Actor Heath Ledger Is Found Dead

[Miss Brill]

The Phelps spawn was on some talk show & was questioned about her illegitimate children. lol


I got to thinking about something today--what happens to childen who are too young to know a parent has died? Do they feel resentment? Matilda will be expecting to see her daddy again, and he won't be back, but she is too little to understand that he can't, so do these children have abandonment issues even after they are older & learn about death? She'll wait, and wait, and wait, and finally forget him, but he will still always be in the back of her mind. I remember reading that John Kennedy, Jr would ask people if they'd seen his father after JFK was killed.

If Matilda was in Sweden with her mom, and he was in London, and NY, I wonder how long it had been since they'd seen easch other? Has anyone said?

 

[pretty faythe]

So current word is that he had flu, people who were working with him on the movie that he was filming at the time of his death said it was more than the flu, the poor man had walking pneumonia.

I have a friend who recently stopped smoking and his chest would always hurt, the symptoms alot like pnuemomia. Worried the poo out of me, he wouldn't take himself to the doctor, I told him about a homeopathic remedy when he told me he had stopped smoking and was having nicotene withdrawl pains.

So people, don't mess with the pnuemonia, they warn against it every year!!

 

[MrBern]

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35424

A rumor on how Ledger's death will be resolved for his final film performance in TerryGilliam's THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS.

hilite:

The rumor is that at certain points during the film the main character, which was played by Ledger, fell through magic mirrors and, I would assume, into different realities or fantasy lands. The word is that each time this happens (3 or 4 times in the movie) the character will be played by a different actor and Depp would be one of those actors (which makes sense why he can fit this into his schedule), the other two being actors just as well known as Depp.

 

[MrBern]

accident

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/heath-ledgers-death-is-ruled-an-accident/index.html

February 6, 2008, 10:29 am
Heath Ledger’s Death Is Ruled an Accident
By SEWELL CHAN

Heath Ledger (Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
Updated, 12:43 p.m. | The New York City chief medical examiner’s office has ruled that the actor Heath Ledger, whose body was found in a SoHo apartment on Jan. 22, died of an accidental overdose of prescription medications that included painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs.

“Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine,” Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the chief medical examiner, Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, said in a brief statement on Wednesday morning. “We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications.”

An autopsy was conducted on Jan. 23, the day after Mr. Ledger’s death, but the results were inconclusive pending toxicological and histological tests, which analyze blood samples and tissue for the presence of chemicals in the body.

The six drugs found in Mr. Ledger’s system included two painkillers: Oxycodone, the active ingredient in the prescription drug OxyContin, and hydrocodone, which is often combined with acetaminophen, as in the prescription drug Vicodin.

Also in Mr. Ledger’s system were three anti-anxiety medications, known as benzodiazepines, that are used to treat anxiety disorders and panic attacks by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain: diazepam, sold under the commercial name Valium, which is used relieve anxiety, muscle spasms and seizures and to control agitation caused by alcohol withdrawal; alprazolam, commonly known under the brand name Xanax;
and Temazepam, brand name Restoril, which is most commonly prescribed as a sleep aid than as an anti-anxiety medication.

One nonprescription drug was found in Mr. Ledger’s system: doxylamine, which is found in common nighttime sleep aids. It is an antihistamine that causes drowsiness as a side effect and is used in the short-term treatment of insomnia. (It is also used, in combination with decongestants, to relieve cough and cold symptoms.)

In response to the medical examiner’s findings, the actor’s father, Kim Ledger, who lives in Australia, released the following statement this morning through Mara Buxbaum, Heath Ledger’s publicist:

We remain humble as parents and a family, among millions of people worldwide who may have suffered the tragic loss of a child. Few can understand the hollow, wrenching, and enduring agony parents silently suffer when a child predeceases them. Today’s results put an end to speculation, but our son’s beautiful spirit and enduring memory will forever remain in our hearts.

While no medications were taken in excess, we learned today the combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our boy. Heath’s accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage.

Our family enjoyed an extremely happy two week visit with Heath just prior to the New Year. Those recent precious days will stay with us forever. We as a family feel privileged to have some of his amazing magic moments captured in film. To most of the world Heath was an actor of immeasurable talent and promise. To those who knew him personally, Heath was a consummate artist whose passions also included photography, music, chess and directing. We knew Heath as a loving father, as our devoted son, and as a loyal and generous brother and friend.

