OT- RIP Heath Ledger

by manny59 on Jan 22, 2008 10:55 PM EST Comment 29 comments

Actor Heath Ledger, who plays the Joker in this summer's The Dark Knight, died today at around 3:30 p.m. EST. Ledger was reportedly found naked in bed in a state of cardiac arrest by a housekeeper who promptly called 911. He was found in a Manhattan apartment, in SoHo; police formerly reported that Mary-Kate Olsen was the owner of the apartment, however this info has been proven incorrect. Police do not suspect foul play. Two bottles of sleeping pills, one prescription and one over-the-counter, were found near the body and some reports had them scattered around the room. Ledger has one child, a 2-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose, with his wife the actress Michelle Williams. Ledger and Williams are said to have still been separated at the time of his death. An autopsy is now scheduled for Wednesday.

man im just in dis belief
one of my favorite actors
1979-2008

to young to even think about
my heart goes out to your family and friends
you will be missed by many

RIP
joker

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+1

way too young

by taggartd on Jan 22, 2008 11:23 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

sad

supposedly he started having problems sleeping when he took over the role as the joker. Sad to say playing the joker may have killed him

by krgrecw on Jan 22, 2008 11:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

When I first saw this story,

I thought it was a bad joke. This is just sad.

by elrey34 on Jan 23, 2008 12:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Wow

Of all the people, I didn't see this coming. He was of course not the next DeNiro by any means, but was established and well respected by most accounts...This is one of those things that you don't see coming, and if you take into account his image, it makes you think...RIP

by killa on Jan 23, 2008 12:48 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Not popular

This isn't going to be a popular opinion but... ask yourself the question "So what?" What makes Heath Ledger deserving of a thread here more than any other human being who died today?

I'm not saying this to be spiteful or cruel, but because we as a culture (and I'm not excluding myself in this) are so obsessed with celebrity that we act as if they somehow have more value than the average person does. Was heath ledger a good actor? Sure. Does that make his life more important or deserving of remembrance than any others? Absolutely not. Our lives are not going to be any different tomorrow with him dead than they were yesterday when he was alive (unless you had an unhealthy obsession with him).

Take a looksee through your local obits from time to time... you may find it changes your perspective a bit.

As I said I don't expect this to be a popular comment. Not to stereotype, but sportsfans, more than most groups I have noticed, have more rigid perspectives and are less willing to question their perspectives (again, I'm not excluding myself). But it's usually those with the most rigid perspectives which most need to occasionally shake them loose and look at things from another angle.

This is me being polite.

by CrimsonLiederhosen on Jan 23, 2008 2:19 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

coming from someone

who comes to a website to idolize MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYERS!!!!!!

not saying you don't make a point(smart or not) but you are no one to say that fame is not important. fame does make someone more special than the average joe. I believe that is the definition of fame. so yeah his death is more important than most peoples

My first mistake was assuming you knew what I was talking about.

by Shamus on Jan 23, 2008 2:29 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Mistake

I think you're mistake fame for importance/value, but that's a pretty common mistake.

Also, if this were a health ledger or hollywood/film fansite, it would be a different issue since that's the purpose of the site.

Just my perspective.

This is me being polite.

by CrimsonLiederhosen on Jan 23, 2008 3:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

You obviously never saw

"A Knight's Tale"

by Sox Puppet on Jan 23, 2008 2:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

so what?

I was sad when I heard the news for a couple of reasons. As has been said before, I thought he was a very good actor who was starting to come into his own, so for the selfish reason of my own entertainment his death upset me. Potential wasted is something that always bothers me. He also seemed like a pretty good guy who avoided a lot of the hollywood crap, which I respect. He also had a very young daughter, which always makes these things that much worse.

To answer your question about why do people care about celebrity deaths more than random people: You see them on tv/movies so much that you feel like you at least somewhat know them. And in most cases you "know" them for quite some time. I'm not even that big of a heath ledger fan, but I have been watching movies of his, seeing him on late night shows, etc. for around the past 10 years.

