Heath Ledger...Dead. R.I.P.

[WDWFREAK53]

No it wasnt aimed at anyone in particular, and to be honest it is from my frustration at seemingly being the only person on the planet that didnt know Heath personally. (yes that is sarcasm :drevil

Since the death of princess Diana in the UK especially there seems to be the need to grieve or at least express grief publicly at every celebrity major to list D, while true tragedy is glossed over.

What you are saying is that because of the cult of celebrity the little people are not ignored but at best marginalised and barely acknowledged, because we "know" the celebrity through their work. Am I correct?

Im taking the view that I dont know him, so am applying a similar criteria, but also choosing to question the reported "facts" that his recent performance is the driver behind his tormented soul. I know it could be media distortion 2+2 =9 but I am saying if this guy was so tormented and as well loved as the media portrays why did no one offer help?

I should have also said that the real tragedy is his kid, however even there materially she should be sorted for life. Something that gefinately cant be said for service families left without a dad.

Never did I say that it was right that celebrities have more media attention when they pass. Frankly, if it wasn't for the soldiers fighting and giving their lives...those media outlets probably wouldn't even exist.

They get more media coverage because throughout their lives they get more media coverage. It doesn't mean that their death is more or less important...it just happens due to the fact that the media uses it like an ending to a story.

1. The media and publicity is there at the start of their careers.
2. The media and publicity is there throughout their career.
3. The media and publicity is there when their career is over but move into reality programs.
4. The media and publicity is there when they get out of control because they finally realize they need the media and publicity and they go out of their way to get it.
5. The media and publicity is there when they die.

Some celebs skip some steps.

 

[Green Lantern]

The truth is, even celebrity is fleeting -- it just takes a little longer for their light to dim. I made this point last night in teaching my youth group at church, when I asked how many of them had ever heard of River Phoenix, whose "untimely" death around 1993 hit Hollywood hard and was said to have been a "wakeup call" for the youth of Hollywood... Monuments and mementos were strewn all along the front entrance to Johnny Depp's Viper Room where he passed away... but none of them remain today, and none of my youth knew who River was.

So, even celebrity deaths, though heralded, are fleeting in our memories and on our culture.

Life on Earth is short and precious, and if anything, sometimes I think celebrity itself is a distraction. At the end of the day God gives us ALL one life here on Earth, and one death -- ashes to ashes, dust to dust, as the Bible says -- celebrity or not. And our "importance" may be overstated by celebrity for a while, but not forever. Only God (with the choices He allows us) determines our "forever".

Paul

Agreed.

 

[Green Lantern]

I have a problem with celebrities in general. The ridiculous amounts of money they make, the unreal world they work and live in and the inflated self-images that the public feeds into...I wouldn't want that life for all the money in the world. But I do go to the movies and I do watch TV, so I do "know" these people in that way. So when one of them passes on, especially one so young, I'm somewhat interested. But, I don't have the need to know every detail. I don't need to see the body bag leaving the apartment building over and over again. And I don't want to hear every speculation, every possible scenario as to what happened...those were the final moments of a person's life. None of us belong there.
I know there is a trade-off that goes along with celebrity...The loss of privacy in exchange for the fame. To me, that's a higher price than I'd ever want to pay. The media feeds on the famous like vultures, and the public begs for more. Disgusting.
As far as a celebrity's death being more noteworthy than the average person's....I know everyone agrees that every death is a tragedy to someone. We don't spend all of our time publicly grieving, but that does not mean we do not grieve. It's a more personal grief...more heartfelt. Heath Ledger's death is personal to some people, too...his family and friends. I'm sure the media circus only adds to their grief.

Well said.

 

[Nicole220]

The truth is, even celebrity is fleeting -- it just takes a little longer for their light to dim. I made this point last night in teaching my youth group at church, when I asked how many of them had ever heard of River Phoenix, whose "untimely" death around 1993 hit Hollywood hard and was said to have been a "wakeup call" for the youth of Hollywood... Monuments and mementos were strewn all along the front entrance to Johnny Depp's Viper Room where he passed away... but none of them remain today, and none of my youth knew who River was.

