Actor, Heath Ledger, found dead in his NYC apartment

*This news totally caught me by surprise! He was one of the best I thought and for him being the only 28 (younger then me) he was way too young to go.*

NEW YORK -- Heath Ledger, the talented 28-year-old actor who gravitated toward dark, brooding roles that defied his leading-man looks, was found dead Tuesday in a Manhattan apartment, facedown at the foot of his bed with prescription sleeping pills nearby, police said.

There was no obvious indication that the Australian-born Ledger had committed suicide, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

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Heath LedgerHeath Ledger moviesHeath Ledger photosLedger had an appointment for a massage at the SoHo apartment that is believed to be the home of the "Brokeback Mountain" actor, Browne said. The massage therapist and a housekeeper found his naked body at about 3:30 p.m. They tried to revive him, but he was already dead.

"I had such great hope for him," said Mel Gibson, who played Ledger's vengeful father in "The Patriot," in a statement. "He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss."

Outside the Manhattan building on an upscale street, paparazzi and gawkers gathered, and several police officers put up barricades to control the crowd of about 300. Onlookers craned their necks as officers brought out a black bodybag on a gurney, took it across the sidewalk and put it into a medical examiner's office van.

As the door opened, bystanders snapped pictures with camera phones, rolled video and said, "He's coming out!"

An autopsy was planned for Wednesday, medical examiner's office spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said.

While not a marquee movie star, Ledger was an award-winning actor who chose his roles carefully rather than cashing in on big-money parts. He was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as a gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain." During filming, he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. The two had a daughter, now 2-year-old Matilda, and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.

It was a shocking and unforeseen conclusion for one of Hollywood's bright young stars. Though his leading man looks propelled him to early stardom in films like "10 Things I Hate About You" and "A Knight's Tale," his career took a notable turn toward dramatic and brooding roles with 2001's "Monster's Ball."

Ledger's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said in a statement: "We are all deeply saddened and shocked by this accident. This is an extremely difficult time for his loved ones and we are asking the media to please respect the family's privacy and avoid speculation until the facts are known."


Video: Stars react to Ledger's death
In the Australian city of Perth, where Ledger was born and raised, his father called the actor's death "tragic, untimely and accidental."

"He was (a) down-to-earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving, unselfish individual, extremely inspirational to many," Kim Ledger said, reading from a prepared statement. "Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life."

Ledger eschewed Hollywood glitz in favor of a bohemian life in Brooklyn, where he became one of the borough's most famous residents. "Brokeback" would be his breakthrough role, establishing him as one of his generation's finest talents and an actor willing to take risks.

Ledger began to gravitate more toward independent fare, including Lasse Hallstrom's "Casanova" and Terry Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm," both released in 2005. His 2006 film "Candy" now seems destined to have an especially haunting quality: In a particularly realistic performance, Ledger played a poet wrestling with a heroin addiction along with his girlfriend, played by Abbie Cornish.

But Ledger's most recent choices were arguably the boldest yet: He costarred in "I'm Not There," in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan — as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned an Oscar nomination Tuesday for best supporting actress.

And in what may be his final finished performance, Ledger proved that he wouldn't be intimidated by taking on a character as iconic as Jack Nicholson's Joker. Ledger's version of the "Batman" villain, glimpsed in early teaser trailers, made it clear that his Joker would be more depraved and dark.

Curiosity about Ledger's final performance will likely stoke further interest in the summer blockbuster. "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan said this month that Ledger's Joker would be wildly different from Nicholson's.

"It was a very great challenge for Heath," Nolan said. "He's extremely original, extremely frightening, tremendously edgy. A very young character, a very anarchic presence that taps into a lot of our basic fears and panic."

Ledger told The New York Times in a November interview that he "stressed out a little too much" during the Dylan film and had trouble sleeping while portraying the Joker, whom he called a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy."

"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told the newspaper. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." He said he took two Ambien pills, which worked for only an hour, the paper said.

Ledger was a widely recognized figure in his Manhattan neighborhood, where he used to shop at a home and children's store. Michelle Vella, an employee there, said she had frequently seen Ledger with his daughter — carrying the toddler on his shoulders, or having ice cream with her.