I compare it to finding out that someone you went to high school with, but were never friends with and barely ever spoke to, died 10 years after your graduation. You hadn't talked to them since high school and you probably thought about or heard their name at most once a year, but its still sad to hear that they died.

by Sidd Finch on Jan 23, 2008 3:03 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

agreed

so what

not hating, just why is this more than so many other "more" tragic things. "more" in quotes because I just don't see any tragedy.

by pedrophile on Jan 23, 2008 3:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i was going to write....

....another post that i thought could genuinely trump the apathy here, but then i realized, who the f--k cares what i write? or for that matter, what the f--k a bunch of other idiots react to the news? it's all just meaningless. all you can do is sit back and enjoy a well-mixed cocktail, or perhaps a fine wine should the occasion call for it.

by bleedjaxblue on Jan 23, 2008 4:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

More than 400,000 people have died in Darfur

Not one of them has had attention anywhere close to this...

I am inclined to agree with CLH.

by Dfarth on Jan 23, 2008 11:00 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

it wasn't even that they died

they were systemically eradicated. And gov'ts are fighting other "moral" wars, about oil, and nothing is being done about a true moral war that could be fought.

by pedrophile on Jan 23, 2008 6:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1 / -1

I agree to an extent. Ledger's death is sad, but only as sad as any other meaningless suicide or accidental overdose (don't know which one it is)

I would hardly call this a tragedy, but I do feel for the guy and his family. But when I see the amount of time dedicated to things like this (and all other celebrity stuff) and I see the general level of apathy for actual important stuff in this country, I wish people would take a step back, realize that entertainment should not be that big a part of our lives, and start to educate themselves on stuff that matters

-1 and only member of the Jed Lowrie fan club!

by Jgaztambide on Jan 23, 2008 9:44 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Celtic Pride

obviously a horrible movie (which was actually written by superpower Judd Apatow - surprised he didn't get kicked out of Hollywood after that movie), but it had that one scene which resonated with me.

Damon Wayons was talking to Akroyd/Stern about their love of Larry Bird and how foolish it is. Why do they care about Larry Bird? Larry Bird doesn't care about them. They are just complete strangers to Larry Bird just as Bird is to the two superfans. If anything happened to them, Larry Bird wouldn't think twice about it.

While Wayons' was the bad guy at that point and yet to be "reformed" so the speech was actually supposed to show him as being a heartless dick, the underlying point is quite valid.

I don't know anything about Ledger, but any time a 28 year old guy dies and leaves a 2 year orphan it's a sad thing. But there are countless other people who die in more heartwrenching situations that nobody thinks twice about because they don't make pretend for a living.

by Galt on Jan 23, 2008 10:54 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Celtic Pride

I keep meaning to see that movie but can never bring myself to actually see it.

This is me being polite.

by CrimsonLiederhosen on Jan 23, 2008 3:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

If I am going to mourn someone I don't know, I would rather it be a war vet.

by count sutton on Jan 23, 2008 12:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

you are

morally superior to all.

But: what about the children? You must also mourn for children.

Also, for children soldiers.

I mourn for puppies, rainbows, and world peace. But that's just me.

I do not mourn for folks' cats, nor for young celebrities who become a topic of conversation because, well, everyone sort of knows who they are (as opposed to starting a diary on RIP Uncle Phil or something).

I know this isn't going to be a popular sentiment, but I also won't mourn when CrimsonLeiderhosen stops making asinine, self-congratulatory interventions on other people's inauspicious statements.

La la la.

by gogotabata on Jan 23, 2008 1:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Cats

I mourn cats. I just keep cats and the cat mourning in perspective. Cuz, y'know, there are worse feelings in the world than having a pet die.

