| 23rd January 2008 04:41 PM |
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| glencar |
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0159776/ |
| 23rd January 2008 04:47 PM |
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| gypsy |
quote:
FotiniD wrote:
I wouldn't put too much faith over a momentary look on his face on a couple of photos. He didn't have too many reasons to be depressed really. On the other hand, he did hang out with all the wrong kind of people lately (see Olsen twins or Lindsay Lohan). Who knows.
The autopsy was said to be inconclusive and they're gonna wait for more test results within the next 10 days. I've read Elena Christensen had tried to reach him on the phone but he didn't answer, and she was on the way to his home when she found out. Makes you think of all the little details - like, had she tried to go over his place earlier, maybe she'd had found him still alive and all that. Life hangs on such little details, doesn't it?
Strange that Helena Christensen has dated two Aussies who died under mysterious circumstances - both Heath Ledger and Michael Hutchence, whose death we'll never know was suicidal or accidental.
I'm thinking Heath's may have been accidental overdose. They said that the pill BOTTLES were scattered around the room, not the pills themselves. Also, he had prescriptions from Europe which he combined with his American prescriptions. Poor guy. I feel awful for his little girl, Mathilda. |
| 23rd January 2008 05:01 PM |
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| steel driving hammer |
Willie's Gay Cowboy Homage...
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| 23rd January 2008 06:23 PM |
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| texile |
i'm usually pretty cynical about brooding actors and their poses, ala sean penn etc...
but ledger was unpretentious and seemed to genuinely resist the spotlight...
he was the real thing - as an actor and person. |
| 23rd January 2008 06:26 PM |
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| CrissCrossMind |
Mama don't let you babies ... grow up to be Cowboys ... they're always alone ... even with someone they love ... |
| 23rd January 2008 06:28 PM |
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| time is on my side |
It appears from this article (if it's accurate) that Heath Leger was addicted to heroin and was very depressed about the break up from his girlfriend (the mother of his child). The break up seems to be due to his drug usage.
Jack Nicholson on drugs death of Brokeback Mountain star Heath Ledger: 'I warned him'
By MARK COLEMAN and RICHARD SIMPSON
The news of Brokeback Mountain star Heath Ledger's death in a New York apartment has caused shockwaves around the world, but it didn't come as a surprise to one Hollywood star.
A revealing – if ambiguous - comment made by Jack Nicholson hints he was aware Ledger was battling personal demons.
The acting veteran, who played the Batman's most famous Joker, said in London last night: "I warned him.”
Shock: Hollywood star Heath Ledger (right) cut a tragic figure in his last days on set of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus in London over the weekend. Left: the last picture of the star, also taken on set
Read more...
Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett lead tributes as Hollywood mourns fallen star Heath Ledger
Nicholson arrives in a puff of smoke... and blows fan away with a kiss
The comment came as it emerged that police had recovered a rolled-up $20 note from the apartment.
Warning: On hearing of Heath Ledger's death, Jack Nicholson said in London last night 'I warned him'
At a press conference NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly admitted that "no testing has been done for narcotics at this time" on the note, but it is something the police are looking into.
A source told CBS 2 that several drug packets containing an unknown substance had also been found but Kelly refused to elaborate on this, saying only, "Some of them were sleeping pills, in essence, and some other drugs there as well. ... We are going to wait for the toxicology report."
His family have rejected speculation that he committed suicide earlier.
An initial autopsy carried out by the New York City Medical Examiner was "inconclusive", according to U.S. reports.
The official investigation was launched after a police spokesperson confirmed that presciption anxiety drugs Valim and Zoloft as well as sleeping medication Ambien were found in the vicinity of the actor's body.
In Perth, his home town, Ledger's father Kim read out a statement in which he insisted the death was an accident.
Surrounded by his ex-wife Sally and their sobbing daughter Kate, he said: “We confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda.”
He went on to describe his son as "a down-to-earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving and selfless individual who was extremely inspirational to many."
Kim continued: "Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life that few had the pleasure of truly knowing him."
Ledger's ex-fiancée Michelle Williams and their two year old daughter Matilda flew from a film set in Sweden to their home in Brooklyn following the tragedy.
