RIP Heath Ledger

[Red05 343]

I don't know if it being "accidental" makes it any better or not. :(

[Guest Nemesis Enforcer]

He took 6 different sorts of pills all at once by 'accident'? sounds like there may have been more to it then an accident to me

[Guest Al Stevens]

Just because the results showed six different drugs does not mean he took them all at the same time. Most medication stays in the blood stream for at lease two hours. Not making excuses for him OD either by accident or other wise. At lease we know that he wasn't suffering from the effects of "Roid Rage"

[Paul 584]

He took 6 different sorts of pills all at once by 'accident'? sounds like there may have been more to it then an accident to me

 

Pfff, Gem takes more than that. :P An accidental overdose can be easy, especialy if youre ill or have any kind of allergy.

[Guest bigmatt]

He took 6 different sorts of pills all at once by 'accident'? sounds like there may have been more to it then an accident to me

 

I'm not making a guess either way but it is sometimes the case to take other pills along with medification to counteract side effects.So if he has taken more then two types of medication i.e painkillers and sleeping remedys along with their counteracting agents,then these agents can react against each other.This is a slight chance though as these medications usually carry warning notices and any medical distributor would warn of the dangers.I havent read about these results in depth but just thinking outloud.

[Guest Nemesis Enforcer]

I am not saying 100% he did overdose with the intent of killing himself purposly as no-one but Ledger himself knows and he's not speaking to anyone, but as Matt said above he would have been warned alot about the danger of taking all those pills and the effects of taking them either together or in a short time frame apart, what we don't know is the amount of each he took, that is what would go along way to explaining if this was accidental or not

 

The Medical Examiner said it was the combined effects of the pills - painkillers, anti-anxiety and sleeping - he took that killed him, which just makes me wonder if it was an accident or not given that they look like a good combo to go quietly and peacefully if you were going to kill yourself and he must have been warned about the dangers more then once

 

But I could just be reading too much into it

[Guest bigmatt]

I am not saying 100% he did overdose with the intent of killing himself purposly as no-one but Ledger himself knows and he's not speaking to anyone, but as Matt said above he would have been warned alot about the danger of taking all those pills and the effects of taking them either together or in a short time frame apart, what we don't know is the amount of each he took, that is what would go along way to explaining if this was accidental or not

 

The Medical Examiner said it was the combined effects of the pills - painkillers, anti-anxiety and sleeping - he took that killed him, which just makes me wonder if it was an accident or not given that they look like a good combo to go quietly and peacefully if you were going to kill yourself and he must have been warned about the dangers more then once

 

But I could just be reading too much into it

 

Well according to what you are telling us (I havent read any of the reports yet),then the combination you have mentioned could be very inconclusive as that is a combination that could very easily taken by someone innocently.The dosage would be important in these cases.One fact is though that Heath was a pretty intelligent guy and so you would expect he would be careful of what he was taking,along with the fact of warning notices I've already mentioned,it would decrease the chance of accidental overdose but still wouldn't make it impossible.

[Guest Nemesis Enforcer]

The father of Hollywood actor Heath Ledger issued a warning to users of prescription drugs after a coroner confirmed the Brokeback Mountain star had died of an accidental overdose.

 

In a statement released through his son's publicist, Ledger’s father, Kim, said: “Heath’s accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low dosage.”

 

His comments came minutes after New York's chief medical officer, Charles Hirsch, confirmed the cause of death.

 

“Mr Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine," said Hirsch. "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications."

 

There has been much speculation surrounding the sudden death of the 28-year-old Australian, best known for his portrayal of a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain, who was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on January 22.

 

Ledger’s housekeeper discovered his body on his bed with prescription sleeping pills, painkillers and anti-anxiety medicine nearby.

 

An initial post-mortem was deemed inconclusive and there has been conflicting speculation surrounding drug use and that he was suffering from insomnia and pneumonia.

 

The autopsy report came as Ledger’s family – his father Kim, mother Sally, sister Kate, his ex-fiancée Michelle Williams and their daughter Matilda – returned to his home town of Perth, Australia, to attend a private funeral for the actor.

 

Williams and Matilda, two, who was clutching a white stuffed rabbit, were escorted through Perth airport by security. Last week Williams, who split with Ledger in September, released a statement in which she said: “my heart is broken”.

 

"His family and I watch Matilda as she whispers to trees, hugs animals, and takes steps two at a time, and we know that he is with us still. She will be brought up in the best memories of him," she said.

 

Ledger’s family had spent more than a week in the US where they had attended memorial services for the popular actor, including an intimate ceremony in Los Angeles for his immediate family and close friends, including Williams and Naomi Watts, the Australian actress and another long-term ex-girlfriend.