This is me being polite.

by CrimsonLiederhosen on Jan 23, 2008 3:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

I also like to keep any empathy or sympathy in reserve, only for the finest of occasions. Since it's a non-renewable resource. For instance, my child is crying in the other room after burning his hand, and I suppose some people on this board would feel bad for him and go comfort him, but, eh. There's worse things in the world than having your hand burned. I just handed him a note telling him to keep it in perspective, people burn their hands (sometimes both of them) everyday.

by gogotabata on Jan 23, 2008 5:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

you are

missing my point

I don't care if Heath Ledger is here today and gone tomorrow. There are more important things to me to worry about. For example, I will be more upset when something happens to my dog. You see, if you just take 30 seconds - which you already have - then you too can find more important crap than this.

la la la

by count sutton on Jan 24, 2008 10:06 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

simple reason really

Because we dont know enough about other random people to care when they die. They die anonymously. Celebrities on the other hand are readily recognizable so people will hear about the death. At the very least this gives perspective and may in some ways educate.

That being said I don't think anyone is saying Heath Ledger is more deserving of a thread, its just that people know who he is since he was a public figure. On the same token I dont think he is less deserving. If I wrote a thread about the death of my cousin would you respond with a "so what?" Would you even respond at all? I'm guessing no on both accounts.

Also, you mention you read the obits, but those too cater to celebrity. Anytime a celebrity dies they have a photo and a 500 word story about their life. When anyone else dies they have 10 lines. The reason is, frankly, people can relate to celebrities more because they know more and care more about their lives.

And I don't think this is just an America thing. When PM Bhutto was assassinated the headlines read "Bhutto Assassinated" and the story later talked about the nameless 20 others that died.

Jack Cust is this year's Marcus Thames

by Team Moneyball on Jan 23, 2008 2:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

I must be getting better at this not-being-caustic stuff because these responses were actually all pretty interesting.

This is me being polite.

by CrimsonLiederhosen on Jan 23, 2008 3:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

mourning?

Celebrity deaths are healthy for a society. They make it OK for us to reflect that if life weren't fleeting, there would be nothing to live for.

by whichthat on Jan 23, 2008 7:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

on the contrary

It's a very popular opinion. Whenever a celebrity dies, there are always people tripping over themselves to rush to the keyboard, hoping to be the first to make a "So what" post.

by SmokeyJoeWood on Jan 24, 2008 10:36 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

HOLY SHITT

you all see westboro church will be protesting outside his funeral saying he's burning in hell since he played a gay character in brokeback?

by krgrecw on Jan 23, 2008 6:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

No...

they will be burning in hell for using the funeral for blatant publicity.

Send your top 50-100 prospects to slurveone@yahoo.com!!!

by slurve on Jan 23, 2008 8:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

those people

Are absolute scumbags, I hope someone just kicks there asses. Whatever your ideals fine but to protest at a funeral (hey dopes guess what he was acting!) is just unforgivable. They were (and I'm sure still are) protesting soldiers funerals because they are against the war in Iraq.

WASTES OF HUMAN LIFE these people.

by goalieguy on Jan 23, 2008 9:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Thoughts

I first have to to tell a weird story from tonight. In a bar on the road and the cocktail waitress asks about Heath Ledger. I respond by saying that the clip I saw about the Batman movie showed him looking almost like the character from The Crow, who I believe also died prior to the release of the movie. On the juke box - next song to come on is the them from The Crow. Sorry, it was just weird.

Anyway, listening to some commentary on the radio, a lady talked about how ridiculous all the publicity was about this given the economic issues our country faces, the over seas conflicts, etc. She went on to say that the media gravitates to this type of story because it is easy to tell and easy to get ratings for because it pulls at emotion in a way that nothing else does in our society. She went on to say that it was sad that we don't get as upset about so many other things going on but will dwell on this. While his death is sad, I actually listened on satellite radio to a better conversation on the Playboy channel. These girls were talking about how they can't understand why more is not made of the "safe" zones in hospitals, police stations and fire halls that allow scared mothers to literally drop their babies off, never give a name and walk away without any quiestions. It came up because some kids were skateboarding and found a baby that was about 1 hour from death. To me - that is as tragic as any thing else I have heard yet the airwaves are filled with stories about calls to Mary Kate Olsen.

For as great as the internet and media are - it is sad as to how they control what we are exposed to as a society.

Sorry for the rant - first place I got a chance to make it.

by slickwdb on Jan 23, 2008 11:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs