Health Ledger Found Dead in Bedroom, Sleeping Pills May Be to Blame

Health Ledger, Australian actor, was found dead in Manhattan apartment bedroom around 3:31 p.m. January 22,2008, PerezHilton.com readers have learned. In the room with Heath Ledger's body where sleeping bills, one bottle found was an over-the-counter sleeping medication, while another bottle was a prescription sleeping medication.^{1 2}

Heath Ledger, who has starred in such well-known films as Monster's Ball, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Patriot, and Brokeback Mountain, was only 28 years old at the time of his passing.

While it is believed that the sleeping pills found in the room may be to blame, no one will know the true cause of death until his autopsy, scheduled for Wednesday, is performed.^{1 2}

Heath Ledger has a daughter, Matilda, 2, with fellow actress, Michelle Williams (Dawson's Creek), whom he met on the set of Brokeback Mountain. Matilda was born October 28, 2005.3 Williams and Ledger were engaged to be married, however, their relationship was confirmed over by Williams's father, Larry, September 4, 2007. It was reported that their reasoning for ending their engagement was due to busy schedules.⁴

Heath Ledger won several awards for his performance in Brokeback Mountain, including Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama Golden Globe in 2006.⁵

News of Ledger's death comes right after news of Brad Renfro's death on January 15, 2008. Renfro was only 25 at the time of his passing, and his cause of death is still unknown. Renfro is also survived by a child, a son known only as "Y Renfro". ⁶

High profile deaths of young celebrities, Like Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro, only serve to remind us that we are not invincible. We can only hope that young celebrities like Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, and the like take notice. Even if Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro's deaths are determined to be accidental, one must realize that if these two young stars can be taken well before their time, others can too.

¹http://perezhilton.com/2008-01-22-sleeping-pills-are-to-blame#respond ²http://perezhilton.com/2008-01-22-new-details-on-heath-ledgers-shocking-death#respond
³http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_ledger
⁴http://www.hollywood.com/news/Williams_Father_Confirms_Ledger_Split/4753467
⁵http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005132/awards
⁶Obituaries - Brad Barron Renfro. Knoxville News Sentinel. 20 January 2008.