# Heath Ledger is dead! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 22, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575 "2008-01-22T21:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/41 "2008-01-22T22:06:34Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] I wonder what this will do (if anything) to the release of The Dark Knight. I know it’s done filming and is in post-production but it’s got to be tough to have a premire when one of the leads is dead. [/QUOTE] It is great for the film. Free press. Remember The Crow? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/42 "2008-01-22T22:08:27Z")
Holy fuck! This is shocking! That’s awful. I did not see this coming at all. Holy shit. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/43 "2008-01-22T22:08:35Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] I saw that, but neither of the cites given say anything about heroin. [/QUOTE] Wikipedia’s page has the heroin bit removed. Earlier it said that NYPD found traces, but as you state, no external confirmation. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/44 "2008-01-22T22:08:53Z")
I don’t know why, but this really shocked me. I loved him in Brokeback Mountain. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/45 "2008-01-22T22:09:28Z")
Jesus. I usually hate the attention celebrities get, but Ledger had a lot of talent. That’s a bummer. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/46 "2008-01-22T22:09:47Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] Was he a friend of yours? [/QUOTE] No. What difference does that make? He was a fine actor, I enjoyed his work, and he died way too young. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/47 "2008-01-22T22:09:53Z")
This. Fucking. Sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/48 "2008-01-22T22:11:38Z")
I don’t usually curse, but FUCKIT! ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/49 "2008-01-22T22:13:00Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] Was he a friend of yours? [/QUOTE] The hell? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/50 "2008-01-22T22:14:26Z")
Would it be inappropriate for the lead in the story to be: Heath Ledger succeeds where Owen Wilson failed. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/51 "2008-01-22T22:14:26Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] Huh? [/QUOTE] Insensitive of me, but the first thing that went through my head was, “Fuck, there goes the new Terry Gilliam movie.” I had read that **The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus** was in the middle of filming, and Ledger was supposed to star. Director Terry Gilliam has sort of a reputation for disastrous productions, hence the “Curse” reference-- though Ledger has already starred in another of his films, **The Brothers Grimm**. I thought Heath Ledger was a fine actor, and was really hoping to see him in the new Terry Gilliam film. Now I suppose neither will happen. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/52 "2008-01-22T22:14:36Z")
[QUOTE=Morbo] The hell? [/QUOTE] People usually react most emotionally when the decedent is a friend or a relative. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/53 "2008-01-22T22:14:40Z")
That’s terrible. I really enjoyed his work, particularly in _A Knight’s Tale_. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/54 "2008-01-22T22:17:22Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] Wikipedia’s page has the heroin bit removed. Earlier it said that NYPD found traces, but as you state, no external confirmation. [/QUOTE] I doubt the ME would have any blood testing back in under an hour. Well, unless it was on CSI. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/55 "2008-01-22T22:18:19Z")
This is so upsetting and unexpected. How awful for his family. I’m still looking forward to his performance as the Joker, but this will give it a depressing shadow. I don’t think reports of police finding heroin in his bloodstream can be true, simply because his body was discovered less than two hours ago. There hasn’t been time for that kind of test to be performed (and I think toxicology results take days or weeks to come back). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/56 "2008-01-22T22:18:56Z")
Another vote for “didn’t see this one coming, at all”. He was very good at his craft, and still very young. You just know that the media are going to be pestering Michelle Williams for anecdotes and insights into Ledger’s dark side, self-destructive impulses, depression, etc. I hope her friends and family can provide a privacy cocoon she can just crawl into for a few days. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/57 "2008-01-22T22:19:21Z")
FTR When I first posted it was Ivylass’ thread and she had not edited to say ‘no link yet’ and my google turned up nothing. Now with the merged thread I look even more jerkish. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/58 "2008-01-22T22:19:45Z")
☹ On the positive side, Gordan Ramsey can replace him, if they need additionally scenes for _The Dark Knight_. :o ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/59 "2008-01-22T22:20:41Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] People usually react most emotionally when the decedent is a friend or a relative. [/QUOTE] :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575/60 "2008-01-22T22:22:14Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] People usually react most emotionally when the decedent is a friend or a relative. [/QUOTE] I see. So you scored a cheap point at the expense of what you perceive to be an exaggerated outpouring of emotion on his part. Classy. At least you’re letting everyone swear without comment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heath-ledger-is-dead/434575.md?page=4)