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Heath Ledger Found Dead

Karina Longworth
By Karina Longworth posted 1 year ago
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38_heath_ledger.jpgThe NY Times and CNN are reporting that Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in a Soho apartment. According to this NY Times blog post, a housekeeper let a masseuse into the apartment for an appointment, and when they knocked on his bedroom door and there was no response, they went in and found him unconscious. Unnamed pills were allegedly found near the body.

Ledger, of course, was one of the Bob Dylans in Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There; he also stars as the Joker in this summer’s eagerly anticipated Batman sequel, The Dark Knight. He recently split with Michelle Williams, with whom he had a child.

More details as they come in.

UPDATE: In the comments, Chris wonders if Ledger was finished shooting The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus with Terry Gilliam. According to this CBS story, filming was still in progress.

UPDATE 5:15 EST: The NY Times blog post linked above has been updated to say that Ledger was found in an apartment owned by Mary-Kate Olsen. Both STAR and TMZ are referring to the apartment as belonging to Ledger. Olsen has a high-profile cameo in The Wackness, which premiered this weekend to wildly mixed reviews at Sundance.

UPDATE 5:29 EST: NYT is now using the word “suicide.” TMZ apparently has a spy close to the scene who says the medical examiner is on the way. In their typically classy fashion, they’re running with the headline, “Ledger Death Bed Strewn With Pills.”

UPDATE 5:45 EST: TMZ is now reporting essentially the opposite of the NY Times. The AOL-owned gossip site says that Ledger, a recovering addict, accidentally overdosed in an apartment that “was not owned by Mary-Kate Olsen or related to her in any way.”

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  • Christopher Campbell said

    Very sad news. I am really excited about his Joker and about seeing him in the next Terry Gilliam film — if he was even done shooting that one.

  • James McNally said

    Fairly shocking. I didn’t really like much of his early work, but had new respect after seeing Brokeback Mountain.

  • Ryan Balas said

    this is all very sad.

  • Christopher Campbell said

    I don’t understand why news writers use wording like “Ledger was to appear as the Joker.” How about, IS to appear as the Joker. Are no reporters aware that he was long since done with making The Dark Knight? They act like now that he’s dead he won’t still be the Joker.

  • Paul said

    Hear, hear, Christopher - my thoughts exactly. Very sad news, but it’s like do people have any idea how films are made? Filming on The Dark Knight is completed, he’s done his job already, he’ll still be in it. Now it will be one huge tribute to him as his final performance.

  • J said

    WhAT iF tHERe is LiFE AfTeR DeAtH? HAHAHAHA

  • Movie Marketing Madness » Ledger’s passing and the future of The Dark Knight said

    [...] [Pic via Spout] [...]

  • analogzombie (spout) said

    Truly sad news. What I am most unsettled by is the constant refrain that his role as The Joker in The Dark Knight sent him into a personal space that required the use of several valium and xanax to get to sleep at night. No one needs “several” of either to get knocked out, witht he exception of maybe Rush Limbaugh, but then he’s as big as a horse.

    Ledger has left soem amazing work and I only regret that we’ll never get to see just how far he would go.

  • The PHA : links for 2008-01-24 said

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  • Celebrities » Blog Archive » SpoutBlog " Heath Ledger Found Dead said

    [...] Source: SpoutBlog " Heath Ledger Found Dead [...]