OMEN
01-23-2008, 09:43 AM
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TOO SOON: Australian actor Heath Ledger has been found dead in a Manhattan apartment.
Australian actor Heath Ledger, the gifted leading man acclaimed for his role as a gay cowboy in the film Brokeback Mountain, has been found dead in his Manhattan apartment, possibly of an accidental drug overdose.Ledger, 28, was found face down and naked at the foot of the bed by a housekeeper at his apartment in the upmarket SoHo neighborhood, police spokesman Paul Browne said.
Family members said they had been told by police the actor's death was accidental, and were particularly distraught over media speculation that he may have taken his own life.
"We, Heath's family, can confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda," his father Kim said
"He was found peacefully asleep in his New York apartment by his housekeeper. He was down to earth, generous, kind hearted, life loving unselfish individual extremely inspirational to many."
Ledger was pronounced dead at the scene but no cause had been determined. TMZ.com reported he was suffering from pneumonia, but this was not confirmed by police.
"We are investigating the possibility of an overdose. There were pills within the vicinity of the bed," Browne said, adding that the prescription medicine included sleeping pills.
The housekeeper found Ledger at 3.26pm (9.35am NZT), and tried to wake him for his appointment with a masseuse, who was also in the home, Browne said.
A medical examiner conducted a preliminary investigation and the body was wheeled out of the fifth-floor apartment in a stretcher, covered in a black body bag, about three hours after he was found.
PERSONAL HISTORY
Ledger was nominated for an Academy Award as best lead actor for 2005's Brokeback Mountain, but the Oscar went to Philip Seymour Hoffman for his role as Truman Capote. Ledger did win a New York Film Critics Circle award for the role.
The handsome star last year broke up with his companion, actress Michelle Williams, who played his wife in Brokeback and was the real-life mother of their two-year-old daughter, Matilda.
Williams is reportedly on her way to New York after hearing of his death.
Ledger once said he was ready to die because he could live on in his child.
"Having a child changes every aspect of your life - for the better, of course. The sacrifices are large, but what you get in return is even bigger than the sacrifices you make. I feel, in a sense, ready to die because you are living on in your child," Ledger told In Touch Weekly in November.
The couple tried to keep a low profile by living in Brooklyn but still appeared often in the gossip pages. He moved to Manhattan after the break-up.
"He was a very simple guy. You wouldn't know he was an actor unless you saw him on TV," Tamba Mossa, the building's superintendent, told reporters.
MOB SCENE
A crowd of about 200 people and 75 reporters gathered outside his building on Broome Street, with fans snapping pictures on their cell phones.
"I feel a bit silly being one of the ones gawking, but it's horribly sad. In Brokeback Mountain, it was one of the first times I was moved by an actor of my own generation," said Drew Klein, 25, who works in film production.
"He means a lot to us. We look up to actors like Heath Ledger," said Jack Payne, 20, an acting student.
Less than an hour after news of Ledger's death broke, fan sites including www.heathledger.net, www.heathbaby.com and www.heathledgercentral.com and www.heathledger.com had melted down and were inaccessible.
Messages of sorrow from fans flooded unofficial Heath Ledger pages and fan groups on MySpace and Facebook. Already, at least two "R.I.P Heath Ledger'' Facebook groups have been created as memorials.
Ledger's other film credits included The Patriot, Monster's Ball and the title role in Casanova. He was due to appear this year as The Joker in the next Batman film, The Dark Knight, which had completed filming.
He stars in the currently playing I'm Not There, one of several actors playing a role representing Bob Dylan.
"The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent," Alan Horn, president and COO of Warner Bros and Jeff Robinov, president of Warner Bros Pictures Group, said in a statement.
"Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts go out to his family and friends."
PROBLEMS SLEEPING
Ledger was taking sleeping pills after completing I'm Not There, in which he played one of the many incarnations of singer Bob Dylan.
He told The New York Times in a November interview that he "stressed out a little too much'' during the Dylan film, and had trouble sleeping while portraying the Joker, whom he called a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy".
"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told the Times.
"I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going."
Ledger's publicist Mara Buxbaum appealed for the media to not speculate on how Ledger died.
"We are all deeply saddened and shocked by this accident,'' Ledger's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said in a statement tonight.
"This is an extremely difficult time for his loved ones and we are asking the media to please respect the family's privacy and avoid speculation until the facts are known.''
