings back memories of Princess Diana...