The Bald Truth: LA Mourns Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger as The Joker in summer ‘08 Batman movie
Bald Truth Staff, (c) www.artharris.com, all rights reserved
Heath Ledger’s body was winging home to Australia late Sunday, with plans to bury him in his hometown of Perth, according to news accounts.
Earlier, ex-girlfriend and fellow Australian Naomi Watts and the mother of his daughter, Michelle Williams, who met him on the set of Brokeback Mountain, were among mourners at a private memorial service in Los Angeles, followed by dinner with his parents and close friends at The Beverly Hills Hotel, celeb news sites were reporting Sunday.
With toxicology reports days away, his death has apparently kicked up a flurry of interest in his films, past and present, with the trailer for his summer 2008 release of the Batman movie, Dark Knight, drawing a reported seven million hits on U-Tube.
January 28th, 2008 at 12:12 am
I was and still am looking forward to seeing this movie. I just won’t be happy watching, knowing that this will be the last I will see of his great acting skills going forward. Good actors are hard to come by. He was one of the best.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:27 am
It seems like the media for the most part is letting this family mourn in piece at least for now hopefully his going back to Perth for burial will stop the media rush to judgement.I can understand the rush to see his movies,I had not heard of him till this happened as I am sure many others haven’t also and now wish to see his movies.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Whether it was the family,or managers, I’m pleased with whomever decided to keep it all private, without the media hoopla, and calmed this sad/tragic ending, before it got out of hand. Let him rest and put his head down, letting him know his little girl will visit his home, at peace!
January 28th, 2008 at 1:53 am
This reminds me of that man rowing back after the Titantic sank…it’s too, late.
Maybe ‘Hollywood’ and their ‘Producers,’ should count their lifeboats…
After all, they built ‘That Ship.’
January 28th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Thank you Art. It’s nice to know they all got together as a family for the service and dinner. I hope that his parents still will have a close relationship with his beautiful daughter. This is a good indicator that they will.
I am just so sad. First Heath, now the Pres. of my Church, Gordon B. Hinkley. Now I’m wondering who will be number three.
January 28th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Michelle Williams is the babys mama!
January 28th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Art,
You know I’m a fan but I do not agree with your choice of picture for this article. I know it is from the film of the new Batman movie, but when the words are about a tragic death of a young man and then there is a picture of violence with the knife and all. Just seems upsetting to me.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
This is one powerful picture.
I read he might have had, a ‘heart condition.’
I know he did.
No matter what the ‘report.’
My heart goes out to his parents, and I want them to know that they had a wonderful son.
I feel so priviledged to have seen him ‘act.’
I feel even more than they know.
He shared himself with all of us.
I remember the ‘part’ he played in “Monsters Ball.”
He was a good son, and his light should forever shine on his parents.
They were the ‘Producers.’
Thank you for sharing.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Just like you need my input, but I’ll leave it anyway.
I remember the days of black and white TV. So of course, as a child, when the Wizard of Oz was shown, I was enthralled! As a kid who cares who the actors are or their stories? But years later, I saw a docu on Judy Garland. Not familiar with her history?…http://www.thepeaches.com/music/garland/Bio.html
What struck me the most was the power that the film companies had over their stars/starlets. The demands placed just because money changed hands and your name was on a piece of paper. How many industries have that same control? Ambition? Search for fame? An artist doing what they love? And in the process do you sell your soul when you sign on the dotted line?
For me Mr. Ledger was another actor on a screen. Movies blend from one to the next and so many new faces that I don’t pay attention to the latest addition with possible hopes of a star in the concrete. But after putting a few facts in place, and thinking that Mr. Ledger was not comfortable with the demands of the studios and being the ‘hot ticket’ that he was, it’s easy to understand how he couldn’t sleep. From one movie to the next. No time to enjoy the simple things in life. Strike while the ‘iron is hot’. Sell your soul. Fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be as so many in the recording and actors professions can attest to. If they live that long to write their own personal biography and tell their own stories.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I think when ET supposedly bought that contraversial film of Ledger supposedly doing drugs, I personally think that that was uncalled for totally. I just do not understand why the media would want to cast this man in a bad light and exploit him like this? I say let this man rest in peace with dignity. All he did was entertain us with his films and that’s it. I too feel privileged to get the chance to see him act and I think he is extremely talented. I can almost guarentee I think that we all have demons of some kind or another - does not mean we have to expose his? This is just my opinion.
February 4th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Donna, that is a very good opinion. The one network that won’t stop reporting all of their rumors is Showbiztonight.
I say rumors because this tape is over 2 years old and he was only there for a short time. This does not define his life! I would like to get some ‘dirt’ on every news person on tv that ruins people and do the same thing to them. Maybe that is the only way they will stop, or better yet some juicy dirt on the head of the networks that tell them to talk crap to get the ratings up.