"You can't begin to imagine the state she's in," an executive on the film told the Mail Online.
It has been revealed Ledger made a friend promise to call and “wake me up” hours before his death.
Film director Shekhar Kapur said Ledger had asked him to call the next morning during a conversation on the eve of the tragedy.
Kapur, who directed Ledger in The Four Feathers, telephoned him on Monday after arriving in New York from London.
“I last spoke to him the night before he died. He said he could not see me that night but really wanted to meet me the next day. He made me promise that I would call him in the morning and wake him up. I tried. Little did I know that his soul had already left his body,” he said.
He added: “He was one of the most gentle, most honest, most caring, and most compassionate persons I had met.”
The actor was found dead at a SoHo, Manhattan residence, where he had been staying on a temporary basis.
Meanwhile Naomi Watts, who dated Ledger for two years after they met on the set of Ned Kelly in 2002, has cancelled all her press at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where she was set to promote her upcoming thriller Funny Games.
The actress is said to be devastated by his death and will not attend her film premiere tonight reports Usmagazine.com.
Heartbroken: In a statement, Heath's family, including father Kim and mother Sally with his sister Kate outside their home in Perth today, described the star as 'generous, kind-hearted and life-loving'
Sources told Mail Online today that Ledger had been battling substance abuse problems - including an addiction to heroin - for some time.
"He had a stint in rehab last year when he was treated for heroin," a source told The Daily Mail, adding that Ledger was increasingly introverted at the time of his death.
There are claims the strain of playing the Joker in the new Batman film may have proved too much for the star – in a recent interview, he told how the role of a “murderous psychopath” had left him “sleepless and exhausted”. He is also said to have recently suffered pneumonia.
He was only sleeping around two hours a night, with reports speculating his reliance on sleeping pills led to his "accidental overdose".
A housekeeper at Ledger's New York City apartment made the shocking discovery of his body face down on a bed at 3.20pm local time on Tuesday afternoon.
Minutes earlier, the housekeeper had opened the door to a masseuse, who had an appointment with the actor.
The Hollywood website TMZ.com reported that Ledger was in cardiac arrest when emergency services arrived on the scene.
The actor's body was moved to the floor but subsequent attempts to revive him failed and he was pronounced dead at 3.35pm, at the scene.
His remains were removed by police in a body bag from the apartment three hours after his death.
Her father Larry Williams said: “It has just broken everybody's heart in my family. I think Tennyson got it right in the poem he described someone as having died at a young age but burning the candles at both ends. And oh what a beautiful flame he made. That was Heath.”
He said Ledger was devoted to his daughter Matilda.
"The saddest thing is his daughter whom he just loved dearly. The Tennyson poem is just so true. His years were few but he left a beautiful legacy."
An insider disclosed that the Oscar nominated star had been battling substance abuse problems during the later part of his life.
Perth-born Ledger took his break-up with Williams last September very badly, according to the source.
"Heath was shattered by his split from Michelle," the source told Mail Online, adding: "He became a recluse. He barely slept he was dealing with terrible mood swings."
Ledger spent the past several months mourning the loss of his relationship with Williams and friends say he had become an introvert, who was headed in a downward spiral.
"Heath totally wanted to be on his own these past few months since he and Michelle split in September," says a source. "She was very much in love with him, but the fact he continued to dabble in drugs kept their relationship from being one she could rely on.
"He adored his daughter Matilda, and when Michelle called it quits, he missed Matilda so much that he was thrown into a deep dark depression.
"Heath was living in New York to be close to his daughter. But he hardly ever ventured out anymore.
"His close friend and Brokeback co-star, Jake Gyllenhaal has been worried about him for months. And he knew Heath was sinking further into a depression. Jake is Matilda's godfather, and he and Heath had become really close since they did the film Brokeback together.
"Jake wanted Heath to get help, but he refused, and now it looks as though he may have died of a drug overdose.
"Michelle will be devastated by the news, because she always hoped he would get help and they could manage to work out their relationship for the sake of their daughter.
"Now poor little Matty is left without a father, and Heath has died a senseless death.
