Heath Ledger..."THE DARK KNIGHT"

Police have confirmed that sleeping pills were discovered near the body of Australian actor Heath Ledger, 28, when he was found dead in a Manhattan apartment today.

New York Police Department deputy commissioner Paul Browne said the Oscar-nominated actor's body was found naked and face-down on the floor of his bedroom by a housekeeper about 3.30pm Tuesday (7.30am Melbourne time).

''There were pills within the vicinity of the bed,'' Mr Browne said.

But he stressed that pills were not scattered around Ledger's body, as had been previously reported.

"There were some prescription medications that included sleeping pills," he said.

The 28-year-old actor, who had reportedly been ill with pneumonia, had an appointment for a massage at the apartment, which is believed to be his home in Soho in Manhattan.

The housekeeper went to tell Ledger the masseuse had arrived and found him naked and unconscious at the foot of his bed.

Ledger's former fiancee, Brokeback Mountain co-star Michelle Williams - the mother of his two-year-daughter Matilda - was reported to be ''devastated'' by his death and had boarded a flight to New York.

Representatives of the actor's family said police had advised them his death was accidental, the TMZ.com website reported.

The site said representatives had made contact to say Ledger's family was particularly distraught over media speculation that he may have taken his own life. He was not that kind of person, the family said.

Ledger's Californian attorney, John LaViolette, could not be contacted this morning.

A spokeswoman at his office said he was currently on a plane.

"I'm sorry, we can't talk about this now, we're too upset," she said, before ending the phone call.

Ledger's death comes during the making of his latest film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, directed by Terry Gilliam and in which he was to star alongside Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits.

Ledger was an Oscar nominee for his role in Brokeback Mountain and had numerous other screen credits.

He played a heroin addict in Candy, the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball and had starring roles in A Knight's Tale and The Patriot.

His most recent role was in I'm Not There, in which he played one of the many incarnations of singer Bob Dylan - as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. He played a heroin addict in Candy, the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball and had starring roles in A Knight's Tale and The Patriot.

His most recent role was in I'm Not There, in which he played one of the many incarnations of singer Bob Dylan - as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

He was to appear as the Joker this year in The Dark Knight, a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins.

Ledger was born in Perth, the son of Sally Ledger Bell and Kim Ledger, a race car driver and mining engineer.

He made his film debut in the 1997 Australian movie Blackrock, and in 1999 starred in the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You.

In 2005, Ledger received an Oscar nomination for his acclaimed performance in Brokeback Mountain, in which he played a gay ranch hand who had a love affair with a rodeo rider.

Perth casting director Annie Murtagh-Monks discovered Ledger as a
15-year-old in a school production of Hamlet.

''He had a natural ability but it wasn't like he was driven to be a star at that age,'' she told 3AW.

Ledger was cast in the short-lived TV drama Sweat - where he played a young gay cyclist preparing for the Olympics - and his career blossomed from there.

His role as the Joker in The Dark Knight had been difficult, Murtagh-Monks noted.

''I'd heard that he'd had a lot of trouble sleeping from that,'' she said. ''I honestly don't know what's caused this.''

The actor's relationship with the press was turbulent. In 2004 he allegedly spat at a paparazzi photographer in Sydney, a claim that he strongly denied.

In January 2006, several photographers retaliated, squirting Ledger with water pistols as he walked the red carpet for the Sydney premiere of Brokeback Mountain.

Earlier this month Ledger was linked with West Australian model and actor Gemma Ward.

with Miki Perkins and agencies

Category:

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Tags:

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• Ledger
• Dark
• Knight
• Death
• Batman
• Joker
• Tribute

[Nurseeker]

I have not watched all his movies, but I what saw was impressive such as:

Ned Kelly, 10 Things I hate About You, The Patriot, Candy. I did not watch a lot of his INDIE films, but I heard they were good.

He was my AGE...

It gave me a real sense of my own mortality...

He was having nightmares of The Joker and could not sleep.

He heard on CNN he was mixing sleeping pills with alcohol.

I do not know if that is the official autopsy report.

[IamThevshi]

Well in that case Heath should be happy he doesn't have to deal with it anymore. Shut up, asswipe.

[anjet148]

@StevePaparazzi hey spat on a PHOTOGRAPHER!

[SamanthaHarrison23]

wuts the name of the song?

[ILuvJokerMoreThanYou]

Really O_O wO

[StevePaparazzi]

Er, actually, I personally know the photographer that Heath Ledger spat on in 2004. (He was Welsh, but he had lived in Australia for many years; he died in 2008.)

Ledger even recruited relatives and family members to spit on photographers. Ask any pap who works the Sydney scene!

I also know the three photograhers who squirted Ledger on the red carpet in Sydney. They all worked for the same photo agency. (The South African now lives in Queensland, the others are still in Sydney.)

[cherries1xx]

wow i lv him sooooooo much & al his films hes da best! der wil neva b another lke him :) im sad hes gone :(

[slipknotlover21]

haven't seen it

[ufofreak1947]

how the hell dont you know that

[gennaiafebbraio]

Very very sad.

[clownqueen23]

i wanna cry now, its weird, even though i didnt know him it felt like i did. :( i can't wait till his last eveer film Dr Parnasuss comes out, i will cry my head off. im glad so many of his films are on over xmas. i am a bit scared, reason being my boyfriend looks like him and he has the flu...

[ILuvJokerMoreThanYou]

me too!!!

:(