The Gossip Fix

Update On Heath Ledger’s Death. Overdose Now Suspected.

January 23rd, 2008

With every passing hour, more news on Heath Ledger’s physical and mental condition prior to his death become available.

According to various news outlets, Heath had been battling heroin addiction for quite some time.  This seems to be the reason he and his ex, Michelle Williams, broke up.  It has also been reported that Heath was also suffering from pneumonia at the time of his death.

Of course, there is a video of the medic crew wheeling Heath’s body out of his apartment.  You can watch it below.

Watch video here.

The following is again a combination report from several sources:

Brokeback Mountain star Heath Ledger, 28, found dead in New York after suspected drug overdose.

Australian actor Heath Ledger has died in New York City after a suspected drug overdose. He was 28.

A New York Police Department spokesman confirmed the actor has been found dead at a SoHo, Manhattan residence, where he had been staying on a temporary basis.

Last night, sources told Mail Online that Ledger had been battling substance abuse problems - including an addiction to heroin - for some time.

“He had a stint in rehab late 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.

A housekeeper at Ledger’s New York City apartment made shocking discovery of his lifeless body face down on a bed at 3.20pm local time on Tuesday afternoon. It is understood that at this time, the star was unconscious but still alive.

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.

A police spokeswoman said: “He was found unconscious at the apartment and pronounced dead.”

The spokeswoman said sleeping pills - both prescription medication and non-prescription - were found in the vicinity of the actor’s body. Officers have ruled out foul play.

They are treating Ledger’s death as possible suicide or an accidental drugs overdose.

Officers have blocked anyone from entering the apartment and said a full autopsy will be carried out on Ledger’s body on Wednesday.

His remains were removed by police in a body bag from the apartment three hours after his death.

Ledger, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Brokeback Mountain, has a two-year-old daughter Matilda with his ex-fiancée Michelle Williams.

An insider disclosed that the Brokeback Mountain star had been battling substance abuse problems for some time.

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.

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.

“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 with him, 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 behavior 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.

Watts’ best friend Nicole Kidman has sent her condolences to the actor’s family in a statement: “What a terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to Heath’s family.”

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.”

Ledger’s The Patriot co-star Gibson said: “I had such great hope for him. 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.”

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.

It sure seems that a lot of people knew about his drug addiction, and no one really did anything to help him!  Why didn’t they do an intervention or something?  Get that guy, Jeff Von Vonderen from A&E’s show, Intervention, in a room with Heath, and Heath would have gone to rehab and stayed.  That dude is brutal.

Anyway, let me know your thoughts on Heath’s death in the comments section.

Sources:  Daily Mail, TMZ

Entry Filed under: Breaking News, Celeb Deaths, Heath Ledger