"He had so much to live for and he was so talented. He was working on a new film, and he had everything in life to live for. Now, tragically, he has thrown it all away at just 28."
Industry observers spoke last night of the increasingly "unhinged" way that Ledger has carried himself professionally and personally in recent months.
"It's easy to think an actor is just dressing bizarrely and acting weird on the red carpet to try to drum up some interest in themselves. But a picture is fast emerging, through discussions with his friends and work associates, that Heath has really been very out of it for months.
Being Bob: Ledger played Bob Dylan in I'm Not There
"And he's been battling some pretty serious demons. It's just so incredible that it was allowed to gone on unchecked for so long."
Ledger's former fiancée Williams failed to talk sense into her now deceased former partner.
"She cared for him deeply but his life was unmanageable," said the source. "As much as she wanted to stay together, he was a different person these past couple of years.
"The tragic reality was that he lost his grip on life."
As for Ledger's trip to rehab, the source said: "It was during his filming of The Dark Knight. Heath's addiction was really getting in the way of his ability to act. He went to rehab but left fairly quickly, within a number of days.
"Tragically, he never really faced up to his addictions. Had he done so, he would be alive today."
It was at the Venice Film Festival in September of last year that Ledger first started displaying signs of being floored by his split with Williams and at was then that friends noticed a change of behaviour in him.
After behaving oddly during a press junket at the festival on the Venice Lido all day on September 3rd, Ledger went alone to a party thrown by Italian designer Alberta Ferretti on a yacht moored off the main city at 10pm.
Ledger arrived dressed "as if he was homeless", said a source.
"It looked as if he was if he was trying to make some kind of point. He drifted around the party not talking to anyone for half an hour and then just walked off into the night like a lost soul. It was most odd.
"He and Richard Gere were both special guests at the party. But Heath was just like a ghost. It was obvious something awful had happened to him."
In an interview last November, Ledger spoke of the joy of fatherhood; "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."
Chief among his celebrity confidants during the final stages of his life was fellow Australian Naomi Watts, who dated Ledger for two years after meeting on the set of Ned Kelly.
Ledger was currently in the middle of filming the Terry Gilliam movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus at the time of his death. Last weekend, he was photographed dressed as a clown on set in London.
The fantasy-adventure film about a travelling theatre troupe was scheduled for release next year.
Born in Perth, Western Australia, to race car driver Kim Ledger and French teacher Sally Bell, the actor left school at age 16 to pursue his acting career in Sydney.
After making his TV debut in children's TV series Clowning Around at the age of 13, Ledger made his first big screen outing in Australian drama Blackrock.
Ledger's breakout Hollywood role came in 1999 teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You, alongside Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
After high-profile roles opposite Mel Gibson in The Patriot and Halle Berry in Monster's Ball, Ledger was firmly established as a leading man in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain in 2005.
Ledger was Oscar-nominated for his acclaimed performance as gay cowboy Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, but missed out to Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won the Academy Award for Capote.
He can currently be seen in cinemas playing Bob Dylan in I'm Not There alongside Cate Blanchett and Richard Gere.
His performance as The Joker in Batman sequel The Dark Knight has already received a good reception from test audiences. The movie is expected to be a blockbuster when it is released this summer.
Warner Bros. Pictures Group, who produced the Batman movie, has issued a statement: "The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. 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."
As well as his film career, Ledger also had a love for music and started a record company with American musician Ben Harper.
Ledger's demise comes just a week after the sudden death of another young Hollywood star, 25-year-old Brad Renfro. It is believed Renfro died of a suspected drug overdose.
Despite his high-profile relationships with Williams, Watts and Heather Graham, Ledger hated the media attention that came with his fame and had often hit the headlines for altercations with the paparazzi.
As well as his parents and daughter Matilda, Ledger is also survived by his sister Katherine, and half-sisters Olivia Ledger and Ashleigh Bell.