"It's so sad. They were really close," Vella said. "He's a very down-to-earth guy and an amazing father."

Before settling down with Williams, Ledger had relationships with actresses Heather Graham and Naomi Watts. He met Watts while working on "The Lords of Dogtown," a fictionalized version of a cult classic skateboarding documentary, in 2004.

Ledger was born in 1979 to a mining engineer and a French teacher and got his first acting role playing Peter Pan at age 10 in a local theater company. He began acting in independent films as a 16-year-old in Sydney and played a cyclist hoping to land a spot on an Olympic team in a 1996 television show, "Seat."

After several independent films, Ledger moved to Los Angeles at age 19 and starred opposite Julia Stiles in "10 Things I Hate About You." Offers for other teen flicks soon came his way, but Ledger turned them down, preferring to remain idle than sign on for projects he didn't like.

"It wasn't a hard decision for me," Ledger told the Associated Press in 2001. "It was hard for everyone else around me to understand. Agents were like, `You're crazy,' my parents were like, 'Come on, you have to eat.'"

Oh no, not another one!

Just thought I'd let you in on the happenings with the dog, Grover. Thursday afternoon he started to get sick, by throwing up and not keeping anything down. However he was drinking and that was good, until he started puking up the water. He would show signs that he was improving, so we didn't feel it necessary to take him to the vet. Friday he still would not eat but he would drink water. That evening, since we were still unable to figure out the type of food he ate, I gave him the last lick of my chicken pot pie on my finger. He ate that really good. I did not want to over do it, so I let him eat the last little bit of what was left (which was the gravy). He seemed to perk up and even played with Chuck. Saturday we went to Chuck's dad to introduce Mitzy and Grover (we are babysitting Mitzy this week) and Grover did just fine. That is until he threw up his soft canned food on their front lawn and he started moping around again. We brought him home and he wouldn't drink nor eat anything. Saturday night was horrible, he kept hacking and having dry heaves, then he started having diarrhea really bad and kept Chuck and I up most of the night. Sunday morning we talked it over and decided it would be better on me to give him to Kelly and have her nurse him back to health since I couldn't do it and even keep him afterwards. After church, she took him home with her and then came back and took me to a special evening session they were having and left the dog home alone... which in my opinion, was a bad choice. After the sermon and dropping me off Ken and Kelly found the dog had died. I am not as upset as I was when Bebe died. I liked that dog and everything but I just wouldn't allow myself to get attached because it was just too early yet. I am sad that he died, but I feel really bad for Kelly because she is probably blaming herself and she fell in love with him that day she picked him out.

A painful loss

My niece and nephew stayed over Sunday night. Monday morning I asked Carrie to fold up the couch bed so I could get around, she came over and folded it up and put it away. I had a candy bar in my hands that I was unwrapping, usually my dog hears the noise right a way and comes running up by me waiting for me to give her some. When she didn't come I figured Brenden had let her out. A couple minutes later Carrie asked me where Bebe was, she looked all around outside but couldn't find her then we looked all around the house and kept calling her name but she still didn't come. Then I looked at Carrie and said you didn't fold her in the couch did you? So she quickly took out the bed and started freaking out when she got to the last fold. Brenden ran out to help his sister fold out the rest of the couch and there was Bebe tangled in the blanket and in a pool of drool. She was breathing in and out really fast and her nose was dry. I called Chuck to take her to the vet, they were unable to slow her heart rate down so Chuck had her put to sleep.

I miss having Bebe around and Chuck is taking it hard himself, he wonders if maybe he made the wrong choice in having Bebe put down. He wonders if she would have made it through if we would have left her alone. Now what I am worried about is how my niece is handling the news. She is only a nine year old little girl and she was so fond of Bebe and now I am afraid she will start thinking that it was all her fault since she was the one who folded up the bed.

I realize that I have not yet gotten to the part where Sharon gave me Bebe. But she did and I think that was one of her best decisions she has ever made. Do not worry, I will be coming to that part soon!

Here is a picture of Bebe:

RIP my Bebe girl!