4:00 Friday, June 27, 2008
Heath Ledger will be given a fond tribute by castmates at the end of the new Batman film.
The end credits of 'The Dark Knight' will include a touching farewell to the actor, who plays the Gotham City's villainous Joker.
A special-effects technician, who was killed last September in a stunt car accident, will also be honoured in the joint dedication.
The four-line tribute will appear as credits begin to roll.
"In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe," reads the message included in the credits, which went up Thursday on the Warner Bros website.
Ledger died in January from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.
Critics who have already seen the film have heaped praise on Ledger's performance. The movie, which opens in the U.S. on July 18, also stars Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Director Christopher Nolan said of Leger: "I needed a phenomenal actor, but he also had to be someone unafraid of taking on such an iconic role,"
"Heath created something entirely original. It's stunning, it's captivating - it's going to blow people away."
Pictures by: Splash News / Anthony J.Causi / Ciao Hollywood
Continue reading Heath Ledger Batman Tribute
9:12 Friday, June 6, 2008
Painted by Vincent Fantauzzo
A new fund created to help struggling Australian actors has been set up in Heath Ledger's name. Director Gregor Jordan has founded the fund with the memory that there were times when Ledger was so broke that he had to borrow money off the director. Starting in 2009, one Australian actor will be chosen and assisted in breaking into Hollywood.
Ledger died in January 2008 at the age of 28, after taking an overdose of prescription medicine.
Picture by Splash News
Continue reading Heath Ledger Fund
8:09 Thursday, February 28, 2008
Two American doctors are under investigation in connection with the accidental death of Heath Ledger. The doctors, one from California and the other from Texas, are being looked at by federal drug authorities, according to reports.
Ledger's body was found in his Manhattan apartment in January, and an autopsy blamed the fatal mixture of prescription drugs. The doctors being probed are believed to have supplied Ledger, 28, with the drugs Oxycontin and Vicodin, People.com reports. An insider told People,
"We are investigating doctors in Los Angeles and Texas with regard to Ledger's prescriptions. It is unclear yet whether there was any wrongdoing by whether doctor. We don't know yet. The agents were there this week, and we are waiting to hear from them."
The Drug Enforcement Administration has already subpoenaed the results of an autopsy carried out on Ledger in New York. The autopsy concluded that the drugs Valium, Temazepam, Alpazolam and Doxylamine were also present in the actor's body.
10:45 Sunday, February 24, 2008
Friends and colleagues of Heath Ledger paid tribute to him at the Film Independent Spirit Awards this weekend after winning an award for one of his last films. The director and cast of "I'm Not There" dedicated the honor to Heath when they went onstage together to collect the Robert Altman Award, given to a director, casting director, and ensemble cast.
Cate Blanchett was one star who looked on as director Todd Haynes saluted Heath, who played Robbie Clark in the movie. He stated that:
"Honoring this amazing ensemble today is so bittersweet given how shattered we are by Heath's inconceivable absence. We all loved him so dearly. He really was unlike anybody I have ever known, giving of himself less like an actor than a creative partner on the film as a whole. Far beyond his startling depth and sensitivity on screen, Heath was already an astounding film-maker in his own right and the creator of some of the most exquisite and diverse music videos I have ever seen. I know our film, the way it was made, was very close to his own artistic sensibilities and ambitions."
Cate also dedicated her Best Supporting Female award to Heath, saying that he had "probably one of the most beautiful spirits of all," adding: "This is for him."
Pictures by Dean McDonald
6:11 Saturday, February 9, 2008
Heath Ledger's family and former fiancee Michelle Williams joined hundreds of mourners at a moving private memorial service for the star in his hometown Perth.
Heartbroken Williams wore dark sunglasses and clung tightly to the hand of Ledger's older sister Kate as they walked into the ceremony held on a local school playing field.
The couple's 2-year-old daughter, Matilda was not at the funeral.
Williams chose not to wear the traditional black mourning dress in favour of a cream summer dress with black trim.
Ledger's grief-stricken parents arrived afterward - mother Sally Ledger Bell, with her husband roger Bell, then father Kim Ledger and his wife Ines.
Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett, who was pictured arriving at the ceremony, read an emotional eulogy for Ledger, before Ledger's body was taken to be cremated at an intimate funeral service attended by 10 close family members.
Other mourners included the model Gemma Ward and Australian actors Bryan Brown and Joel Edgerton, as well as film directors and sports stars.
Musician Ben Harper performed 'Matilda' - a song written for Ledger and Williams' daughter Matilda Rose - during the 90-minute service, which included a video tribute for actor.
"It's a pretty sad time. We're finding it difficult to cope," Ledger's father said.
Kim Ledger said as he arrived at the ceremony the family was also planning an intimate funeral.
"The funeral will be very, very private," he said. "There will only be 10 people there, which is my immediate family and nobody else."
A New York coroner conclusively found that Ledger, 28, died of an accidental mixture of prescription drugs.
Picture: Anthony J. Causi / Splash News
9:04 Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The New York City medical examiner ruled Heath Ledger's death an accident this morning saying the actor died of "acute intoxication" after taking a cocktail of drugs.
"Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine," said New York Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsch. "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications."
Ledger's family along with Michelle Williams have arrived back in Australia for his funeral.