Heath Ledger's filmography
The Dark Knight (2008}
I'm Not There (2007)
Candy (2006)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
Ned Kelly (2003)
The Four Feathers (2002)
Monster's Ball (2001)
A Knight's Tale (2001)
The Patriot (2000)
Two Hands (1999)
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Paws (1997)
Blackrock (1997)
Clowning Around (1992)
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| 23rd January 2008 06:30 PM |
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| glencar |
He did smack? |
| 23rd January 2008 06:53 PM |
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| texile |
who knows -
he did that movie about heroin addiction, candy, and when i heard about his death, i admit i wondered if he became drawn into it for real through filming.
renfro was also trying to recover from heroin addiction.
i'm very sad for both of them.
i must confess, it bothers when all these 'friends' come out and talk about how much they worried about him....
'ho heath looked lost..' blah, blah...
they mean well, i suppose, but i just don't think now is the time for that.
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| 23rd January 2008 06:57 PM |
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| glencar |
What can you do unless you're an intimate friend of these people? I know of people who are troubled & I do what I can but it's easier to insinuate yourself into the lives of those closest to me. Michelle Williams dumped him for his addiction, apparently. Tough love doesn't always work. |
| 23rd January 2008 07:14 PM |
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| texile |
i don't know if you can ever really do anything -
i know troubled people too,
and i've learned that you can't 'save' someone....
it has to be thier move. |
| 24th January 2008 02:57 AM |
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| FotiniD |
quote:
Factory Girl wrote:
My dear FotiniD,
Depression is anything but rational. He may have had every reason to be content--talent, young daughter, great career--but he may not have seen his own happiness. We'll never know.
Then again, his death may be purely accidental, but we'll have to wait for this to play it.
Btw, Helena Christensen used to seriously date Michael Hutchence of INXS.
You're right Factory Girl, that's true. You can have everything in the world and still suffer from depression. I never really figured how this works, but it does.
And I agree with texile too. You can't 'save' someone, unless they want to be saved.
Now how about that... Check out this press release by a bunch of weirdo's.... God, this world is full of morons.
Now, if someone will kindly explain to me what kind of justice system in this world allows a person like Heath Ledger to die like that, while at the same time little pathetic excuses of brain activity like Westboro Baptist Church members continue to use up oxygen and space?
[Edited by FotiniD] |
| 24th January 2008 11:43 AM |
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| PartyDoll MEG |
Fotini...Lots of scary shit out there...
And what is even worse is that lots of people believe this scary shit!!!
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| 24th January 2008 01:49 PM |
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| monkey_man |
Leave it to a Fox News host to politicize Ledgers' death. . .
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/23/gibson-mocks-ledger/
[Edited by monkey_man] |
| 24th January 2008 03:22 PM |
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| texile |
very sick -
both fox's gibson and the crazy baptists....
who thinks like this? |
| 24th January 2008 03:36 PM |
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| LadyJane |
quote:
monkey_man wrote:
Leave it to a Fox News host to politicize Ledgers' death. . .
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/23/gibson-mocks-ledger/
[Edited by monkey_man]
Disgusting, yet typical!!! 
LJ. |
| 24th January 2008 04:21 PM |
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| gypsy |
quote:
Factory Girl wrote:
My dear FotiniD,
Depression is anything but rational. He may have had every reason to be content--talent, young daughter, great career--but he may not have seen his own happiness. We'll never know.
Then again, his death may be purely accidental, but we'll have to wait for this to play it.
Btw, Helena Christensen used to seriously date Michael Hutchence of INXS.
Great post, FG. I agree 100%. |
| 24th January 2008 05:15 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
monkey_man wrote:
Leave it to a Fox News host to politicize Ledgers' death. . .
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/23/gibson-mocks-ledger/
[Edited by monkey_man]
Fuck me, you wouldn't half know there's a writer's strike. Pathetic.
This guy and those religious loonies would greatly be improved by an outbreak of sudden death. |
| 24th January 2008 05:51 PM |
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| Factory Girl |
quote:
gypsy wrote:
Great post, FG. I agree 100%.
Thank you, my lovely friend gypsy.
Btw, I wonder why Jake Gylenhal (sp?) has remained silent??? Even if he disdains the press, his public silence is sour and demeans his regard for Heath. |
| 24th January 2008 06:18 PM |
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| gypsy |
quote:
Factory Girl wrote:
Thank you, my lovely friend gypsy.
