Heath Ledger is dead!

[Annie-Xmas]

Heath Ledger was a talented person who was rising to the top of the Hollywood acting world. That is not an easy thing to do, particularly at such a young age. He was not known for drugs and/or alcohol. He contributed to people’s enjoyment, and if you don’t think that is a big deal, pooh on you. He did a job and he did it well. What more do you want from a person?

The twitchy thing? Well, I am a hard core, long time insomniac. Occasionally people comment on my twitchiness, even going so far as to suggest problems with drugs. I don’t do drugs, even sleep aids. I just deal with it.

[Northern_Piper]

@WhyNot

What I’ve noticed in multiple interviews is that he seems very clear and focused, and gives coherent answers to questions, but everything that’s not his face is twitchy and constantly moving. It’s like restless legs, but all over. Which strikes me more as someone with really severe insomnia - usually tweakers on meth or heroin aren’t so well-controlled with their speech, y’know?

I saw an interview with an interviewer, someone who had interviewed Ledger recently. Ledger apparently told him that doing the Joker had been very hard on him, because the character had been so evil. Ledger said that he wasn’t sleeping well as a result. The interviewer speculated that might have triggered the use of sleeping pills, as well as the fidgeting.

I think this was on CNN the evening the news came out, but I’ve not seen it mentioned since.

[EddyTeddyFreddy]

CNN is reporting now that the 20-dollar bill found near his body tested clean of any drug traces.

[SaharaTea]

Apparently the first call the masseuse made upon discovering Ledger unconscious was to his friend Mary-Kate Olsen for advice on what to do.

Makes sense to me. Find someone unconscious, call an Olsen twin.

[Annie-Xmas]

@lisacurl

*The Olsen twins’ connection to Heath Ledger’s apartment is now clear.

Here’s the way it went down. A cleaning lady for Heath arrived at the apartment first, followed soon thereafter by a masseuse. They both entered the room at around the same time and discovered Heath’s lifeless body.

The cleaning lady called police. The masseuse, we’re told, called the bodyguard for the Olsens. She called him because they’re friends and he’s an EMT. The bodyguard was around the block at Ashley’s and he immediately went over. By the time he arrived, the cops were already there.*

How Heath's Body Was Discovered

SaharaTea please read the above post.

[saoirse]

@Northern Piper

I saw an interview with an interviewer, someone who had interviewed Ledger recently. Ledger apparently told him that doing the Joker had been very hard on him, because the character had been so evil. Ledger said that he wasn’t sleeping well as a result. The interviewer speculated that might have triggered the use of sleeping pills, as well as the fidgeting.

I think this was on CNN the evening the news came out, but I’ve not seen it mentioned since.

I heard on the news this morning that Jack Nocholson told reporters that he “warned him” about playing the joker. Anyone have any idea what that meant?

[SaharaTea]

@Annie-Xmas

SaharaTea please read the above post.

That’s not how the timeline went according to the article I posted. It says the masseuse called Olsen herself, and then Olsen called her bodyguard.

[lisacurl]

@SaharaTea

That’s not how the timeline went according to the article I posted. It says the masseuse called Olsen herself, and then Olsen called her bodyguard.

Yes, I posted that from a celeb gossip site before the official version came out. As usual, it’s close to the truth, but not quite there.

[Equipoise]

@saoirse

I heard on the news this morning that Jack Nocholson told reporters that he “warned him” about playing the joker. Anyone have any idea what that meant?

Jack Nicholson supposedly warned Ledger about taking Ambien as a sleeping aid (I guess because you build up a tolerance), or taking too many sleeping pills for insomnia, something like that. I’m trying to find a link, but I can’t remember where I read it. If I find it I’ll post it. In any case, it certainly wasn’t a warning about playing the Joker! Nicholson liked Ledger, and was happy for him.

[ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies]

[Nicholson tangent]I’ve read a variety of stuff (some of it conflicting) alluding to Jack Nicholson having “warned” Heath about something.

If a warning was given about things like the hazards of working long hours or building a resistance to Ambien, that seems reasonable enough. But a few of the articles have come from the angle that Nicholson had warned Heath about particular hazards of the specific role of the Joker, which is not very reasonable, imho.

I’m not trying to stir up the fanbois and fangrrls of the Batman 'verse, but we are talking about a fictional graphic novel character here. I might understand if both Nicholson and Ledger had played the role of an actual psycopath serial killer, with Nicholson warning him about the research and acting techniques to “get inside the killer’s head”, but for the Joker? I think not.