So, even celebrity deaths, though heralded, are fleeting in our memories and on our culture.

Life on Earth is short and precious, and if anything, sometimes I think celebrity itself is a distraction. At the end of the day God gives us ALL one life here on Earth, and one death -- ashes to ashes, dust to dust, as the Bible says -- celebrity or not. And our "importance" may be overstated by celebrity for a while, but not forever. Only God (with the choices He allows us) determines our "forever".

Paul

I have a problem with celebrities in general. The ridiculous amounts of money they make, the unreal world they work and live in and the inflated self-images that the public feeds into...I wouldn't want that life for all the money in the world. But I do go to the movies and I do watch TV, so I do "know" these people in that way. So when one of them passes on, especially one so young, I'm somewhat interested. But, I don't have the need to know every detail. I don't need to see the body bag leaving the apartment building over and over again. And I don't want to hear every speculation, every possible scenario as to what happened...those were the final moments of a person's life. None of us belong there.
I know there is a trade-off that goes along with celebrity...The loss of privacy in exchange for the fame. To me, that's a higher price than I'd ever want to pay. The media feeds on the famous like vultures, and the public begs for more. Disgusting.
As far as a celebrity's death being more noteworthy than the average person's....I know everyone agrees that every death is a tragedy to someone. We don't spend all of our time publicly grieving, but that does not mean we do not grieve. It's a more personal grief...more heartfelt. Heath Ledger's death is personal to some people, too...his family and friends. I'm sure the media circus only adds to their grief.

Well said, both of you.

The whole celebrity obsessed thing reminds me of some lyrics from the song High School Never Ends:

The Whole Damned World is just as obsessed
With who‘s the best dressed and who's having s.e.x
Who‘s got the money. Who gets the Honeys,
Who‘s kinda cute and who‘s just a mess.

Check out the popular kids
You'll never guess what Jessica did!
And how did Mary Kate lose all that weight?
And Katie had a baby so I guess Tom's straight!

And the only thing that matters,
Is climbing up that social ladder
Still care about your hair and the car you drive
Doesn't matter if you're 16 or 35.

 

[k.hunter30]

Heath Ledger died of accidental overdose

NEW YORK - Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs, the New York City medical examiner said Wednesday.

The cause of death was “acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine,” spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said in a statement.

The drugs are the generic names for the painkiller OxyContin, the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. Hydrocodone is another name for ibuprofen.

Borakove wouldn’t say what concentrations of each drug were found in Ledger’s blood, or whether one drug played a greater part than another in causing his death.

“What you’re looking at here is the cumulative effects of these medications together,” she said.

The ruling comes two weeks after the 28-year-old Australian-born actor was found dead in the bed of his rented SoHo apartment. Police found bottles of six types of prescription drugs, including sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication, in his bedroom and bathroom.

Ledger was discovered by his masseuse on Jan. 22 after she arrived for an appointment that afternoon. She entered his bedroom to set up for the massage and found him unresponsive, and proceeded to call Mary-Kate Olsen three times over the next 9 minutes before dialing 911. Ledger had been dead for some time, and police say no foul play occurred.

Ledger, nominated for an Oscar for his role in “Brokeback Mountain,” had returned to New York from London days before his death, where he had been filming a $30 million Terry Gilliam film. He said in a November interview that his most recent completed roles in the Batman movie “The Dark Night” and Bob Dylan biopic “I’m Not There” had taken a toll, saying he couldn’t sleep.

“Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night,” Ledger told The New York Times. “I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” He said he had taken two Ambien pills, which only gave him an hour of sleep.

Ledger’s family returned to the actor’s hometown of Perth, Australia on Tuesday to prepare for his funeral. Arrangements were private.

In a statement released through Ledger’s publicist, Ledger’s father, Kim, said Wednesday: “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.”


