Oh, my! I just heard that the actor was found dead in his apartment in New York (cause of death pending ~ not much in terms of details at all just yet, evidently). How tragic! He was a good young actor with much promise. He was just 28 years old.

Oh my god! I just saw it on my local news station!

They are saying his housekeeper found him, and there was drugs sprawled near his bedside...police are saying thus far it appears as if it was an overdose.

I am too stunned for more words! Gosh!

He was an amazing actor! Such a sad end to a very young life!

Oh NO! This is awful! I have just read about it and I'm speechless.
How sad, he was a favourite of mine and he was so young...

Just saw that myself, yep it's true. My heart breaks for him, his wife Michelle and his daughter. I am shocked by this, speechless....

edited to add that reports indicate that he was staying in the apartment of Mary-Kate Olsen, who wasn't in town at the time. Rumor is it's a suicide or accidental overdose. Heartbreaking loss.


second edit:

Now reports have corrected the earlier claim that it was MKO's place; it was not. It's been said that he was found with both OTC and prescription sleeping pills nearby. I think it would be doubtful to know whether it was intentional, unless of course there's a note found.

I saw this breaking news awhile ago on E! Entertainment Network and I was stunned. I know how you feel, BurgGurl, I'm at a loss for words, too.... He was such a talented young actor and I enjoyed his movies. He will be missed.

Lots of speculation when he was found. But now things are starting to come out.

We have heard the pills found were all prescribed ones to him.

Apparently he had pneumonia, got the sleeping pills because he was having difficulty sleeping.

Perhaps because he was ill and had just gone through a breakdown of his relationship all contributed to an adverse effect of the pills.

It seems like the media would like it to be more sensational than just an accidental overdose as it would make them more money.

Sad news indeed, I understand he had a number of personal issues to deal with and he was suffering from depression. It's a dark hole and I hope he didn't loose hope and let it go. Regardless of the cause though he's gone. Now I've never been a fan as such but I'm aware of his work. His Joker in an upcoming Batman movie looks superb.

My daughter's favorite actor and the star of the cult favorite "A Knight's Tale" which my children watched over and over in their teens and pre teens.

I'm sad to hear this as he never seemed to be in the headlines for anything unseemly.
He appeared to be so happy to be a father that his breakup must have saddened him deeply.

It's so sad to hear of the death of someone so young; I feel so sorry for his daughter, losing her father like this.

I was in shock when I heard.. have admired his work.. can and have watched 'A Knight's Tale' over and over and he was also great in '10 things I hate about you', his first! I was impressed.
It does indeed look like an accidental overdose. It is also so tragic he was all alone in that apartment at a time he needed people. Perhaps if he had company he wouldn't have dosed himself like that:(
This all took me back to one of my best friends in college...pls bear with me, I think this is relevant. She was going through a rough time, took some sleeping pills, NO intention of suicide.. woke up, totally forgot she'd taken any and took some more. They destroyed about 80% of her liver and she was starting to turn yellow from bilirubin (since the liver couldn't deal with it). Very very fortunately a mutual friend popped by in time and made sure she had medical help asap. He saved her life! I visited her in hospital shortly after where she was recovering, fortunately with just barely enough liver left to regenerate itself. She went on to live a happily productive life! Shows we really have to watch out for our friends if we think they might be going through a rough time.

I never met Heath but he was a Perth boy (my hometown) and I worked with his aunt for ten years. So that makes it more personal for me.

Last night, Channel 10 broadcast two Heath Ledger movies ("A Knight's Tale" and "The Patriot") as a tribute to this fine young actor.

What a pity it was spoiled by the interspersing of sexually explicit advertisements. I find these ads offensive during normal viewing but to show them during a tribute was totally inappropriate and demeaning. Really tacky, Channel 10! I've complained by telephone and I've followed it up in writing too. According to the receptionist at Channel Ten's answering service, I wasn't the only viewer who complained.

I think it must be very sad for Perth folks to see one of their own die so young.

I think many people saw this young actor as a normal guy who happened to be an actor. I always got this impression.
I think if it had been someone who had done things in public that were rude or disruptive or violent, we might not think this, but as far as I know, this was not my impression.

