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The Drugs That Killed Heath Ledger
Hey, everyone remember how Heath Ledger did all that cocaine and heroin at Hollywood "Drug Parties"? And how it killed him? Turns out, he was killed by legal drugs—perhaps ones given to him by doctors! The establishment killed him! Not, shockingly, all that deadly Mary Jane. No, the pills that did Ledger in are a bit more respectable, and all quite familiar to your standard self-diagnosing doctor-shopping members of the creative under- and over-classes. More »
heath ledger
Heath Ledger Died of an Accidental Overdose
The New York medical examiner's office declared today that actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of anti-anxiety drugs and sleep aids. Autopsy and toxicology results find that Ledger wasn't under the influence of illegal substances at the time of his death at his SoHo apartment on January 22nd. "The medical examiner released results of the toxicology report Wednesday, saying Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine." [WNBC]
heath ledger
Shock Video Of Dead Star Doing Drugs At Party
So quite how shocking is tape of dead actor, Heath Ledger, taking drugs at a party at Chateau Marmont? From the promo clips broadcast last night on The Insider and shown here, not that much. The revelation would be a party at the eternally fashionable Hollywood hotel at which celebrities weren't on something. The tape isn't worth $200,000, even if The Insider were to go ahead with the full broadcast. The closest thing to a money shot is someone (the actor?) leaning down to snort cocaine from a table. But most of the video consists of images of John Belushi, to underline the point that celebrity and drugs can be a fatal combination, talking heads to ensure the viewer is as shocked as she should be, and Ledger wandering the room in dreamy slow-motion. My unthinking reaction: even in blurry amateur video, the Australian actor looked good. But that's the amoral coastal cosmopolitan talking.
rumormonger
The Missing Three Minutes
The New York Post claimed yesterday that police were looking to interview Mary-Kate Olsen about the death of her friend, Australian actor Heath Ledger. Police spokespeople and the tabloid's competitors, including Gawker, may have been too quick to rubbish the line of inquiry. Today, The Post ups the pressure with a set of questions unanswered the hard-partying actress: "Why did she send her bodyguards to the scene? Why didn't she tell the masseuse who found Ledger's body to call 911? Why did she think her security guards could help in a medical emergency?" But there's more: an eyewitness account to be published in tomorrow's Sunday Telegraph, in Australia, claims Mary-Kate Olsen's bodyguards entered Heath Ledger's building three minutes before the arrival of paramedics at 3.33pm, not simultaneously, as previously reported. Which begs another question. The police discovered a wide array of prescription drugs in the Brokeback star's apartment, but no illegal substances. Would Olsen's bodyguards have had time, or instructions, to remove any embarrassing evidence? (TMZ.com sources still maintain police were present at all times one of Olsen's bodyguards was present. Hunh?)
news you can use
How Not To Die Like Heath Ledger
Thanks, health and public policy journalist Maia Szalavitz, for finally writing some Heath Ledger News We Can Use. Her service-y piece for HuffPo is called "What We Can Learn from Heath Ledger's Death: Don't Mix Downs!!!" In a perfect world, it would run in the crappy health section of every major Sunday paper, instead of "TEARFUL CHILD THANKS DEAD ORGAN DONOR" or whatever. Here's how to avoid dying like Heath Ledger: More »
too soon?
