RIP Heath Ledger

[whyweigh5.0]

 :?
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/01/heath_ledger_dead_and_why_it_m.php

[rowjimmy]

Wonder what Australia's speech laws are like. Perhaps Phelp'll get arrested and sent to jail in Australia where he can become some dude's Sheila.

[antelope19]

http://www.newsweek.com/id/101112?GT1=10755

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly held a press conference about the case Wednesday afternoon and said that there weren't any illegal drugs found at Ledger's apartment. But Kelly did confirm that a rolled-up $20 bill had been removed for analysis. (The bill was later found to have no trace of cocaine on it.) Kelly also reported that several prescription drugs were found at the scene and that they included sleeping pills, but he did not release the names of the medications or the quantity. However, a source close to the investigation has revealed to NEWSWEEK that authorities found six drugs with European prescriptions in Ledger's apartment: Zopiclone, Diazepam, Lormetazepam, Temazepam, Alprazolam and Donormyl-doxylamine. One was an antihistamine and the other five were either sleeping aids (similar to Ambien) or anti-anxiety drugs (similar to Valium). All of these medications depress the central nervous system—which can lead to death if taken in the wrong quantities or combinations, explains Edward Langston, M.D., a pharmacist and chair of the American Medical Association's board of trustees. "You just fall asleep and stop breathing if you take too much for you."

[bluecaravan521]

I found this on the page for the Phelps page...disgusting

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/01/23/gibson-mocks-ledger/

Fox...what a bunch of shitheads

[blatboom]

I've been wanting to know what Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight director) had to say about Ledger and I found this today.  It's the best eulogy I've heard/seen from anybody following his death:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/105580

One night, as I'm standing on LaSalle Street in Chicago, trying to line up a shot for "The Dark Knight," a production assistant skateboards into my line of sight. Silently, I curse the moment that Heath first skated onto our set in full character makeup. I'd fretted about the reaction of Batman fans to a skateboarding Joker, but the actual result was a proliferation of skateboards among the younger crew members. If you'd asked those kids why they had chosen to bring their boards to work, they would have answered honestly that they didn't know. That's real charisma—as invisible and natural as gravity. That's what Heath had.

Heath was bursting with creativity. It was in his every gesture. He once told me that he liked to wait between jobs until he was creatively hungry. Until he needed it again. He brought that attitude to our set every day. There aren't many actors who can make you feel ashamed of how often you complain about doing the best job in the world. Heath was one of them.

One time he and another actor were shooting a complex scene. We had two days to shoot it, and at the end of the first day, they'd really found something and Heath was worried that he might not have it if we stopped. He wanted to carry on and finish. It's tough to ask the crew to work late when we all know there's plenty of time to finish the next day. But everyone seemed to understand that Heath had something special and that we had to capture it before it disappeared. Months later, I learned that as Heath left the set that night, he quietly thanked each crew member for working late. Quietly. Not trying to make a point, just grateful for the chance to create that they'd given him.

Those nights on the streets of Chicago were filled with stunts. These can be boring times for an actor, but Heath was fascinated, eagerly accepting our invitation to ride in the camera car as we chased vehicles through movie traffic—not just for the thrill ride, but to be a part of it. Of everything. He'd brought his laptop along in the car, and we had a high-speed screening of two of his works-in-progress: short films he'd made that were exciting and haunting. Their exuberance made me feel jaded and leaden. I've never felt as old as I did watching Heath explore his talents. That night I made him an offer—knowing he wouldn't take me up on it—that he should feel free to come by the set when he had a night off so he could see what we were up to.

When you get into the edit suite after shooting a movie, you feel a responsibility to an actor who has trusted you, and Heath gave us everything. As we started my cut, I would wonder about each take we chose, each trim we made. I would visualize the screening where we'd have to show him the finished film—sitting three or four rows behind him, watching the movements of his head for clues to what he was thinking about what we'd done with all that he'd given us. Now that screening will never be real. I see him every day in my edit suite. I study his face, his voice. And I miss him terribly.

Back on LaSalle Street, I turn to my assistant director and I tell him to clear the skateboarding kid out of my line of sight when I realize—it's Heath, woolly hat pulled low over his eyes, here on his night off to take me up on my offer. I can't help but smile.

© 2008 Newsweek, Inc.

[rowjimmy]

-- The NYC medical examiner's office has ruled that Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.
(cnn)

[August]

The medical examiner released results of the toxicology report Wednesday, saying Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of six drugs, including pain killers, sleeping pills, and anti-anxiety drugs.

The six drugs found in his system were oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine, the medical examiner's office said.

The drugs are the generic names for the OxyContin painkiller, the anti-anxiety drug Valium, Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. Hydrocodone is another name for the better-know Vicodin.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/15224103/detail.html

a

[antelope19]

The medical examiner released results of the toxicology report Wednesday, saying Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of six drugs, including pain killers, sleeping pills, and anti-anxiety drugs.

The six drugs found in his system were oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine, the medical examiner's office said.

The drugs are the generic names for the OxyContin painkiller, the anti-anxiety drug Valium, Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. Hydrocodone is another name for the better-know Vicodin.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/15224103/detail.html

a

:-o  Zoinks!

[rowjimmy]

But he wasn't a drug user... He just had trouble sleeping.
:roll:
I do feel terribly for his daughter... how awful.

I'll follow with the Heath's family's statement:

We remain humble as parents and a family, among millions of people worldwide who may have suffered the tragic loss of a child. Few can understand the hollow, wrenching, and enduring agony parents silently suffer when a child predeceases them. Today's results put an end to speculation, but our son's beautiful spirit and enduring memory will forever remain in our hearts.

While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage.

Our family enjoyed an extremely happy two week visit with Heath just prior to the New Year. Those recent precious days will stay with us forever. We as a family feel privileged to have some of his amazing magic moments captured in film. To most of the world Heath was an actor of immeasurable talent and promise. To those who knew him personally, Heath was a consummate artist whose passions also included photography, music, chess and directing. We knew Heath as a loving father, as our devoted son, and as a loyal and generous brother and friend.

We treasure our beautiful granddaughter Matilda (to our dear Michelle) as well as an unbelievably wonderful network of close friends, forever, around the world. Families rarely experience the uplifting, warm and massive outpouring of grief and support as have we, from every corner of the planet. This has deeply and profoundly touched our hearts and lives. We are eternally grateful.

At this moment we respectfully request the worldwide media allow us time to grieve privately, without the intrusions associated with press and photography.