Nicholson’s Joker wasn’t scary or dark, and the Tim Burton film(s) were undeniably “comic book” fodder, imho, while Batman Begins felt much more “real” (again, imho).

Anywho, the whole spooky/creepy/curse “Joker to Joker” angle that some of the media are taking just bugs me, though it certainly doesn’t surprise me.[/Nicholson tangent]

[Miller]

@saoirse

I heard on the news this morning that Jack Nocholson told reporters that he “warned him” about playing the joker. Anyone have any idea what that meant?

Jack Nicholson had Heath Ledger whacked for stealing his role!

[saoirse]

@Equipoise

Jack Nicholson supposedly warned Ledger about taking Ambien as a sleeping aid (I guess because you build up a tolerance), or taking too many sleeping pills for insomnia, something like that. I’m trying to find a link, but I can’t remember where I read it. If I find it I’ll post it. In any case, it certainly wasn’t a warning about playing the Joker! Nicholson liked Ledger, and was happy for him.

They also found a prescription bottle for diazepam in his room. It might have been about mixing drugs.

@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies

But a few of the articles have come from the angle that Nicholson had warned Heath about particular hazards of the specific role of the Joker, which is not very reasonable, imho.

That’s kind of what it sounded like to me, too. And I thought that would be odd, as well. I mean, Cesar Romero didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects.

[woodstockbirdybird]

@saoirse

That’s kind of what it sounded like to me, too. And I thought that would be odd, as well. I mean, Cesar Romero didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects.

Well, he was already Cesar Romero, though - how much worse could it get for him?

[alphaboi867]

@SaharaTea

That’s not how the timeline went according to the article I posted. It says the masseuse called Olsen herself, and then Olsen called her bodyguard.

Mary-Kate was also his neighbor and her bodyguards have first-aid training.

[Equipoise]

@Equipoise

Jack Nicholson supposedly warned Ledger about taking Ambien as a sleeping aid (I guess because you build up a tolerance), or taking too many sleeping pills for insomnia, something like that. I’m trying to find a link, but I can’t remember where I read it. If I find it I’ll post it. In any case, it certainly wasn’t a warning about playing the Joker! Nicholson liked Ledger, and was happy for him.

Here’s a link to a video of Nicholson first saying “I warned him” and then here’s a link to a video of Nicholson clarifying that the warning was about Ambien.

He does say he didn’t know Ledger, and then the video cuts off, so it’s still not completely clear when and how Nicholson warned Ledger, but it’s all I can come up with at the moment since I can’t find the original article.

WAIT, on preview both of those links go to Daniel Day-Lewis talking about Heath Ledger on the Oprah show. I did the click to get links thing but I can’t seem to get the direct links, but if you scroll down, amidst a bunch of brain-cell-sapping bullshit (Britney, paparazzi chasing people I’ve never even heard of) there are the two videos of Jack Nicholson.

That Daniel Day-Lewis bit is wonderful. I love him.

[Rilchiam]

@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies

If a warning was given about things like the hazards of working long hours or building a resistance to Ambien, that seems reasonable enough. But a few of the articles have come from the angle that Nicholson had warned Heath about particular hazards of the specific role of the Joker, which is not very reasonable, imho.

I’m not trying to stir up the fanbois and fangrrls of the Batman 'verse, but we are talking about a fictional graphic novel character here. I might understand if both Nicholson and Ledger had played the role of an actual psycopath serial killer, with Nicholson warning him about the research and acting techniques to “get inside the killer’s head”, but for the Joker? I think not.

To be fair, though, fanboys and fangirls can be scary. Hugh Jackman was heavily anxious about playing Wolverine, thinking he’d be stalked or worse if he didn’t live up to comic fans’ expectations. The scene has changed quite a bit since Jack played the Joker.

[Alice_The_Goon]

I saw a clip of Jack Nicholson saying that Ambien caused him to almost drive his car off a cliff. Well, duh, Jack- you’re supposed to take it and then go to bed, not out driving. That kind of lowered my opinion of his intelligence.
As to the possibility of Ledger being on drugs, a few months ago there were a couple of blind gossip items about a “certain young actor” being on heroin. That was right around the time of Owen Wilson’s troubles, and widely assumed to be him. But who knows?

[Equipoise]

@Alice The Goon

I saw a clip of Jack Nicholson saying that Ambien caused him to almost drive his car off a cliff. Well, duh, Jack- you’re supposed to take it and then go to bed, not out driving. That kind of lowered my opinion of his intelligence.

He said he was called out due to an emergency. He didn’t say what it was, but it had to have been important enough to get him out of bed and driving somewhere.

@Alice The Goon

As to the possibility of Ledger being on drugs, a few months ago there were a couple of blind gossip items about a “certain young actor” being on heroin. That was right around the time of Owen Wilson’s troubles, and widely assumed to be him. But who knows?

Yeah, who knows? Might have been Matt Damon. Or Justin Timberlake. Or Ben Affleck. Or Ryan Gosling. Or Elijah Wood. Or Tobey Maguire. Or Jake Gyllenhall. Or Luke Wilson. Or Jason Schwartzman. Or Adrien Brody. Or Kal Penn. Or, well gosh, there are so many to choose from. But since Ledger’s the one who died, and it’s ever so much fun to sully the name and reputation of those who can’t defend themselves, let’s pin it on Ledger, even though it’s already been fairly established that he was 1) exhausted, 2) had pneumonia, 3) had troubles with insomnia and 4) was taking sleeping pills. But damn, a tragic accidental death isn’t anywhere near as much fun as suicide or heroin OD, so fuck occam’s razor, let’s go with what sounds jucier.

[Alice_The_Goon]

@Equipoise

He said he was called out due to an emergency. He didn’t say what it was, but it had to have been important enough to get him out of bed and driving somewhere.
Yeah, who knows? Might have been Matt Damon. Or Justin Timberlake. Or Ben Affleck. Or Ryan Gosling. Or Elijah Wood. Or Tobey Maguire. Or Jake Gyllenhall. Or Luke Wilson. Or Jason Schwartzman. Or Adrien Brody. Or Kal Penn. Or, well gosh, there are so many to choose from. But since Ledger’s the one who died, and it’s ever so much fun to sully the name and reputation of those who can’t defend themselves, let’s pin it on Ledger, even though it’s already been fairly established that he was 1) exhausted, 2) had pneumonia, 3) had troubles with insomnia and 4) was taking sleeping pills. But damn, a tragic accidental death isn’t anywhere near as much fun as suicide or heroin OD, so fuck occam’s razor, let’s go with what sounds jucier.

Well, I was just addressing the skepticism earlier of another poster’s reference to blind items about Heath, and I was especially pointing out that it wasn’t Heath Ledger that those rumors were supposed to be about. No offense. Jeez.

[Equipoise]

@Alice The Goon

Well, I was just addressing the skepticism earlier of another poster’s reference to blind items about Heath, and I was especially pointing out that it wasn’t Heath Ledger that those rumors were supposed to be about. No offense. Jeez.

Where did you point out that it wasn’t Heath Ledger? In your saying Owen Wilson? Then why the “who knows?” which put it right back on Ledger.

I hate to be the resident bitch here, but it’s driving me crazy that people are still leaning towards suicide or hard-drug OD. If the toxocology report comes back with traces of heroin then ok, but until now there’s been nothing but speculation, usually based on false information. Someone says there were drugs scattered all around his body, and that’s all over the news. Then, ooops, turns out there was only one bottle of pills on the nightstand next to Ledger, unopened. Someone says they found a rolled-up bill with traces of drugs and that’s all over the news. Then, ooops, turns out there were no traces of drugs on the bill. Maybe it wasn’t even rolled-up (the way a cocaine bill would be rolled up). Someone says there were drug packets in the apartment and that gets reported. Then, ooops, it’s cold medicine in blister packs. Ledger was found dead in Mary-Kate Olson’s apartment, and that’s big news. Ooops, it wasn’t her apartment. A lot of things that have been reported have been found to be flat-out wrong, and the media ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Your “But who knows?” just struck me in the same way, sorry.

Ledger’s family heard the newsof Heath’s death via the media, that’s how quickly everything was jumped on. That’s sickening.

For the most part, Ledger’s family is based in Perth, Australia. Two of his uncles, Mike Ledger and Hayden Ledger, appeared from there via satellite on CBS’s The Early Show on Thursday. Another uncle, Neil Bell, lives in California and spoke to PEOPLE (for this week’s new issue) about his nephew.

“I heard about his death in the press, and I called his mother to find out what was happening, and even she didn’t know,” Bell said. “Heath’s father found out through the press. … It’s a pretty devastating way to find out.”