I agree with Yaarbiriah. I believe it is the saddest thing to die alone, especially in this case given the account of the housekeeper who claimed she heard him snoring earlier in the day. I can't imagine what she must be thinking knowing she was in his presence at the time of his death and was unaware of it. I've begun to start changing the channel whenever another news bit comes on, it seems there is just too much interest in just how much pain his family is enduring right now. Very disrespectful of the media to be so intrusive. Give them some space for crying out loud.

It's ashame that someone so young and talented is gone.. I can't wait to hear what really happened! Everyday there is something new! Lots of love out there to his family!

It's taken me so long to get to this thread, mostly because it breaks my heart to notice such a bright light gone from the world.

I'm incensed by the tabloid television reports about Heath Ledger's alleged drug antics. Don't you people have any respect for the deceased. He was (from all accounts) a truly decent human being, a devoted dad, a loving and giving person who was incredibly talented. To smear the name of someone who is no longer around to defend themselves is morally reprehensible. Try living (and writing) about Heath Ledger (and others) the way that you would want people to write about you and your family.

I will say one thing - I say an interview with some schmuck who used it as an opportunity to plug their clothing line. I will certainly not buy this line for myself or my children, and would encourage others to do the same. FASHION ASSASSIN label - consider yourself assassinated. How dare you go onto the telly and plug your label shamelessly while pretending to be shocked or saddened by the loss of Heath Ledger (during an interview less than 24 hours after his passing, claiming he knew Heath as he had dressed him in the label for photo shoots). Shameless!

As long as it makes them money the media has no respect for anyone, living or dead.

The more muck they can rake up the more ratings/money they can make.
Extremely reprehensible.

The New York Times
February 6, 2008, 10:29 am
Heath Ledger’s Death Is Ruled an Accident
By Sewell Chan


The New York City chief medical examiner’s office has ruled that the actor Heath Ledger, whose body was found in a SoHo apartment on Jan. 22, died of an accidental overdose of prescription medications that included painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs.
“Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine,” Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the chief medical examiner, Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, said in a brief statement. “We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications.”
An autopsy was conducted on Jan. 23, the day after Mr. Ledger’s death, but the results were inconclusive pending toxicological and histological tests, which analyze blood samples and tissue for the presence of chemicals in the body.
Oxycodone, a painkiller, is the active ingredient in the prescription drug OxyContin. Hydrocodone, another painkiller, is often combined with acetaminophen, as in the prescription drug Vicodin. Diazepam, sold under the commercial name Valium, is used to relieve anxiety, muscle spasms, and seizures and to control agitation caused by alcohol withdrawal. Temazepam, brand name Restoril, is prescribed in the short term to help patients fall asleep and stay asleep through the night. Alprazolam, commonly known under the brand name Xanax, is part of a class of medications called benzodiazepines used to treat anxiety disorders and panic attacks by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain.
Doxylamine, found in common “nighttime sleep aids,” is an an antihistamine that causes drowsiness as a side effect and is used in the short-term treatment of insomnia. (It is also used, in combination with decongestants, to relieve cough and cold symptoms.)

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Like the death of Anna Nicole Smith, this is another sad case that highlights the lethal consequences that can result from the abuse of prescription medications.

I'd be interested in learning whether those drugs are all safe to take at the same time. Drug interactions are so dangerous, and most doctors are not really very well-informed about them. (That's a pharmacists job.) Any use beyond the labeled is technically an abuse of a drug, but I wonder whether he was innocently abusing them, thinking it couldn't hurt, which is quite different from intentionally misusing them, which lots of people do. Still, any use of the word "abuse" is likely to make the public at large connect with the word "druggie", which is unfortunate if it truly was a simple matter of being rather desperately tired (and probably not thinking clearly, given the prescriptions) and not thinking there could be any real consequences. Still, it's very sad.

It's quite possible that his doctors didn't know he had all of the different drugs. He got some of them in Europe, and many people are not forthcoming about what medicines they have. Some think that it doesn't matter, some think they'll have something taken away from them and don't realize they're doing something totally dangerous.
Then again, some people, especially those who are ill or sleep-deprived, etc., accidentally overdose themselves because they don't remember taking a pill. That happened to my grandmother a couple times, just forgetting that she'd taken something already and double dosing. She had to be hospitalized, it messed with her bloodpressure in an awful way.
I also had a friend who accidentally took a double dose of an antihistamine; she couldn't be wakened and it depressed her breathing.

