Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger, 28, has died of a possible drug overdose involving sleeping pills in New York, police have confirmed. Ledger was naked and unconscious, The New York Times reported.
New York police officer Martin Brown said investigators would most likely not know the cause of death until an autopsy was held on the body.
Asked if foul play had been ruled out, Officer Brown said it had not.
“That’s what needs to be investigated,” Brown told AAP.
“It takes a while. The medical examiner will do an autopsy and they will determine the cause of death.”
Sleeping pill overdose?
US television network NBC reported his body was found surrounded by pills.
The New York Times reported Ledger was discovered by a masseuse who arrived at his apartment for an appointment.
The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Ledger’s bedroom, The New York Times reported.
When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Ledger unconscious.
They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities.
Asked about reports of the pills in Ledger’s apartment, Brown said: “I can’t confirm that but I’ve heard the same thing.”
Ledger was taking sleeping pills after completing I’m Not There, in which he played one of the many incarnations of singer Bob Dylan.
He told The New York Times in a November interview that he “stressed out a little too much” during the Dylan film, and had trouble sleeping while portraying the Joker, whom he called a “psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy”.
“Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night,” Ledger told the Times.
“I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.”
He said he took two Ambien pills, which only worked for an hour, the paper said.
Indie talent at his prime
Ledger was an Oscar nominee for his role in Brokeback Mountain and had numerous other screen credits.
His breakthrough role was the Australian movie Two Hands, directed by Gregor Jordan and in another movie from the same year, 10 Things I Hate about You, he established himself as an up-and-coming star.
Ledger’s other film credits included A Knight’s Tale, The Patriot and Monster’s Ball.
He starred in I’m Not There, one of several actors playing a role representing Bob Dylan, and was due to appear as the Joker in the upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight.
Ledger’s death comes during the making of his latest movie The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus, directed by Terry Gilliam and in which he was to star alongside Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits.
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Heath was a true artist
As news spread around the world, tributes flowed in for the former Oscar nominee.
The director of Ledger’s last Australian movie, Candy, Neil Armfield, told ABC Radio he was “incredibly saddened” to hear of the 28-year-old’s death.
“He was a young boy in many ways, still a boy when he left Perth and got into this whirlwind of his career,” Armfield said.
“He handled his career incredibly well - he made a decision about four years ago to stop being led by producers and managers and to forge his own way. He started working with the most interesting directors. He was so successful at breaking out of the teen idol image.
“We saw with his relationship with the paparazzi that he was vulnerable and felt intensely invaded and got so unbelievably distressed. The photographers would try to push him into a reaction and he was a young man so he would react.”
Nicole Kidman expressed sorrow at the news.
“What a terrible tragedy,” Kidman said.
“My heart goes out to Heath’s family.”
Ledger’s Candy and Ned Kelly co-star Geoffrey Rush said of the young actor:”I admired Heath enormously.
“He was such a sensitive and committed and daring actor.”
John Travolta, speaking at a G’Day USA event in New York, said he had “adored” Ledger.
“He’s touched me deeply as a talent and it’s a great loss,” Travolta told the Access website.
“Losing him at any age would be a loss but it was pretty rough news.”
Noni Hazlehurst described Ledger as “one of the finest actors of his generation”, while Charlize Theron and Dennis Hopper sent their condolences to Ledger’s family.
Todd Haynes, who directed Ledger in the Bob Dylan movie I’m Not There, told the Entertainment Tonight website that his death was “an unimaginable tragedy”.
“Heath was a true artist, a deeply sensitive man, an explorer, gifted and wise beyond his years. There is no finer person on this earth,” Haynes said.
The film’s producer, Christine Vachon, added: “My heart breaks for Heath’s family. Heath was a wonderful artist and a lovely man.”
Warner Brothers, the studio producing Ledger’s final film The Dark Knight, in which he plays Batman’s foe the Joker, said it was devastated.
“The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent,” Warner Brothers president Alan Horn said.
“Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person.”
Australian critics said Ledger, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain, had a promising future.
Australian Film Critics Association chairman Peter Krausz described Ledger as a charming, down-to-earth and highly-regarded actor.
“He was very self-effacing, downplayed a lot of his work and his roles, he would not trumpet himself particularly,” he said.
“He never played the Hollywood game.”
Mr Krausz said Ledger loved making Australian films and was a great ambassador for the local industry.
He thought Ledger would be best remembered for his work in Brokeback Mountain.
“Brokeback Mountain was such a strong role for him and it was such a good example of how well he was able to inhabit a role,” he said.
Critic and host of ABC TV’s At The Movies, David Stratton, said Ledger had a promising career in front of him.
“He was immensely versatile, I think he was very talented and I think he made interesting choices, and sometimes bold choices in what he did,” Mr Stratton told ABC Radio.
“And, I think he’ll be sorely missed because he was only 28 … who knows where he might have gone from here.”
Guy Pearce never had the chance to work with Ledger but said he “shook the world and made us take notice”.
“To a friend I never got to meet …. mate, I had such admiration for you. Your dignity, humility, grace and talent will always be an inspiration to me,” Pearce said in a poetic letter.
Sam Neill described Ledger as a “phenomenal screen actor”.
“Whatever the circumstances, Heath was someone who had everything to live for.”
Fans in sorrow
Less than an hour after news of Ledger’s death broke, fan sites including heathledger.net, heathbaby.com and heathledgercentral.com and heathledger.com had melted down and were inaccessible.
Messages of sorrow from fans are flooding unofficial Heath Ledger pages and fan groups on MySpace and Facebook. Already, at least two “R.I.P Heath Ledger” Facebook groups have been created as memorials.
Ledger was born in Perth, Western Australia.
He had a two-year-old daughter, Matilda, with former fiancee and Brokeback Mountain co-star Michelle Williams.
Before settling down with Williams, Ledger had relationships with actresses Heather Graham and Naomi Watts.
He was the son of Sally Ledger Bell, a French teacher, and Kim Ledger, a racing car driver and mining engineer.
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The Dark Side of Sleeping Pills
People who take sleeping pills often hope that sleeping pills will increase their sleep enough to make them more energetic in the day. They may hope that sleeping pills will improve their long-term health. Sleeping pill effects are just the opposite of what people hope.
Because life and death are often our primary concern, I would like to first to discuss the darkest aspect of sleeping pills:
For over 30 years I have worked to assess the risks of sleeping pills. I have learned that sleeping pills are associated with significantly increased mortality.
I first became interested when I saw the work of Dr. E. Cuyler Hammond at the American Cancer Society. In 1975, I went to visit The American Cancer Society, starting a collaboration which lasted for many years.
In the CPSI (this was the first of two large studies), in 1959-1960, American Cancer Society volunteers gave questionnaires to over 1 million Americans and then determining six years later (in over 98%) whether the participants had survived. We found that 50% more of those who said that they “often” took sleeping pills had died, compared to participants of the same age, sex, and reported health status who “never” took sleeping pills.
To re-examine these risks, the American Cancer Society agreed to ask new questions about sleeping pills to participants in a new study, called The Cancer Prevention Study II or CPSII. In 1982, American Cancer Society volunteers gave health questionnaires to 1.1 million new participants. The survival of these people was ascertained in 1988.
In the new study, we again found that people who said that they used sleeping pills had significantly higher mortality.
Again, people who took sleeping pills had much higher mortality. Even when people were matched for age, sex, race, and education, and a total of 32 health risk factors, those who reported taking sleeping pills 30 or more times per month had 25% more mortality than those who said that they took no sleeping pills.
Among those taking sleeping pills nightly increased mortality was 25%. The smaller risk of taking sleeping pills just a few times per month was 10-15% increased mortality, compared to those who took no sleeping pills. . Sleeping pills appeared unsafe in any amount.
Read more at The Dark Side Of Sleeping Pills.
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Update - Feb 6th 2008
Heath Ledger’s family has released a statement following the announcement of Ledger’s cause of death. Ledger was found to have died on January 22 from an accidental mixture of prescription drugs. Ledger’s father, Kim, his mother, Sally, and sister Kate released the statement.
The statement reads: 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.
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Warning: what happened to Heath Ledger could happen to you
A cocktail of prescription drugs killed actor Heath Ledger and an expert has warned the same could happen to any Australian who is not careful with medications.
“Unfortunately people do believe that if they get the drug from a doctor that it’s safe and it does not matter how they use it or in what combination,” said Paul Dillon from Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia.
Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication from the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine, the New York medical examiner found.
He said many of these drugs such as diazepam, more commonly known as valium, and temazepam, a type of sleeping pill, can be fatal when combined.
“All of those drugs are depressants that slow your nervous system down,” Mr Dillon said.
“When you take one it slows your system down, when you take another on top it slows your system down, sometimes, unfortunately altogether.
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