Still so sad...

 

[TurboCaroline]

Heath Ledger died of accidental overdose

NEW YORK - Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs, the New York City medical examiner said Wednesday.

The cause of death was “acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine,” spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said in a statement.

The drugs are the generic names for the painkiller OxyContin, the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom. Hydrocodone is another name for ibuprofen.

Borakove wouldn’t say what concentrations of each drug were found in Ledger’s blood, or whether one drug played a greater part than another in causing his death.

“What you’re looking at here is the cumulative effects of these medications together,” she said.

The ruling comes two weeks after the 28-year-old Australian-born actor was found dead in the bed of his rented SoHo apartment. Police found bottles of six types of prescription drugs, including sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication, in his bedroom and bathroom.

Ledger was discovered by his masseuse on Jan. 22 after she arrived for an appointment that afternoon. She entered his bedroom to set up for the massage and found him unresponsive, and proceeded to call Mary-Kate Olsen three times over the next 9 minutes before dialing 911. Ledger had been dead for some time, and police say no foul play occurred.

Ledger, nominated for an Oscar for his role in “Brokeback Mountain,” had returned to New York from London days before his death, where he had been filming a $30 million Terry Gilliam film. He said in a November interview that his most recent completed roles in the Batman movie “The Dark Night” and Bob Dylan biopic “I’m Not There” had taken a toll, saying he couldn’t sleep.

“Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night,” Ledger told The New York Times. “I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.” He said he had taken two Ambien pills, which only gave him an hour of sleep.

Ledger’s family returned to the actor’s hometown of Perth, Australia on Tuesday to prepare for his funeral. Arrangements were private.

In a statement released through Ledger’s publicist, Ledger’s father, Kim, said Wednesday: “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.”


Still so sad...

What a shame...I guess he didn't know that he couldn't take all that stuff at the same time..:shrug:

 

[tigsmom]

Very sad and why was he taking so many of those strong medications?

One other thing...hydrocodone is not another name for Ibuprofin (Motrin), its a synthetic opiate, a narcotic (thus a controlled substance) sold by the name Vicodan or Lortab. Some parents my recognize the name of the cough medicine Tussionex - hydrocodone is the active ingredient that helps stop coughing.

 

[TurboCaroline]

Very sad and why was he taking so many of those strong medications?

One other thing...hydrocodone is not another name for Ibuprofin (Motrin), its a synthetic opiate, a narcotic (thus a controlled substance) sold by the name Vicodan or Lortab. Some parents my recognize the name of the cough medicine Tussionex - hydrocodone is the active ingredient that helps stop coughing.

Weren't there reports that he had the flu around the same time? Maybe he took that for a cough??

 

[PotteryGal]

Very sad and why was he taking so many of those strong medications?

One other thing...hydrocodone is not another name for Ibuprofin (Motrin), its a synthetic opiate, a narcotic (thus a controlled substance) sold by the name Vicodan or Lortab. Some parents my recognize the name of the cough medicine Tussionex - hydrocodone is the active ingredient that helps stop coughing.

That's what my DH was wondering - he's a pharmacist - you'd think whoever was prescribing these meds would have noticed the number he had and the toxicity when combined?? :veryconfu Unless he went to more than one doctor. :shrug:

Too sad....his daughter will always wonder about her daddy.

 

[MouseMadness]

That's what my DH was wondering - he's a pharmacist - you'd think whoever was prescribing these meds would have noticed the number he had and the toxicity when combined?? :veryconfu Unless he went to more than one doctor. :shrug:

Too sad....his daughter will always wonder about her daddy.

Likely, or he went to one VERY shady one.

 

[Number_6]

I seem to recall reading that some of those were prescribed to him while he was in the UK filming for The Dark Knight. It's possible the doctors there didn't know about other things he was prescribed, or that doctors here weren't aware of the prescriptions from the UK doctors. Not saying that's the case, but it's certainly a possibility.