Heath Ledger is dead

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by David

Could those Phelps nuts ever turn violent? I wonder whether law enforcement keeps tabs on them.

Oh I'm sure the FBI has a file.

[BTFLCHLD]

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...XDWu0LGcC3BMkg


Drug cocktail killed Heath Ledger

NEW YORK (AFP) — Hollywood star Heath Ledger, found dead in his New York apartment two weeks ago, died of accidental intoxication caused by a cocktail of painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs, officials said Wednesday.

Ledger, who scored critical acclaim for his performance as a repressed gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain" in 2005, had six prescription medicines including the drugs marketed as Xanax and Valium in his system when he died.

"Mr Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine," the New York chief medical examiner's office said in a statement.

"We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications," it added.

The cause of the 28-year-old Australian's death had been shrouded in mystery since his death on January 22, with an initial autopsy proving inconclusive and conflicting speculation that he was a drug user and suffering from pneumonia.

He had been found naked and unresponsive in his Manhattan apartment, with police saying that prescription medications were found in the residence but that a rolled-up 20 dollar bill near the body had tested negative for drugs.

His family insisted throughout that he would not have taken his own life.

Ledger's father Kim, said he hoped the official toxicology results would end rumors surrounding his son's death and appealed for privacy.

"Today's results put an end to speculation, but our son's beautiful spirit and enduring memory will forever remain in our hearts," he said in a statement.

"While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy," he said, adding "we respectfully request the worldwide media allow us time to grieve privately."

"Heath's accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage," he added.

Ledger told The New York Times in November, during the shooting of the latest Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," in which he plays The Joker, that he often took Ambien, a prescription sleeping pill, to help with insomnia.

"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," he said. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted and my mind was still going."

He was reported to have said that taking one pill had no effect on him and that he'd take a second one to fall asleep, only to wake up an hour later with his "mind still racing."

Ledger was seen as a rising star in Hollywood and his death sent shockwaves through the film industry. His memorial service in Los Angeles drew an A-list of mourners including Tom Cruise and wife Katie Holmes.

Arrangements for Ledger's burial in Perth have not been made public, but it is expected his family will hold a private funeral later this week at which they will bury their son in a family plot.

Ledger first came to prominence by acting as a homosexual athlete in a little-known Australian soap opera, "Sweat," in 1996.

At 19, he left Sydney for Hollywood, where his talent was spotted by Mel Gibson when auditioning 500 actors for the role of his son in "The Patriot" -- a break that led to his leading role in "A Knight's Tale."

He was nominated for a best actor Oscar for his "Brokeback Mountain" role and had recently been working on "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," directed by Terry Gilliam, and which was originally due out next year.

[SuzeQuze]

So tragic and so much like Marilyn, except 8 years younger. I wonder if the meds were prescribed by different physicians. 6 different anti-anxiety/pain meds is a lot. This is so incredibly sad for his daughter and friends and family.

[BombaySapphire3]

if they were all prescribed by the same physician and to be taken concurrently he should at the least lose his license.

[skcin]

I read this morning that it's quite possible that he didn't take all of these types of pills on the same day - could have been days apart. People don't realize that these things happen all too often, complete accidents, because most aren't aware of the dangers. The brain simply forgets to tell you to breathe, or to roll over if you're face down in a pillow. The nervous system is too depressed to do its job.