Heath Ledger dead of OD

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

NYPost

[poseidon]

Wow. He was a good actor.

[emeleel]

How sad for his family.

[lynnzop[$]]

OMG.

I loved him in A Knight's Tale.

This is unbelievable.

[theworm[$]]

what a waste

[soxfan[$]]

Very sad. I'd never heard even a whiff of rumor about drug use, but since he was only 28 and seemed healthy, it's not difficult to believe drugs might have been involved.

[frazzledspice]

It's so sad to see someone so young and talented die before his time.

[realtraveller]

Handsome, talented, young, everything in the world to live for...dead...likely drug overdose.

The Patriot, Brokeback Mountain, Knight's Tale

Very sad.

[magenta321]

soxfan said

Very sad. I'd never heard even a whiff of rumor about drug use, but since he was only 28 and seemed healthy, it's not difficult to believe drugs might have been involved.

I read something about it being sleeping pills.

I also heard today that Amy Winehouse is back on drugs. Supposedly there is a recent video of hers (as evidenced by the blonde hair in the video, which is a new color for her) where she is smoking crack on camera.

Very sad that such talented young people waste themselves away.

[lynnzop[$]]

There was much gnashing of teeth and wailing of women in my office when this news came out.

I am not kidding. I had no more than opened MJ's post when someone in the next aisle over screeched "HEATH LEDGER IS DEAD" (someone had texted her) and you could hear nothing but chatter for the next 20 minutes. Most of the guys were like "Who?" and the women were all "OMG, I LOVE HIM."

So anyway. It is still unbelievable, and a total loss of talent. I would venture to guess accidental OD (if it's an OD), like Ailsa said, never a hint of problem with Heath...he seemed to be on the up & up.

[magenta321]

If sleeping pills were the cause of his death... you don't normally overdose on those by accident...

[pippadaisy[$]]

What is this "back on drugs" of which you speak with the Wino?

[mjfrombuffalo[$]]

Recent split from baby momma too...

[lynnzop[$]]

pippadaisy said

What is this "back on drugs" of which you speak with the Wino?

I saw a blurb on AO-Hell yesterday too.

Self-destruction like hers is way different from what happened to Ledger. She's Janis on speed, FCOL.

[pippadaisy[$]]

LOL.. I meant I was confused about the "back" part. She's never been OFF.

[theworm[$]]

heard last night that Heath did have a chemical dependency problem but was clean for a year.
Such suprise because a handsome, succesful, talented young man dies - possibly from drugs? If you play with drugs long enough and don't die, you lose the good looks and success.

I'll hold off on until the coroners report confirms it's an OD, but this makes me mad.

[rmthunter]

Actually, the drug overdoes is not at all likely, and at this point, according to police, not a serious consideration.

The pills that were "scattered" around his body were not, in fact, scattered at all. They were prescription medications that he had been taking because he was having trouble sleeping. According to his family, he had pneumonia as well.

From CBS News:

Sources initially told CBS 2 HD's Scott Weinberger the actor's death may have been drug-related, and that there were pills, possibly a strong sleeping medication, found near his body. However, there was no obvious indication of suicide, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

"There were prescription medications taken from the apartment, including sleeping pills," Browne said. "They were not scattered about. They were his prescription medications."

In Ledger's last interview on Nov. 4 he told the New York Times he was having trouble sleeping while filming his role as the "Joker" in an upcoming Batman film, "The Dark Knight." He said he had to take the prescription sleep aid Ambian and, "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going."

Let's not jump to conclusions, especially on the initial reports of a press that at its best is sensationalistic.

[eplovejoy]

rmthunter said

Let's not jump to conclusions

Yes, let's not. Ledger's father says it was an accident, which is plausible. Prescription medications can be tricky and doctors can be careless in explaining them. Overdoses happen without intent, and Ledger's father knew his son at least well enough to deserve the benefit of the doubt.

[rmthunter]

Andy Towle at Towleroad has what seems to be the most sensible coverage so far.

[lynnzop[$]]

Looks like it's done.

Autopsy results are inconclusive.
Not in Mary-Kate's apt. (WTF did THAT come from???)
Everyone is sad.

[jgibson2[$]]

1. Pneumonia kills people - even young, relatively healthy people.

2. Doctors prescribe some pretty hefty cough suppressants to people with pneumonia to take so they can get a little sleep. They don't always tell you NOT to take the OTC stuff along with the prescription stuff (learned this the hard way). In fact, in my experience, they OFTEN forget to tell you not to mix those two.

3. Dextromethorphan is an opiate analog - you can even get high if you take enough.

Mixing Ambien with prescription and possibly OTC cough suppressants could be enough to do in someone who's not breathing too well anyway.

[pippadaisy[$]]

He did not die of pneumonia. Autopsy was inconclusive. NYPD have confirmed that they found a rolled $20 with some sort of powder on it that's been submitted for testing.

The celebrity culture is, unfortunately, pretty predictable. I've seen enough that I tend toward guilty until proven innocent.