Heath Ledger Found Dead in NYC
January 22, 2008

Actor Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in his own apartment after a masseuse arrived to give the Oscar-nominated actor a massage and found him unresponsive. Several outlets are reporting that the death may have been drug-related but it's far too early to tell and very few details are known at this hour. According to the New York Times, a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A at 421 Broome Street in SoHo in New York City where Heath Ledger lived at 3:31pm this afternoon. The masseuse knocked on the door, got no response, and was let in by a housekeeper. They knocked on the bedroom door of the 28-year-old Heath Ledger and when no one answered, they went in and found him unconscious. They shook him and got no response, after which they called authorities. The police have already said that there is no suspicion of foul play and officials have told the Times that pills were found near the body of Heath Ledger. A police spokesperson told CNN, "Pills were found in the vicinity of the bed. This is being looked at as a possible overdose, but that is not confirmed yet."

Ledger rose to a new level of fame in 2005 after starring in Brokeback Mountain, which earned him an Oscar nod. The New York Times' Stephen Holden wrote about the rising star, "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."

Ledger had a daughter with his Brokeback Mountain co-star Michelle Williams in October of 2005. Ledger and Williams split last year after a high profile relationship. Heath Ledger broke through in 10 Things I Hate About You in 1999 and went on to star in The Patriot, A Knight's Tale, Monster's Ball, The Four Feathers, Ned Kelly, Lords of Dogtown, The Brothers Grimm, Brokeback Mountain, Casanova, Candy, and last year's I'm Not There. He had just finished shooting on one of this summer's most anticipated movies, The Dark Knight, and was about to start work on Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

We send our deepest condolences to the friends and family of Heath Ledger.