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Actor Heath Ledger, the gifted leading man acclaimed for his
role as a gay cowboy in the film Brokeback Mountain, was found dead
in his Manhattan apartment, possibly of a drug overdose, police
said.
The Australian-born Ledger, 28, was found face down and naked at
the foot of the bed by a housekeeper at his apartment in the SoHo
neighborhood, police spokesman Paul Browne said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene but no cause had been
determined.
"We are investigating the possibility of an overdose...There were
pills within the vicinity of the bed," Browne said, adding that the
prescription medicine included sleeping pills.
The housekeeper found Ledger at 3:26 pm (2026 GMT), and tried to
wake him for his appointment with a masseuse, who was also in the
home, Browne said.
A medical examiner conducted a preliminary investigation and
Ledger's body was wheeled out of the fifth-floor apartment in a
stretcher, covered in a black body bag, about three hours after he
was found.
Screen star Mel Gibson, who starred alongside Ledger in the film
The Patriot, said his thoughts and prayers were with the younger
actor's family.
"I had such great hope for him," Gibson said in a statement
released by his publicist.
"He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age
is a tragic loss."
Ledger was nominated for an Academy Award as best lead actor for
2005's Brokeback Mountain, but the Oscar went to Philip Seymour
Hoffman for his role as Truman Capote.
Ledger did win a New York Film Critics Circle award for the
role.
The handsome star last year broke up with actress Michelle
Williams, who played his wife in Brokeback and was the real-life
mother of their two-year-old daughter, Matilda.
Horribly sad
He once said he was ready to die because he could live on in his
child.
"Having a child changes every aspect of your life - for the better,
of course. The sacrifices are large, but what you get in return is
even bigger than the sacrifices you make. I feel, in a sense, ready
to die because you are living on in your child," Ledger told In
Touch Weekly in November.
The couple tried to keep a low profile by living in Brooklyn but
still appeared often in the gossip pages.
He moved to Manhattan after the breakup.
"He was a very simple guy. You wouldn't know he was an actor unless
you saw him on TV," Tamba Mossa, the building's superintendent,
told reporters.
A crowd of about 200 people and 75 reporters gathered outside his
building on Broome Street, with fans snapping pictures on their
cell phones.
"I feel a bit silly being one of the ones gawking, but it's
horribly sad. In Brokeback Mountain, it was one of the first times
I was moved by an actor of my own generation," said Drew Klein, 25,
who works in film production.
"He means a lot to us. We look up to actors like Heath Ledger,"
said Jack Payne, 20, an acting student.
Ledger's other film credits included Monster's Ball and the title
role in Casanova.
He was due to appear this year as The Joker in the next Batman
film by Warner Bros, The Dark Knight, which completed
filming.
He stars in the currently playing I'm Not There, one of several
actors playing a role representing Bob Dylan.
"The studio is stunned and devastated by this tragic news. The
entertainment community has lost an enormous talent," Alan Horn,
president and COO of Warner Bros. and Jeff Robinov, president of
Warner Bros Pictures Group, said in a statement.
"Heath was a brilliant actor and an exceptional person. Our hearts
go out to his family and friends."
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