with his daughter Matilda last fall
Posted on 01/22/2008 2:47:07 PM PST by WmShirerAdmirer
"New York Police Department confirms actor Heath Ledger, 28, found dead in his New York City apartment, which was strewn with pills." | PHOTOS | VIDEO
Live reports at 5:45 PM, Quoting TMZ Source, via Fox News: Actor Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead in his apartment bedroom by his housekeeper and masseuse at 3:30 PM this afternoon. Police are telling TMZ it was an accidental drug overdose and not foul play. Ledger was found with perscription pills strewn around the bed.
TMZ also says the apartment is "not" owned by Mary Kate Olsen
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
That’s two....
Look at Owen Wilson, you would have thought he had the world but he tried suicide, luckily unsuccessful.
We really do have some heartless buttheads on this site, condemning a man over a role he acted in. Tom Selleck is a well-respected conservative and he played a homosexual in a movie, why not trash him? Anyway, prayers for Mr. Ledger and his family.
My opinion. Not worth much.
There are drugs (new?) out there right now which are very dangerous and are causing lots of accidental deaths amoung young and middle-aged people. We had one incident of a member of our family (in another state) was found dead. He was walking home, had taken a short-cut through a vacant lot when he collapsed. Drug overdose.
What seems new about this pattern, is that death usually follows a long, drawn out history of drug use — but this recent picture shows them dying earlier in their drug experimentation — almost like they aren’t aware or cannot control the outcome.
I am still in a state of shock over this death...totally unexpected and a great talent gone in a heartbbeat.
RIP Mr. Heath....
Sorrow for his family. No respect at all for a suicide who chose to put them through it. He apparently performed one of the absolutely most cowardly and selfish actions a person can do.
I speak from direct experience.
It's a skill like any other. I respect someone who has the talent and dedication to do it well -- which is also true of plumbers, mechanics, ball-players, cabinet-makers, cellists, and so on.
On a separate but related topic, I have no problem with actors and musicians who weigh in on politics. They're citizens like anyone else, and like anyone else, some present an articulate, well though out argument, and others are idiots, with most in between.
Somehow I respect someone who can fix pipes, car engines, build cabinets and play intricate music a whole lot more than someone who can cry or laugh on cue.
God bless his soul.
If indeed it was suicide- only God should judge him...
Talk of suicide is premature. I don't think it's been determined whether his death was suicide or an accidental drug overdose and he was known to have substance abuse problems.
What a tragedy.
“I don’t exactly respect someone for being able to act. I mean, I don’t see that being able to act is a noble quality.”
Seems to me acting is like any other profession (or craft). It takes a lot of work to develop acting skills. Only a very few who set out to become actors make good at it, though, so you also have to have a lot of drive and persistence. I admit, I have a personal stake in this — a daughter who’s determined to be an actress — I see how hard she works at it. You have to respect anyone who’s good at their craft.
That said: Lots of people who are extremely good at what they do professionally are not particularly admirable in other aspects of their lives. That goes for actors, and everybody else.
You admire them for their abilities and hard work at their craft, you don’t necessarily admire them for anything else.
As for Ledger: he was still pretty young, only 28. He was a good actor, could have been one of the major stars of the future. The death is a tragedy We don’t know enough of the circumstances, I think, to say any more. My prayers go to his family and friends.
I apologize. There have been just so many tasteless and reprehensible comments, it's easy to mistake sarcasm for the real thing.
But we don’t know that it was suicide yet, so I think we should reserve judgement until we have all the facts.
They are. But I can’t help but wonder if this will affect the release in any way.
Plus, from what I heard, there was going to be a part 3 that Ledger was signed on for.
Actually, I think for a lot of people acting like someone they're not comes very naturally.
Especially in the world of 3 minute takes in movies...I don't see a whole lot of skill involved.
True, some can cry better than others but I just don't see that as noble.
I like to be entertained by actors, but I can't say I respect them. Unless I know of something they've done off-screen that's worthwhile.
60% of the world's illegal drug market is in the U.S.A. (with 6% of the world's population);
Over 20 million Americans use Marijuana;
An estimated 6 million Americans use Cocaine;
An estimated half a million Americans use Heroin;
An estimated 13 million Americans are alcoholics;
Almost 1/3 of Americans between ages 20 and 40 have used an illicit drug once in the past year
Almost 1/2 of Americans Entering the work Force have used an illicit drug once in the past year.
Many of these drug users are prominent citizens in our communities.
They are business owners, doctors, civic leaders, parents and neighbors.
Consider the profile of a regular cocaine user:
Well educated [average of 14 years of education] Employed [77%] and well-paid [37% earn over 25K] 56% engage in illegal activity other than drug possession to support the habit.
[Source: National Drug Task Force Journal]
My mangers is a pushing 40 still thinks he is a frat boy in college he is a drunk. Most of my co-workers are drunks. Most of them have stories of DUI or driving down the wrong side of the highway.
That's premature. It could have been an accidental OD, a previously undiagnosed ailment, or a freak combination of factors. According to CNN's story, a police spokeswoman said the pills were OTC sleeping pills -- it would take a lot of effort to commit suicide that way. Sleeping pills, alcohol, perhaps other drugs, maybe an organic ailment, that would do it.
That said, it's always a shock when a star commits suicide - though it happens fairly often. A lot of folks go into show business because of a deep-seated need to be lived by everyone all the time. They outrun their demons all the way to the finish line, but the demons still catch up. For most of us, it makes no sense to kill yourself when youre living the dream; but if you have that psychological drive, what happens when you achieve your wildest dreams, no dreams left to chase, and it's still not enough?
It's none of my business, really, but I wonder if there's a family history of suicide. It tends to run in families -- Just look at the Hemingways. Not because it's genetic, but because it's precedented.
Suicide is the ultimate selfish act, laying down all your burdens and burdening everyone who loves you. "Suicide is painless," as the song goes. But for all the pain, abandonment and anger it leaves behind, the child, spouse, sibling of a suicide is left with the fact that someone they loved and respected made that choice -- so it's no longer beyond the pale. It's a last resort, but a resort.
Nope.
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