We treasure our beautiful granddaughter Matilda (to our dear Michelle) as well as an unbelievably wonderful network of close friends, forever, around the world. Families rarely experience the uplifting, warm and massive outpouring of grief and support as have we, from every corner of the planet. This has deeply and profoundly touched our hearts and lives. We are eternally grateful.

At this moment we respectfully request the worldwide media allow us time to grieve privately, without the intrusions associated with press and photography.

The body of Mr. Ledger, 28, was found undressed, in bed, in an apartment in SoHo that he had been renting, around 2:45 p.m. on Jan. 22. The police quickly ruled out foul play.

Told about the drugs found in Mr. Ledger’s body, Dr. Vatsal G. Thakkar, a psychiatrist at N.Y.U. Medical Center and a clinical assistant professor at the N.Y.U. School of Medicine, said in a statement: “Six different sedative drugs in Heath Ledger’s system show something was amiss. Whether that was in taking combinations of drugs without proper medical guidance or sloppy prescribing, it was an unfortunate situation and with a tragic outcome.”

In a phone interview, Dr. Thakkar added: “Drug combinations are done and can be done safely, to an extent. In this situation, we have two painkillers, three anti-anxiety medications, at least one sleep aid. To have this many medications overlapping — different mechanisms, different compounds – I do not see an appropriate clinical situation where this should be acceptable.” It is not known how Mr. Ledger obtained the medications.

Dr. Andrew J. Kolodny, the vice chairman of psychiatry at Maimonides Medical Center and an authority on deaths by accidental overdose, said that combining anti-anxiety medications with painkillers can be particularly lethal. Both types of medications can lead to addiction, he said, making it more challenging for someone using the two types of drugs to avoid combining them.

James Barron contributed reporting.

 

[HadleyH]

Heath Ledger’s Death Is Ruled an Accident

I thought so...

 

[catsmeow]

Heath was taking a dangerous mixture of drugs. Poor Heath.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

One of the hottest areas of study (and litigation) in the coming years is going to be drug interactions. People are taking legally prescribed drugs, in the prescribed or not the described dosage, for the label use, another medically intended use, or no medical use at all. They are taking over-the-counter drugs, ditto. They are taking vitamins, herbs, and natural medicines, ditto. They are taking illicitly obtained and illegal drugs. And they are mixing all of these in their own little laboratory, the human body. Remember the autopsy on Anna Nicole Smith? She was a one-woman pharmacy!

Things did turn out this way. Can't say I'm surprised. But what kind of sane person mixes all those potent drugs? We are wavering on the edge of a kind of intentionality here, I think.

 

[Feraud]

Is this an accident because the drugs were prescribed?
Anyone with an ounce of common sense does not mix medication.
It reads like a good old fashioned overdose to me. The dumb punk.

 

[ohairas]

I still beleive it was accidental. There are many people who don't understand the dangers of drugs, prescribed or not.
Even my husbands dr. had him on different meds that proved to be fatal when taken with each other, thank goodness he stopped taking the one before anything happened. And I know he's not the only dr. who has done this.

What $*#*@ difference does it make if he was naked or not? I'm so sick of reading that.
Nikki

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I still beleive it was accidental. There are many people who don't understand the dangers of drugs, prescribed or not.
Even my husbands dr. had him on different meds that proved to be fatal when taken with each other, thank goodness he stopped taking the one before anything happened. And I know he's not the only dr. who has done this.

If it was an "accident," it was a very stupidly careless accident. There is no excuse for an intelligent person not to understand these sorts of risks; the information is all out there, it's more accessible than it has ever been. I feel abominably sorry for the loss of Ledger's great talent, but like so many gifted and non-so-gifted actors, comedians, and musicians, he was abusive to the very instrument of his art, his body. What bloody sense does that make? The whole pattern is idiotic. In fact, I know idiots with more sense.

 

[Jovan]

Let's have just a little bit of respect for the dead, whatever his judgment may have been...

