Actor Heath Ledger Is Found Dead
By Sewell Chan

The actor Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in an apartment building at 421 Broome Street in SoHo, according to the New York City police. Mr. Ledger was 28.

At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A in the building for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Mr. Ledger’s bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger unconscious. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities. The police said they did not suspect foul play. Officials said pills fear found near the body.

Mr. Ledger, a native of Perth, Australia, won acclaim for his role as a co-star in “Brokeback Mountain”, a 2005 film. The film, based on a short story by Annie Proulx about two cowboys who fall in love, won critical acclaim. Reviewing the film in The New York Times, the critic Stephen Holden wrote, “Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn.”

Mr. Ledger met the actress Michelle Williams while filming ‘’Brokeback Mountain.” The two actors fell into a very public romance. They had a daughter, Matilda Rose, who was born on Oct. 28, 2005. They moved to Brooklyn, but then separated last year.

Calls by The New York Times to Mara Buxbaum, a publicist for Mr. Ledger, and Steve Alexander, the actor’s agent, were not immediately returned this afternoon.

Thomas J. Lueck contributed reporting.

28 is definately too damn young. May he rest in peace.

On a side note: they just finished filming and are in post production for the new Batman so, sadly, his Joker performance will be the last we see of him.

what a shame, i thought he was a good actor and was looking forward to seeing him as the joker. ive heard roumors of drugs. however he died, i am sure he will be missed.

another  promising young actor dead...

RIP Heath Ledger

No matter how much you like or dislike other people you don't even know personally, your comparative remark was absolutely uncalled for.

It's a shame that within a matter of days we're already adding another name to the list of "die young actors".

I liked his work a lot, and I'm sure his farewell performance will be up to par to his other work. Truly a loss for the film industry, he could have done great...

Quoting FunkyLA:

Quote:
Damn shame

You got that right

In memorium will definitely be depressing at this year's Academy Awards -- First Brad Renfro, now Heath Ledger. It's been awhile since we have seen young talented actors lives end prematurely. What a shame.

Quoting colbyw:

Quote:
In memorium will definitely be depressing at this year's Academy Awards

Based on past Oscar telecasts the Academy only remembers the deaths from the 2007 calendar year so Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro won't be memorialised until the 2008 Oscars next year.

It is indeed tragic news for Heath's family - I met him briefly a few years ago and he was a very intense but gracious person.