He was an excellent actor and I enjoyed his movies. I will miss him in the movies. It is so sad that a young person like this has died. In my opinion, I think he overdosed on prescription drugs on purpose. I think he committed suicide.

The death was "accidental" as opposed to being an intentional suicide or a homicide. But it was not a case of someone accidentally taking one (or a few) too many pills.

Taking pills of this type together--several strong (and addictive) painkillers, two different (and addictive) tranquilizers, a sleeping pill, a sedative, etc--suggests a pattern of drug abuse. And, that is exactly what the Medical Examiner ruled--that the death was due to prescription drug abuse. People use these medications, in such combinations, to get high or to feel "out of it". They also continue to use them to control withdrawal symptoms.

Mr Ledger would not have innocently taken all of these meds just to be able to get a brief afternoon nap. He had an appointment for a massage in mid-afternoon (it was the masseur who discovered his body), and he wasn't just trying to get a good night's sleep--it was only the middle of the day. There were no reports that he suffered from a medical problem which caused such intense pain that he had to be on several potent painkillers at the same time. And it is difficult to medically justify the need for both of those tranquilizers to be taken at the same time.

The drugs in his system were the most frequently abused prescription medications. He obtained them them from doctors, but these drugs are also sold on the street because there is an illegal demand for them as drugs of abuse.

When we talk about drug abusers, or drug addicts, we generally think of people who use street drugs, like marijuana or cocaine. But plenty of people abuse prescription drugs, particularly painkillers and tranquilizers, for the same reasons people use street drugs, and a great many get hooked on them. And celebrities, in particular, really have no problems getting a physician to write prescriptions for anything they want.

Mr Ledger didn't take these drugs to kill himself. But he did take them, in combination, to achieve a particular psychological or emotional effect. He abused them. And it accidentally killed him.

This situation is really very similar to what happened with Anna Nicole Smith, to Elvis, and to many other celebrities. These cases should hopefully heighten awareness of the problems with prescription drug abuse, because it isn't something that just affects celebrities. There is a growing problem with teenagers abusing prescription drugs that they often get right out of their parents' medicine cabinets.

The NYPD has not made public whether the bottles of pills found in Ledger's apartment were prescribed for him or for someone else, but TV Guide is now reporting that the Feds are getting involved in an investigation of this death:

Quote:

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The federal government is getting involved in Heath Ledger's death. Law enforcement officials confirm exclusively to TVGuide.com that the Drug Enforcement Administration has launched an investigation into how Ledger obtained the multiple prescription drugs that led to his accidental overdose. According to the officials, the DEA has requested copies of Ledger's autopsy as well as the original police report from the crime scene.

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The physicians who wrote those prescriptions are probably feeling a bit nervous right now. As well they should be.

I don't think any of us should be speculating on whether Heath Ledger's death was suicide, or whether he knowingly abused prescription drugs, as none of us knew him and none of us knows the facts in this case. We only know what we gleen from the media - and we all know how unreliable the media is. They'll report anything to sell a sensational story.

Having worked in doctor's offices for many years, I know how ignorant the average person is about prescription medications. They think that because the doctor prescribed them, they must be safe. But problems arise when more than one doctor prescribes them and each doctor doesn't know what else has been prescribed for the patient.

A doctor should always ask a patient "What other medications are you taking?" but even this isn't foolproof because patients don't always understand that this includes non-prescribed medications (over-the-counter drugs) and things you buy in the health food shops which are supposedly "natural" (like vitamin pills). People don't perceive that "vitamins" are medications too and you can die if you overdose on some vitamins!

Some patients have no concept of "optimum" dosage and think "more" must be better, or they can get confused and forget whether they have taken their medication, so they take it again so that they don't miss out.

All foods and drugs (whether legal or not, prescribed or not) are chemicals, and chemicals react with each other, causing side effects in some people. Every patient's constitution is different so not all patients will experience those side effects. It is possible that somebody else could have taken exactly the same medication as Heath Ledger and suffered no problems at all. Heath had had a recent bout of pneumonia so it is likely that his immune system could have been compromised by that, leaving him more vulnerable than he might otherwise have been.

We may never know for sure but it annoys me that there will always be this speculation about something which is really none of our business.

Anyway, what does it matter? A person who abuses drugs is ill, not bad - if he did have this illness, would it negate everything good about him? I personally do not think so .