BREAKING NEWS: It has been reported that Australian actor Heath Ledger has been found dead at a downtown Manhattan residence, according to a New York Police Department spokesman.

A police spokesman said Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the apartment in Broome Street, Manhattan, that is believed to be his home.

The housekeeper went to tell Ledger the masseuse had arrived and found him dead Tuesday afternoon, Paul Browne said.

Ledger was an Oscar nominee for his role in Brokeback Mountain and had numerous other screen credits.

He stars in the upcoming The Dark Knight Batman movie as the Joker, and also in the Oscar-nominated biopic I'm Not There, taking one of the roles of Bob Dylan.

He split last year from wife, Michelle Williams, with whom he has a daughter.

His apartment was strewn with pills, sources said. It was unclear if it was an intentional or accidental death.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,2...469-661,00.html

devastated.

he was gorgeous & i loved him in 10 things i hate about you

omg..
And he plays the Joker in the new Batman movie - Thats definately going to be wierd to watch now
I cant believe he died, he was an awesome actor

I loved him. I've watched 10 Things I Hate About You so many times and also A Knights Tale.
It's so sad that he died. I heard it on the radio this morning when i woke up, i was shocked and couldn't believe it.
His poor daughter now, she's the one that will suffer in the long run.
May he rest in peace.

Another life gone just like that.
So sad..

Very sad

Another talented life wasted - may he rest in peace

Are the famous people cursed cos lately it seems like they are, all having break downs or dieing young? Shame he died so young.

PAEI O ANTHROPOS


RIP

what happened was such a shock.
i feel nauseated everytime i see his lifeless body bag on the tv screen.
biggest tragety ever.
he was an awesome actor with such a positive vibe.
god bless his soul and may he look over his daughter from where he is.

rip.

this feels so weird. haha

may he rest in peace and god be with his little girl

its devastating news, he was extremely talented and had so much more to give

didn't see this one coming, irwin and brock yes, they had a dangerous lifestyle, anna nicole yes, just dangerous full stop, but heath ledger? psixoula itana, never got caught up in all that hollywood crap

krima re pedia.
i loved him in a knights tale

it's devastating.. someone so young resorting to sleeping pills and somewhat overdosing on them.. and yeah i liked him most in 10 thingsi have about you...... he was an actor who had just reached his peak, he had a unique style about him... what can you do... the good die young and more or less things happen for a reason... maybe it was his time... you never know...

krimas

rest in peace heath - always, always loved your work ! xx

Sad that he died so young.

They say that after the filming of Brokeback Mountain he had become addicted to crack...

This is so tragic and sad. Such a talent so rare so beautiful, he was just growing as a mature person learning how to accept the media as part of his career choice, it seems he had mellowed since the birth of his daughter. Why ?? Life really doesnt seem fair at times.
RIP Heath. God Bless you and your family.

He was a talented actor but most importantly he was a father. That is what makes it tragic. RIP

It will take up to two weeks to determine the cause of Heath Ledger's death, the New York City Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday, but police were investigating the possibility of a drug overdose as additional details emerged about the discovery of the 28-year-old actor's body.

Authorities said a rolled-up $20 bill was found near Ledger's body on the floor of his loft, and that one of the women who discovered him had phoned actress Mary-Kate Olsen before she called authorities.

New York police said masseuse Diana Wolozin, who had an appointment to give Ledger a massage at his Soho loft, called Olsen in California using the actor's cellphone, knowing that she was a friend of his, and only after a second conversation with the actress did she call 911 at 3:26 p.m. to report that Ledger was unresponsive.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said no illegal drugs were found in the spacious loft and that no drug residue was visible on the rolled-up $20 bill.

On Tuesday, a police spokesman at the scene reported that sleeping pills were found near the bed and other prescription drugs were in the bathroom, reportedly including antidepressants, but that there was no sign of foul play and no note.

An autopsy Wednesday proved "inconclusive," the city medical examiner said. Authorities said they would have to wait 10 days to two weeks for the results of toxicology and tissue tests to find out what killed the actor, who won acclaim for his portrayal of a gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain."

On Wednesday, Det. Brian Sessa provided a timeline of how Ledger's body was discovered:

* At about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, housekeeper Teresa Solomon arrived to clean the apartment on Broome Street. Half an hour later, while changing a bathroom lightbulb, she saw Ledger facedown on his bed and heard him snoring.

* Ledger did not come out of the bedroom when the masseuse arrived at 2:45 p.m., so Wolozin called his cellphone, apparently to wake him, and got no response. Entering the bedroom, the masseuse started setting up her table, but the actor did not wake when she stirred him.

* Wolozin then speed-dialed Olsen using Ledger's phone to report that the actor was unconscious, and Olsen called a security firm in New York. Soon after, the masseuse phoned Olsen again to say that Ledger remained unconscious. She then called 911.