 

On Saturday a service for his friends and colleagues was held on a Sony lot in Los Angeles where Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Sienna Miller, Ellen Degeneres and Todd Haynes, who directed Ledger in I’m Not There, gathered to remember him.

 

Shortly after he died Ledger’s family released a statement saying his death was a “very tragic, untimely and accidental passing”.

 

"Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life, but few had the pleasure to truly know him’” the Ledger family said in a statement.

 

The actor’s performance in the critically acclaimed Brokeback Mountain earned him an Oscar nomination in 2006. A week before his death he was in London filming Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnarssus, which has since been postponed, while his last starring role, as the Joker in the Batman film The Dark Knight, is set for release later this year.

 

A private funeral is expected to take place in Perth on Saturday.

Credit: Timesonline.co.uk

 

Its the bit in bold that makes me wonder is all, but as I said I could be reading too much into it

[Nimf 324]

Don't you hate it when you can't type out what's in your head without it sounding like the ravings of a loon?

 

Basically, with it being accidental, it can still be classed as abuse, because he should have been aware of the contra-indications of taking too any too close together. However, as many of us know, if you're feeling like poo, you don't really pay attention to if it has been 4 hours between tabelt takings. Hell, i've been known to take 3 strong painkillers before, when the box says one or two. I've gone drinking after taking anti-biotics and all sorts.

[Guest bigmatt]

Don't you hate it when you can't type out what's in your head without it sounding like the ravings of a loon?

 

Basically, with it being accidental, it can still be classed as abuse, because he should have been aware of the contra-indications of taking too any too close together. However, as many of us know, if you're feeling like poo, you don't really pay attention to if it has been 4 hours between tabelt takings. Hell, i've been known to take 3 strong painkillers before, when the box says one or two. I've gone drinking after taking anti-biotics and all sorts.

 

Yeah its not impossible is it.I myself have drunk on antibiotics,and have taken a mix of painkillers and sleeping pills when I had to go into work the next day even with broken ribs.He should have known better but sometimes people think I will be alright and just try and get on with it.

[Guest Nemesis Enforcer]

ACTOR HEATH LEDGER died accidentally after necking a cocktail of SIX prescription drugs including one known as Hillbilly Heroin, it was revealed last night.

 

Test results showed the Brokeback Mountain star suffered “acute intoxication” after downing painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs.

 

One painkiller, OxyContin, contains addictive ingredient oxycodone. The pill, dubbed Hillbilly Heroin, is widely abused and linked to hundreds of deaths in the US. Aussie Ledger, 28, died in his New York flat last month.

 

The city’s chief medic Charles Hirsch said death was accidental “resulting from the abuse of prescription medications”. Pathologist Michael Hunter said: “The term ‘abuse’ tells us he used drugs to obtain an intoxicant effect.”

Credit: thesun.co.uk

 

So while it seems it was an accident he OD'd he was playing a dangerous game using the pills to intoxicate himself rarther then for the purpose they were meant to be used for

[Guest HSM]

Surely if your thinking about taking SIX different drugs, prescription or not, you have to think its a dangerous thing to be doing.

[DC 536]

Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell are set to play Heath Ledger's role in the film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

 

A spokeswoman for Law confirmed the stars would play the character Tony in the unfinished film, but said she did not know how the role would be restructured.

 

But the spokeswoman said the actor, who is on holiday, was unavailable for comment.

 

Production on the film was put on hold after the 28-year-old died from an accidental drug overdose in January. He was found dead in his New York apartment.

 

Ledger had completed filming for the Terry Gilliam-directed movie in London just before his death.

 

At the time, the film's makers described Ledger as "a great actor, a great friend and a great spirit" and said director Gilliam and his producers would be "assessing how best to proceed".

 

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved

Interesting...

[Guest Nemesis Enforcer]

Australian actor Heath Ledger left his entire estate to his parents and three sisters, it was reported today.

 

In a three-page document, signed in his homeland, the star of Brokeback Mountain gave Kim and Sally Ledger and his siblings, Kate, Ashleigh and Olivia, his entire fortune. The will was written in 2003, preceding his relationship with actress Michelle Williams and the birth of their daughter, Matilda, now two.

 

A series of documents filed in Manhattan claim the actor had around £72,000 worth of assets in New York, reported the city's Daily News. Heath's greater wealth, including properties in Australia and a Brooklyn home he once shared with Michelle, was unknown, added the newspaper.

 

The bulk of the 28-year-old actor's estate will be handled in Australia. It is not yet known whether there will be any provision made for Matilda.

 

Heath died in January of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs

Credit: Yahoo

[Nimf 324]

I can't imagine Matlida not being looked after though.

[Guest bigmatt]

Sadly it was probably one of those thing where he didn't get around to changing his will after the birth of his child.I'm sure she will be looked after though.