Heath Ledger: 1979-2008

Excerpt from the article: “The tragedy struck in the midst of an already hectic day in the entertainment industry, as Hollywood reacted to the morning’s announcement of the Oscar nominations and the latest buzz emanating from Sundance. But word spread with lightning speed via cell phones and BlackBerries, and in nearly every case was met with disbelief. One high-ranking studio exec, after receiving an e-mail stating that Ledger was dead, quickly wrote back: ‘What — you mean his career?’ Charlize Theron learned the news while walking a red carpet at Sundance. Josh Hartnett was blindsided at a Sundance Q&A by a question about Ledger’s death; he struggled to answer even as the crowd jeered the man who had asked it. The passing of an actor in his prime — he earned his first Oscar nomination at age 26 for Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain and was just months away from reinventing the Joker in the highly anticipated Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight — seemed too shocking to absorb at first, while at the same time painfully familiar. Within minutes of the story breaking, some 300 entertainment reporters, cameramen, photographers, and fans began to descend on Ledger’s building, creating a tableau that resembled a grisly perversion of a movie premiere. Bystanders snapped photos on cellphones and paparazzi climbed the fire escape of the building across the street hoping for shots into Ledger’s fourth-floor loft. ‘It’s crazy — he was so young,’ said one stunned observer.”

Check out Enertainment Weekly’s full cover feature at EW.com.

The news of Heath Ledger’s untimely death dominated search engines yesterday.

All things Heath filled up ten of the top 20 most popular search words, according to Google. Search strings included his family (former fiancee Michelle Williams and their daughter Matlida Ledger), his apartment address (421 Broome Street), and his most famous movies (10 Things I Hate About You and Brokeback Mountain).

Curiously enough, Americans don’t know how to spell and the second most popular search string yesterday was “KEITH LEDGER.” Smart!

Even smarter are the search strings found at #50 and #58 at Google Trends. Ridiculous!

Production on Heath Ledger’s latest fantasy adventure movie, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, was shut down hours after news broke of the actor’s untimely death.

“I just got the call [Tuesday] saying everyone was being let go,” an on-set source in Vancouver tells Us Weekly. “We were supposed to start this weekend, but obviously they fired everyone today. They don’t know yet what they are doing with the footage that was already shot. Right now, everyone is in complete shock and can’t even speak.”

Heath was last photographed on set dressed in a clown costume on Saturday.

New evidence has surfaced in the shocking death of Heath Ledger, who was found dead inside his SoHo apartment on Tuesday afternoon.

Police recovered several drug packets containing an unknown substance and a $20 bill with narcotic residue on it, reports CBS.

This is in addition to the prescription anxiety drugs Valium and Zoloft and prescription sleeping medication Ambien that were found in the apartment. All of these items were listed on the official police report from the scene.

It is not clear whether these items belonged to Heath or whether he even actually ingested them.

An autopsy on Heath Ledger was inconclusive and more tests are needed, reports The Associated Press.

10 days are needed to complete the investigation, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner.

Just yesterday, the 28-year-old actor was found dead with sleeping pills nearby.

Carla Williams, the mother of Heath’s former fiancee Michelle Williams, was spotted in Brooklyn earlier this morning. She was seen leaving the apartment that Michelle shared with Heath and their 2-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose, before the couple separated this past September.

Michelle Williams‘ father Larry told Australia’s The Daily Telegraph that Heath Ledger’s death has left his family broken hearted.

Mr. Williams said, “I think [poet] Tennyson got it right in the poem when he described someone as having died at a young age but burning the candles at both ends, and oh what a beautiful flame he made, that was Heath, what a beautiful flame he made and a great talent.

“My heart goes out to everyone in his family and my family. The saddest thing is his 2-year-old daughter [Matilda] whom he just loved dearly.”

Heath Ledger’s father Kim released the following statement with regards to the 28-year-old actor’s tragic death Tuesday in New York:

“Heath’s family confirms the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda. He was found peacefully asleep in his New York apartment by his housekeeper at 3:30 p.m. U.S. time.

“We would like to thank our friends and everyone around the world for their well wishes and kind thoughts at this time. Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life but few had the pleasure of truly knowing him.

“He was a down to earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving and selfless individual who was extremely inspirational to many. Please now respect our family’s need to grieve and come to terms with our loss privately.”

Here are the first celebrity reactions of Heath Ledger’s death:

“I am just beyond sad at this point and shocked. I was on my way over to pay him a visit when I found out. I had just left him a message and heard his voice on the machine. He was such a special and genuine person, so extraordinarily talented because he was so raw and honest with his feelings. He was so full of life, so electric…. This is immensely sad.” — supermodel Helena Christensen, rumored to have been romantically involved with Heath

“What a tragedy. My heart goes out to his family.” — Nicole Kidman

“I am shocked and very saddened by the news. I deeply respect Heath’s work and always admired his continuing development as an artist. My thoughts are with his family and close friends.” — Cate Blanchett

“I had such great hope for him. He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.” — Mel Gibson

“He is one of my favorite actors. His abilities are rare…it’s a tremendous loss. It’s hard to be here celebrating Australia under these circumstances.” — John Travolta

“It was with great sadness that I have learned of the passing of Heath Ledger. It is tragic that we have lost one of our nation’s finest actors in the prime of his life. Heath Ledger’s diverse and challenging roles will be remembered as some of the great performances by an Australian actor.” — Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia

“The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. The entertainment community has lost an enormous talent. Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.” — Statement by Alan Horn, President and COO of Warner Bros. and Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group

Pictured left: Heath Ledger on the London set of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus on Friday.