Heath Ledger Dead - Aussie actor Heath Ledger dead from pneumonia and a sleeping pill overdose, dying in his sleep two days after returning from London where he was filming “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”
Initial reports saying “Heath Ledger dead in suicide” were completely wrong. Heath had a couple of prescriptions to treat his severe lung congestion, aka walking pneumonia, and a bottle of prescription sleeping pills, which is not unusual when you just traveled seven time zones the day before.
Heath was found dead in his bed by a housekeeper and a masseuse who both arrived about 3:15 PM today. The masseuse phoned a close friend, a bodyguard for the Olsen twins who is also an EMT and was just around the corner while the housekeeper called 911.
EMTs arrived quickly, but Heath Ledger died some time earlier and could not be revived. Michele Williams, mother of his daughter Matilda Rose, was informed and is on her way to New York along with Heath’s family.
The lid on the bottle of sleeping pills was loose and they and the other presription bottles on the nightstand were knocked over when the EMTs pulled Ledger from the bed and attempted CPR on the floor, leading to news reports that there were prescription pills and pill bottles scattered about.
Heath Ledger dead at 28.
Australia’s Prime Minister Paul Rudd said: “It was with great sadness that I have learned of the passing of Heath Ledger. It is tragic that we have lost one of our nation’s finest actors in the prime of his life. Heath Ledger’s diverse and challenging roles will be remembered as some of the great performances by an Australian actor.”
Heath Ledger became a star in “10 Things I Hate About You.”
Oscar-winning actor-director Mel Gibson — who cast Ledger to play his son in 2001’s US war of independence epic “The Patriot” — described the 28-year-old actor’s death as “tragic” in a statement.
“I had such great hope for him,” Gibson said. “He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”
Australian screen star Nicole Kidman echoed Gibson’s comments in a statement. “What a tragedy. My heart goes out to his family.”Â
Studio giant Warner Bros. said the entertainment industry had lost a “brilliant actor and an exceptional person.”
“The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news,” Warner Bros chief Alan Horn and Warner Bros Picture Group president Jeff Robinov said in a statement.
“The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent. Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.”
Heath Ledger in London on January 19, 2008Â filming his final role…
And that’s the sad news on Heath Ledger dead.
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January 22nd, 2008 at 11:31 pm
More About Heath Ledger’s Death
Prescription sleeping pills were Ambien and cops say it definitely looks like an accidental death.
Ledger told The New York Times in a November interview that he “stressed out a little too much” and had trouble sleeping while portraying the Joker in the recently wrapped Batman film “The Dark Knight”, a part 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 newspaper. “I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” He said he took two Ambien pills, which worked for only an hour, the paper said.
Here’s a link to a really prophetic interview video where Heath told WJW FOX in Cleveland (while talking about his daughter Matilda Rose), “I feel good about dying because I feel alive through her.”
http://www.tmz.com/tmz_main_video?titleid=1387524799
Fans have started a makeshift memorial outside his apartment building:
January 29th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
the cause of death hasn’t been confirmed yet!