Btw, I wonder why Jake Gylenhal (sp?) has remained silent??? Even if he disdains the press, his public silence is sour and demeans his regard for Heath.
Jake is a very intelligent man. I'm sure he'll have something intelligent to say when he feels it's time.
Did you know he is Matilda's godfather? |
| 25th January 2008 02:47 AM |
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| FotiniD |
quote:
Factory Girl wrote:
Thank you, my lovely friend gypsy.
Btw, I wonder why Jake Gylenhal (sp?) has remained silent??? Even if he disdains the press, his public silence is sour and demeans his regard for Heath.
I read he's devastated. He's on set filming and they have security keeping the press outside.
I think it's understadable... He was one of his best friends, and Matilda's godfather as Gypsy said, the last thing he'd want to do is speak to the press about it when he probably can't believe it happened yet. |
| 25th January 2008 08:30 AM |
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| Factory Girl |
Yes, I read that Jake is Matilda's godfather.
Speaking of Jake, did any of you see him in the movie about a giant Rabbit (name of movie escapes me)? |
| 25th January 2008 09:19 AM |
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| glencar |
Donnie Darko? I haven't seen it but I think that's what you mean... |
| 25th January 2008 10:06 AM |
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| sirmoonie |
quote:
monkey_man wrote:
Leave it to a Fox News host to politicize Ledgers' death. . .
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/23/gibson-mocks-ledger/
[Edited by monkey_man]
Haha! That's the guy in my tag line. Not the moof piss comment, the other classic. I had forgotten the guy's name, and couldn't remember which program I saw him on. It was bugging me for months, should have guessed it was something on Fox, duh.
That cheap suit geek is one sheltered white boy. Is he a Mormon? |
| 25th January 2008 10:28 AM |
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| Riffhard |
quote:
monkey_man wrote:
Leave it to a Fox News host to politicize Ledgers' death. . .
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/23/gibson-mocks-ledger/
[Edited by monkey_man]
Well I don't think that you can pin this idiot's remark on Fox News. There is a very real reason that stations run the disclaimer that says these views are not those of Fox News or it's clients, blah,blah,blah...
John Gibson is a jerk plain and simple. He was trying to do exactly what he did. Namely, get a reaction. He's a prick. All you need to do is read moonie's sig to get an idea of what he's all about.
He's Fox News' answer to that prick Jack Cafferty at CNN. Both of them are curmudgeonly blowhards.
Riffy |
| 25th January 2008 10:35 AM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
He's got cool hair though. Check it out. I wonder what he uses for gel?
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| 25th January 2008 11:08 AM |
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| Factory Girl |
quote:
glencar wrote:
Donnie Darko? I haven't seen it but I think that's what you mean...
YEs, Donnie Darko! Its a cult teen favorite, little bizarro movie.
TY, glennie.  |
| 25th January 2008 11:08 AM |
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| glencar |
As asinine as John Gibson's comments were, look at the comments posted below by readers of the hit piece. Neither side knows how to act these days. It should be noted that Gibson said this nonsense on his radio show, not on Fox News Channel. |
| 25th January 2008 11:09 AM |
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| glencar |
quote:
Factory Girl wrote:
YEs, Donnie Darko! Its a cult teen favorite, little bizarro movie.
TY, glennie.
YW, natch! I see it listed on HBO occasionally. I'll get around to it one day. |
| 25th January 2008 11:11 AM |
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| TampabayStone |
quote:
Ten Thousand Motels wrote:
He's got cool hair though. Check it out. I wonder what he uses for gel?
Yes, but not even close to Cris Collingsworth cool. |
| 25th January 2008 11:19 AM |
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| sirmoonie |
quote:
Ten Thousand Motels wrote:
He's got cool hair though. Check it out. I wonder what he uses for gel?
Holy fucking Mormo-Jesus, that geek is absolutely wearing the Temple undergarments.
Nice tie though, I have a similar one. I think its a Jerry Garcia, at least mine is. Hey JB, is that a Jerry Garcia tie? |
