Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead in a New York apartment at 3:35 pm today. He was discovered face down, naked and unconscious in his bed, when a masseuse came over for a previously scheduled appointment, when there was no answer to the knocks on his door, the masseuse, along with the housekeeper entered his room. They immediately called the authorities, and paramedics announce him dead at the scene. Rumors of accidental overdoses or possible suicide have been rampant, and an autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow.

It has been reported that sleeping pills were strewn around his room, and that he suffered from a substance abuse problem. Other stories speculate at that he was sick with pneumonia, although he was seen dining with his model girlfriend Gemma Ward earlier that night. He is survived by his daughter, who is only two. He was also previously married to Michelle Williams, and divorced in September 2007.

TMZ put together a nice little timeline of Heath’s life:

— Born Heathcliff Andrew Ledger, April 4, 1979 in Perth, Australia
– Son of a French teacher and race car driver/mining engineer
– Graduated high school early at 16 and began to pursue a career in acting
– Made his first big screen splash in the US in 1999 as Patrick Verona in “10 Things I Hate About You”
– Dated Naomi Watts in 2002
– Won a ShoWest Award for the Male Star of Tomorrow based on his performance in “The Patriot”
– Named one of Australian GQ’s Men of the Year for acting, 2003
– In 2005, he received a Golden Globe nomination for “Best Actor in a Drama” for “Brokeback Mountain”
– Heath becomes engaged to Michelle Williams, whom he met on the set of “Brokeback Mountain”
– Daughter Matilda Rose born October 28, 2005
– Academy Award Best Actor nominee for his role in “Brokeback Mountain”, 2006
– Williams and Ledger split in August, 2007
– Heath found dead in NYC at the age of 28, January 22, 2008

So yeah. Wow. This is really sad, I use to have the biggest crush on him, especially in the patriot. And now I feel like a big jerk for bitching about having to go to school today because it was too freaking cold outside. Because I must say, going to lab while freezing all day is much better than being dead. What really sucks for him is that he didn’t even get to see himself in his (sure to be) best film ever, “The Dark Knight”, where he plays a grim Joker.

The above picture is the most recent picture of Heath, taken Saturday on the set of the new movie he was working on, “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”, which was scheduled for next year.

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