* A New York City Fire Department emergency crew was unable to revive the actor when it reached the loft at 3:33 p.m. Guards from the security firm called by Olsen reached the scene about the same time.

During their efforts to revive Ledger, the paramedics moved his body off the bed, police said, thus explaining a statement by a police spokesman Tuesday night that the actor had been found naked on the floor.

Police said the witnesses were cooperating, including Olsen, who for a time attended nearby New York University with her twin sister.

"The whole thing is still under investigation," Sessa said.

Hollywood was paying close attention to updates in the investigation, as filmmakers who had been working with Ledger on upcoming movies tried to figure out how his death would affect their projects.

In the weeks before his return to New York on Sunday, Ledger had been working in London on the $30-million Terry Gilliam fantasy movie "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," about a theater impresario (played by Christopher Plummer) who offers audience members the opportunity to cross through a magical mirror into a universe of limitless imagination.

On a day when a Times reporter was present on the set, Ledger, whose roguish character falls in love with Dr. Parnassus' daughter, was wearing a white-pinstriped suit with a red cravat, a Venetian mask around his neck and gold paint glistening from his face. The actor was suffering from a cold, but remained friendly and chatty with the cast and crew.

Ledger, who had worked with Gilliam on 2005's "The Brothers Grimm," was devoted to the director, who hadn't asked him to star in the new film. Explained Gilliam: "[Heath] was working at my effects company doing an animated pop video . . . and one day I was showing a storyboard, projecting it to the effects guys, and in the middle of that he slipped me a note and he said, 'Can I play Tony?' And bingo."

The production had recently wrapped its filming in London and was scheduled to shoot an additional 23 days of special-effects sequences in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Gilliam planned to create the inside of the Imaginarium. The production has reportedly shut down temporarily. Producers for the film did not return calls, and it was unclear if the part could or would be recast.

For the last year, Ledger also had been gearing up for his directorial debut, working with veteran screenwriter Allan Scott on an adaptation of the Walter Tevis novel "The Queen's Gambit," about an orphan girl who becomes a chess prodigy. Scott said they recently offered the part to "Juno" star Ellen Page.

"The movie is about chess, and what is a little known fact is that Heath was very close to being on the grandmaster level," said Scott, who met and spoke to the actor frequently over the last year in New York and London. "He was a chess whiz, and he intended to get his grandmaster rating before he started shooting the picture."

When the script fell into Ledger's hands, the young actor aced out competitors and persuaded Scott to let him direct. "He had done some talented music videos and commercials," said Scott, who was impressed by how Ledger spoke about the material and by his devotion to the project.

"He was modest and talented and didn't like celebrity," Scott said, adding that in recent months Ledger "was very upset by his separation [from fiancee Michelle Williams] because of the child. He adored the child."

Warner Bros. said through a spokeswoman Wednesday that its executives had not met to discuss how to handle marketing and publicity on "The Dark Knight," this summer's Batman sequel, which stars Ledger as the Joker. The core of the film's early marketing efforts -- a teaser trailer released last summer, a full trailer that debuted in December and two posters -- had focused on Ledger's character.

"People will die. I'm a man of my word," Ledger's character says in the film's teaser trailer.

He messed with drugs, he copped the inevitable...and he should have thought about his family before he started using...It's unfortunate that he's dead, but he chose his own path.

i read that he had pneumonia, and he took too many prescription pills and non prescription pills trying to help him with that.
who knows.
today on the radio there was something about some church group that say hes rotting in hell for supporting gays or something. i thought it was so rude that they would say something like that about someone who is passed away.

may he RIP.

Oh that is typical of a church group having at go at gays etc., but they should look in their own back yard the freaking hypocrites. If we are talking about the Catholics, are their dearly beloved priests rotting in hell for molesting young children, in particular boys. I have a dear friend who was molested by several priests when he was a young boy. And lets not forget the churches that are ripping off people financially. A lot of church groups are the worst sinners.

there is too much speculation going on as too how he died.

wait for the autopsy results come through. so far there have been 3 or 4 different stories...

speaking of heath ledger though, i cannot wait too watch the new batman movie.

it will be weird knowing that he wont be around too make another movie but it will be a final tribute to an awesome actor.

i cant wait either, will be awesome, and will go off just because people are going to want to watch his last movie.

Same thing apparently happened with James Dean when he died in the 50s. His films became cult classics.

i read in the sydney mx that they arent releasing his last movie

Hi Shorty,

Here a short article on the church group you were referring to - how appalling is this?


Heath Ledger: A gay hate group has sparked outrage with plans to picket the funeral of tragic actor Heath Ledger. The Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas - run by Reverend Fred Phelps - has posted plans on its website to protest at Ledger's funeral because of his portrayal of a gay cowboy in 2005 film Brokeback Mountain.

The web bulletin reads, "'Brokeback Mountain' star - Heath Ledger - is dead. WBC will picket this pervert's funeral, in religious protest and warning.

"Ledger thought it was great fun defying God Almighty and His plan word. Ledger is now in Hell, and has begin serving his eternal sentence there."

The actor was found dead at his New York apartment on Tuesday, aged 28, after suffering a suspected accidental drug overdose.

So are these freaking idiots going to travel from Kansas to Western Australia to picket Heath's funeral?

If anyone should be interested in this church group's website it is:
http://www.godhatesfags.com/index.html
I just sent them a NOT SO NICE email

it's funny how a "baptist church" group is crashing a funeral

i'm pretty sure that interrupting a funeral and placing unecessary further grief on those already mourning is a no-no

should be interesting

What is the world coming to. I cannot believe that there are some people out there who disrespect the dead. Let the poor guy RIP.

the funeral is in New york i think so it wont be so hard for the church group to get there. some representative was on fox fm this morning, she was screaming so loudly it woke me up.
bloody nut cases.

:s
No, I was watching the News this morning and his parents are going to get his body so they can have the funeral in Perth

yeah and the memorial is gonna be at one of his schools, i think it was high school.

From what I have been hearing and it has been consistent there will be a Memorial Service in Los Angeles and his funeral is definitely in Western Australia.

Did anyone see that freaking preacher on a Current Affairs tonight - oh my god - if I could have punched him through the TV knowing that I could hurt him I WOULD HAVE. I cannot believe there are people like that in this world who supposedly are christians. Christians my arse.

Apparently there are groups from this particular church here in Australia so they would be the ones picketing at the funeral, but I don't think they will have a chance to get anywhere near the church. Geez I would love to the kick their arses back to the USA.

I can understand Christians groups condeming Heath's actions in his role in that gay movie, however going as far crashing the funeral, I think it's unneccessary, a tad too far, and not the smartest of moves... If they want to preach that homosexuality is a sin, I think they got their message out there well enough for all to hear which is fine, and they actually got their message out very well, however crashing the funeral will actually have the opposite effect and have people turn against them. So it's not the sharpest of moves on their behalf just in my opinion.

Also I did see some of the end of the interview on ''A Current Affair'' with the Christian preacher.

Although I don't watch much of that rubbish con-artist program A Current Affair, aswell as the other rubbish con-artist program on channel 7, All I have to say is the faster they get rid of that host the better.
I cannot stand her bitchiness, I loved it when Cory put her in her place, and although I didn't to catch the start of the interview, that Christian preacher seemed to be putting that A Current Affiar host in her place aswell.
She is meant to be a professional host, without being biased, yet she loved to parade her biased, and very bitchy/smart ass attitude.
Get her off lol

Soz, I know I'm starting to get off topic.

yeah sorry my bad about what i said, i must have heard wrong.

I can't believe you guys haven't heard of the Westboro Baptist Church, look them up on youtube. They're hilarious, they picket funerals of dead soldiers from Iraq and sit on street corners with signs like "God Hates Fags". There's this really cool video on there somewhere where this reporter (I think he's Aussie), goes up to the leader and starts cracking onto him, it's fantastic. Anyway, sad the guys dead but all this attention over a dead actor who had a couple of good movies is pretty annoying. Sky News had a 2 day vigil just reporting the same thing about him over and over, it reminds me of that crack whore Princess Diana's death. Surely there are more important things that have happened in the last week like I don't know, flooding destroying peoples lives in Queensland?

I haven’t heard of this group till recently. I will look them up on youtube, but I think that might just get me angry.
If they do try and disrupt Heath’s funeral in Perth I just hope Russel Crowe is around to maybe throw something at them, just kidding, I am sure security will be really tight.

I know what you mean about it being all over the news. It is worse in the States because the few times I have tuned in on any of those stupid entertainment shows they keep referring “now is the 4th day since Heath Ledger’s death”. So I guess we are up to day 5 or 6, lost count. You are right even though his death is news, there are other news events that are not reported and should be.

my co worker's father is part of the group, shes always telling me about all the things they were forced to do as kids. its rather funny actually, her dad almost killed her when she converted to orthodoxy to marry her Greek husband. (shes american btw)

i agree on the over reaction of a celebrities death, i mean people die everyday, its no different. i'm sure there alot of other more important stuff to talk about.

yep... i remember princess diana and mother teresa dying a day or two apart... but teresa's death was just flooded out from headlines because of that ugly crack whore.

look.

protests if they are peaceful should be allowed to take place..

this idea of let him rest in peace just isnt fair in a civilsed society..

he took a controversial stance in his life,well,it will follow him beyond into death..

we all have choices in life..we can all do things and there are consequences..

now i wouldnt be protesting and u giuys know what i hink of christian churches,BUT,they have the right to demonstrate and they shouldnt be attacked for demonstrating...