 

[Miss Brill]

I believe it was an accident. I want to believe it was. When pills stop doing what you want them to do, you take more of them, or you take them with different things, so I could easily see him having to increase dosage to get sleep, or even get a buzz. I've taken enough OTC/prescription sleeping meds to know that after awhile 2 pills won't make you sleepy. It is the same with painkillers, but I've never taken (or needed) heavy-duty pain meds.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

Let's have just a little bit of respect for the dead, whatever his judgment may have been...

I understand your point, but Ledger was a public figure; his judgment is fair game for discussion. That is part of the price the famous pay for being famous, and I think that it is a fair price. We are encouraged to "consume" the famous; that can scarcely be turned off when they die in a spectacular or unseemly fashion.

Also, a point much missed nowadays, those with millions can hire help to prevent them from behaving stupidly. Heath Ledger could afford more than drugs; he could afford a full-time doctor if he so chose. Britney Spears could hire a companion to stop her from acting out (as Anna Nicole might have done also). Paris Hilton could hire a driver (well actually I think she may have by now, but you get my point). Natural human sympathy is one thing, but these are people with resources beyond what you and I and anyone we know will ever have access to. I'm not inclined to cut them that much slack.

 

[Jovan]

I'm well aware that they have access to help and it could have been prevented, but I don't think that makes it right for us to call him names and judge his intelligence based on that. We certainly wouldn't do so if one of our fellow Loungers did so. Talk about people the way you would to their face, I say. [huh]

 

[Patrick Murtha]

And for a statement on the subject much more brutal and impassioned than mine -- and entirely correct, as far as I can see -- catch this:

http://chud.com/articles/articles/1...ADVOCATE-THE-DIRTY-DOUBLE-STANDARD/Page1.html

 

[Miss Brill]

Talk about people the way you would to their face, I say. [huh]

Excellent sentiment.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I'm well aware that they have access to help and it could have been prevented, but I don't think that makes it right for us to call him names and judge his intelligence based on that. We certainly wouldn't do so if one of our fellow Loungers did so. Talk about people the way you would to their face, I say. [huh]

Not to dig in my heels here -- well, maybe a little -- but I have lived with a partner who became a crystal meth and club drug addict, and I have indeed had to talk that way to his face. So I have some experience with this.

All I'm doing here is venting a little about a celebrity death that is already being "spun," my intention being to apply a little anti-spin. It's just discussion; I'm not picketing his funeral, I'm not sending emails to his parents.

But would that someone had been able to "get real" enough to make a difference with Ledger, or River Phoenix, or John Belushi, or Layne Staley, or Kurt Cobain, or Brad Nowell (I'm sure people tried). Politeness is simply not an adequate response to self-destruction.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this, Jovan.

 

[PolkaDotMeggie]

He is no longer a "celebrity" for all to nitpick-- he is dead. As far as I am concerned, we should not pass judgement on his actions. Let's instead hope that another celebrity doesn't come to the same fate, although it is clear that there are so many that need help.

I am not a doctor, nor pharmacist. I read the labels on the bottles of my prescriptions, save the information packets, but that doesn't mean that I couldn't fall ill, or end up dead, due to a freak drug interaction.

 

[Miss Brill]

I think this was nice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMs0vJP_96k

 

[Patrick Murtha]

He is no longer a "celebrity" for all to nitpick-- he is dead. As far as I am concerned, we should not pass judgement on his actions. Let's instead hope that another celebrity doesn't come to the same fate, although it is clear that there are so many that need help.

I am not a doctor, nor pharmacist. I read the labels on the bottles of my prescriptions, save the information packets, but that doesn't mean that I couldn't fall ill, or end up dead, due to a freak drug interaction.

There was nothing "freak" about this interaction (six drugs, five of them "heavy" prescription drugs?). And of course he is still a celebrity. He will now be a bigger celebrity for a longer time than he might ever have been in his lifetime, had it gone on. Death does that for the famous. It is unfortunate, perhaps, but it is a fact.

If we don't pass judgment on certain actions, hoping that others don't come to the same fate is quite meaningless.

I find myself in an odd position here because heck, I was and am a Heath Ledger fan, and I was and am moved by his death. But why is it OK for people to poke fun every day at Britney and Paris and Lindsey in ways that they certainly wouldn't do "to their face." and yet not OK to have a serious if slightly splenetic discussion about a genuine and preventable tragedy? I don't get it.

But I do love a good tussle. The high school debater in me.