Post by beatie08 on Jan 22, 2008 22:06:59 GMT -5
HEATH LEDGER PASSED AWAY
Heath Ledger's family has reportedly denied he killed himself after the Australian actor was found dead today at his New York apartment in what authorities suspect may be a possible drug-related death. He was 28.
A New York Police Department spokesman said the Oscar-nominated actor's body was found naked and face-down on the floor of his bedroom by a housekeeper about 3.30pm Tuesday (7.30am Melbourne time).
There were prescription pills nearby, police said. ''We are investigating the possibility of an overdose,'' police spokesman Paul Browne said. ''There were pills within the vicinity of the bed.''
The police spokesman said the pills were not scattered around Ledger's body, as previously reported. "There were some prescription medications that included sleeping pills," he said.
Ledger, who had reportedly been ill with pneumonia, had an appointment for a massage at the apartment, which is believed to be his home in Soho in Manhattan.
The housekeeper went to tell Ledger the masseuse had arrived and found him naked and unconscious at the foot of his bed.
Ledger's former fiancee, Brokeback Mountain co-star Michelle Williams - the mother of his two-year-daughter Matilda - was reported to be ''devastated'' by his death and had boarded a flight to New York.
Representatives of the actor's family said police had advised them his death was accidental, the TMZ.com website reported.
The site said representatives had made contact to say Ledger's family was particularly distraught over media speculation that he may have taken his own life. He was not that kind of person, the family said.
Ledger's Californian attorney, John LaViolette, could not be contacted this morning.
A spokeswoman at his office said he was currently on a plane.
"I'm sorry, we can't talk about this now, we're too upset," she said, before ending the phone call.
Ledger's death comes during the making of his latest film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, directed by Terry Gilliam and in which he was to star alongside Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits.
Ledger was an Oscar nominee for his role in Brokeback Mountain and had numerous other screen credits.
He played a heroin addict in Candy, the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball and had starring roles in A Knight's Tale and The Patriot.
His most recent role was in I'm Not There, in which he played one of the many incarnations of singer Bob Dylan - as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
He was to appear as the Joker this year in The Dark Knight, a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins.
Ledger was born in Perth, the son of Sally Ledger Bell and Kim Ledger, a race car driver and mining engineer.
He made his film debut in the 1997 Australian movie Blackrock, and in 1999 starred in the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You.
In 2005, Ledger received an Oscar nomination for his acclaimed performance in Brokeback Mountain, in which he played a gay ranch hand who had a love affair with a rodeo rider.
Perth casting director Annie Murtagh-Monks discovered Ledger as a 15-year-old in a school production of Hamlet.
''He had a natural ability but it wasn't like he was driven to be a star at that age,'' she told 3AW.
Ledger was cast in the short-lived TV drama Sweat - where he played a young gay cyclist preparing for the Olympics - and his career blossomed from there.
His role as the Joker in The Dark Knight had been difficult, Murtagh-Monks noted.
''I'd heard that he'd had a lot of trouble sleeping from that,'' she said. ''I honestly don't know what's caused this.''
The actor's relationship with the press was turbulent. In 2004 he allegedly spat at a paparazzi photographer in Sydney, a claim that he strongly denied.
In January 2006, several photographers retaliated, squirting Ledger with water pistols as he walked the red carpet for the Sydney premiere of Brokeback Mountain.
Earlier this month Ledger he was linked with West Australian model and actor Gemma Ward.
IT's A SAD DAY AUSTRALIAN FILM STAR CAREER ENDED IN TRAGIC LIFE HEATH LEDGER 1979-2008
Heath Ledger's family has reportedly denied he killed himself after the Australian actor was found dead today at his New York apartment in what authorities suspect may be a possible drug-related death. He was 28.
A New York Police Department spokesman said the Oscar-nominated actor's body was found naked and face-down on the floor of his bedroom by a housekeeper about 3.30pm Tuesday (7.30am Melbourne time).
There were prescription pills nearby, police said. ''We are investigating the possibility of an overdose,'' police spokesman Paul Browne said. ''There were pills within the vicinity of the bed.''
The police spokesman said the pills were not scattered around Ledger's body, as previously reported. "There were some prescription medications that included sleeping pills," he said.
Ledger, who had reportedly been ill with pneumonia, had an appointment for a massage at the apartment, which is believed to be his home in Soho in Manhattan.
The housekeeper went to tell Ledger the masseuse had arrived and found him naked and unconscious at the foot of his bed.
Ledger's former fiancee, Brokeback Mountain co-star Michelle Williams - the mother of his two-year-daughter Matilda - was reported to be ''devastated'' by his death and had boarded a flight to New York.
Representatives of the actor's family said police had advised them his death was accidental, the TMZ.com website reported.
The site said representatives had made contact to say Ledger's family was particularly distraught over media speculation that he may have taken his own life. He was not that kind of person, the family said.
Ledger's Californian attorney, John LaViolette, could not be contacted this morning.
A spokeswoman at his office said he was currently on a plane.
"I'm sorry, we can't talk about this now, we're too upset," she said, before ending the phone call.
Ledger's death comes during the making of his latest film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, directed by Terry Gilliam and in which he was to star alongside Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits.
Ledger was an Oscar nominee for his role in Brokeback Mountain and had numerous other screen credits.
He played a heroin addict in Candy, the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball and had starring roles in A Knight's Tale and The Patriot.
His most recent role was in I'm Not There, in which he played one of the many incarnations of singer Bob Dylan - as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.
He was to appear as the Joker this year in The Dark Knight, a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins.
Ledger was born in Perth, the son of Sally Ledger Bell and Kim Ledger, a race car driver and mining engineer.
He made his film debut in the 1997 Australian movie Blackrock, and in 1999 starred in the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You.
In 2005, Ledger received an Oscar nomination for his acclaimed performance in Brokeback Mountain, in which he played a gay ranch hand who had a love affair with a rodeo rider.
Perth casting director Annie Murtagh-Monks discovered Ledger as a 15-year-old in a school production of Hamlet.
''He had a natural ability but it wasn't like he was driven to be a star at that age,'' she told 3AW.
Ledger was cast in the short-lived TV drama Sweat - where he played a young gay cyclist preparing for the Olympics - and his career blossomed from there.
His role as the Joker in The Dark Knight had been difficult, Murtagh-Monks noted.
''I'd heard that he'd had a lot of trouble sleeping from that,'' she said. ''I honestly don't know what's caused this.''
The actor's relationship with the press was turbulent. In 2004 he allegedly spat at a paparazzi photographer in Sydney, a claim that he strongly denied.
In January 2006, several photographers retaliated, squirting Ledger with water pistols as he walked the red carpet for the Sydney premiere of Brokeback Mountain.
Earlier this month Ledger he was linked with West Australian model and actor Gemma Ward.
IT's A SAD DAY AUSTRALIAN FILM STAR CAREER ENDED IN TRAGIC LIFE HEATH LEDGER 1979-2008