*Watch Heath Ledger play The Joker in this trailer from A Dark Knight
-With Reuters, AAP & SMH
TOO SOON: Australian actor Heath Ledger has been found dead in a Manhattan apartment.
Australian actor Heath Ledger, the gifted leading man acclaimed for his role as a gay cowboy in the film Brokeback Mountain, has been found dead in his Manhattan apartment, possibly of an accidental drug overdose.Ledger, 28, was found face down and naked at the foot of the bed by a housekeeper at his apartment in the upmarket SoHo neighborhood, police spokesman Paul Browne said.
Family members said they had been told by police the actor's death was accidental, and were particularly distraught over media speculation that he may have taken his own life.
"We, Heath's family, can confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda," his father Kim said
"He was found peacefully asleep in his New York apartment by his housekeeper. He was down to earth, generous, kind hearted, life loving unselfish individual extremely inspirational to many."
Ledger was pronounced dead at the scene but no cause had been determined. TMZ.com reported he was suffering from pneumonia, but this was not confirmed by police.
"We are investigating the possibility of an overdose. There were pills within the vicinity of the bed," Browne said, adding that the prescription medicine included sleeping pills.
The housekeeper found Ledger at 3.26pm (9.35am NZT), and tried to wake him for his appointment with a masseuse, who was also in the home, Browne said.
A medical examiner conducted a preliminary investigation and the body was wheeled out of the fifth-floor apartment in a stretcher, covered in a black body bag, about three hours after he was found.
PERSONAL HISTORY
Ledger was nominated for an Academy Award as best lead actor for 2005's Brokeback Mountain, but the Oscar went to Philip Seymour Hoffman for his role as Truman Capote. Ledger did win a New York Film Critics Circle award for the role.
The handsome star last year broke up with his companion, actress Michelle Williams, who played his wife in Brokeback and was the real-life mother of their two-year-old daughter, Matilda.
Williams is reportedly on her way to New York after hearing of his death.
Ledger once said he was ready to die because he could live on in his child.
"Having a child changes every aspect of your life - for the better, of course. The sacrifices are large, but what you get in return is even bigger than the sacrifices you make. I feel, in a sense, ready to die because you are living on in your child," Ledger told In Touch Weekly in November.
The couple tried to keep a low profile by living in Brooklyn but still appeared often in the gossip pages. He moved to Manhattan after the break-up.
"He was a very simple guy. You wouldn't know he was an actor unless you saw him on TV," Tamba Mossa, the building's superintendent, told reporters.
MOB SCENE
A crowd of about 200 people and 75 reporters gathered outside his building on Broome Street, with fans snapping pictures on their cell phones.
"I feel a bit silly being one of the ones gawking, but it's horribly sad. In Brokeback Mountain, it was one of the first times I was moved by an actor of my own generation," said Drew Klein, 25, who works in film production.
"He means a lot to us. We look up to actors like Heath Ledger," said Jack Payne, 20, an acting student.
Less than an hour after news of Ledger's death broke, fan sites including www.heathledger.net, www.heathbaby.com and www.heathledgercentral.com and www.heathledger.com had melted down and were inaccessible.
Messages of sorrow from fans flooded unofficial Heath Ledger pages and fan groups on MySpace and Facebook. Already, at least two "R.I.P Heath Ledger'' Facebook groups have been created as memorials.
Ledger's other film credits included The Patriot, Monster's Ball and the title role in Casanova. He was due to appear this year as The Joker in the next Batman film, The Dark Knight, which had completed filming.
He stars in the currently playing I'm Not There, one of several actors playing a role representing Bob Dylan.
"The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent," Alan Horn, president and COO of Warner Bros and Jeff Robinov, president of Warner Bros Pictures Group, said in a statement.
"Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts go out to his family and friends."
PROBLEMS SLEEPING
Ledger was taking sleeping pills after completing I'm Not There, in which he played one of the many incarnations of singer Bob Dylan.
He told The New York Times in a November interview that he "stressed out a little too much'' during the Dylan film, and had trouble sleeping while portraying the Joker, whom he called a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy".
"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told the Times.
"I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going."
Ledger's publicist Mara Buxbaum appealed for the media to not speculate on how Ledger died.
"We are all deeply saddened and shocked by this accident,'' Ledger's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said in a statement tonight.
"This is an extremely difficult time for his loved ones and we are asking the media to please respect the family's privacy and avoid speculation until the facts are known.''
*Watch Heath Ledger play The Joker in this trailer from A Dark Knight
-With Reuters, AAP & SMH