John Gibson Sews Up Heath Ledger Memorial Bad Taste Award
You know what really cracks up Fox News host John Gibson? The untimely death of Heath Ledger! The one thing John Gibson knows about Heath Ledger is that Heath Ledger kissed a boy in a gay movie for gay gays, and therefore, he was probably a total gay himself, in real life. Therefore, his death is hilarious! On his radio program the other day, the hero journalist mocked Ledger's death something like half a dozen times, opening his show with a hilarious quip about Ledger quitting us and wondering if perhaps the actor killed himself after witnessing the poor performace of John Edwards in the last presidential debate. It's funny 'cause the authorities no longer suspect suicide! Even the guests joined in, with funnyman Tom Sullivan calling him "Keith Bledger" and the lady cohost whose name we didn't catch wondering, mockingly, if Keith was perhaps a "deep thinker." Can you believe that wacky morning zoo crew went there? They're saying what we're not really thinking, because what the fuck? Listen and sputter! [Think Progress, MSNBC, Previously]
dvds
Ledger's Sleeping Hits
Maybe that despised manager at Best Buy, who rushed to display of DVDs starring Heath Ledger, understood us better than we did ourselves. Amazon.com's chart of the most popular DVDs for sale, usually dominated by those recently released, contains three new arrivals: 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight's Tale and Brokeback Mountain — in 6th, 11th and 13th place respectively. All three movies on the online retailer's top 25 list star the Australian actor who died, of an apparent overdose, on Tuesday. (Of course more want to remember Ledger as high-school hero, or lusty knight, than as sad gay cowboy, the 28-year-old star's most critically acclaimed role.) After the jump, the chart.More »
too soon?
Bad Taste Roundup
Above, a makeshift tribute to both the late Heath Ledger and the almighty dollar, found at a Best Buy in San Diego. It's the tip of the bad taste iceberg. Join us on a trip through the void where we once pretended to store the concept of our shared humanity, won't you? More »
nyc
Heath Ledger's Geographic Appeal
Part of Heath Ledger's appeal, to a certain breed of cultural snob, was geographic. The Australian actor, who had come to Hollywood at the age of 19, received less attention from the paparazzi and the entertainment media complex when he crossed to New York. But, in exchange, he gained some cultural cachet. More »
heath ledger
A Look Back At Heath Ledger Coverage 2008-
Everyone is pretty aghast at the untimely death of the handsome and talented 28-year-old Australian actor Heath Ledger. He was found dead in an apartment at 421 Broome Street at 3:26PM by his masseuse and pronounced dead at 3:45PM. Moments later reports of his death, each telling augmented with bits of speculation, started to circulate. As we noted, the New York Times' Sewell Chan was strangely all over the story though Radar seemed to the first to post the news at 4:36pm. Soon Maggie posted an item on Gawker, TMZ and PageSix.com both reported, erroneously "world exclusives" and the race was on. A scrum of cameras gathered outside 421 Broome St. Yes, one was ours. More »
Time To Go Home
Past a crowd of hundreds of cameramen and onlookers, Heath Ledger's body is removed from 421 Broome Street, the building in Manhattan's Soho where he was found earlier this afternoon.
Past a crowd of hundreds of cameramen and onlookers, Heath Ledger's body is removed from 421 Broome Street, the building in Manhattan's Soho where he was found earlier this afternoon.
obit
Heath Ledger, Actor: 1979-2008
Australian-American screen actor Heath Ledger is dead. Ledger was an Oscar-nominated leading man with an admirable career both artistically and at the box office—he may currently be seen in 2007's art-house sleeper I'm Not There and he'll soon be opening across the nation as the iconic Joker, the lead villain in next chapter in the Batman film franchise. He died in Manhattan. He was 28. More »
breaking
Actor Heath Ledger Found Dead In New York
"A New York Police Department spokesman says the actor Heath Ledger has been found dead at a downtown Manhattan residence," according to the AP. The Times says a masseuse and a housekeeper found his body at 421 Broome Street.
gossip roundup
Farewell, Heathchelle
gawker underminer
Gawker Underminer: Boerum Hill Heartbreak
Live from the pages of The Underminer: The Best Friend Who Casually Destroys Your Life, we invited everyone's favorite frenemy to chime in from time to time on various hot topics. That's right, The Underminer has a Gawker column now. But keep trying! You'll get one someday! You trouper!Brooklynites Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams have hit a rough patch in their relationship.Oh. Hi. More »
"They had a huge fight, and they're not speaking," a source told us last week, although a separate spy says things thawed a little over the Oscars weekend. Our spy spotted heath in the company of a gaggle of other women (although not misbehaving) without Michelle on Valentine's day at Teddy's in los Angeles.
Williams responded frostily to a question about their relationship during Fashion Week.
