Heath Ledger dies of apparent overdose [Updated 2/28/08]

Crazeee said:
It's funny that they found a rolled up $20 bill at the scene, yet immediately ruled out "any illegal narcotics" from the cause of death. I guess the much expected toxicology report will reveal more. Until then, it's all just speculation...
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Seriously though, why else would someone roll have a rolled up bill. What are you going to use it as a fucking straw to drink your soda with or some shit.
 
^
Maybe it wasn't his bill. And that article above is just hearsay.


I mean, it's likely drugs were a factor in his death, if not the cause. But there isn't definitive proof yet.
 
ENTERTAINMENT Tonight and The Insider will not air the Heath Ledger drug video but Channel Nine reportedly will. See video snippet here.

US program Entertainment Tonight said the Australian network had obtained copies of the video - allegedly taken at Los Angeles celebrity hangout Chateau Marmont in January last year - and planned to be the first television station in the world to air the scandalous footage.


The US program quoted Nine Los Angeles bureau chief Rob Penfold as saying that the Nine network was planning on airing the footage.

"This tape has been in circulation and a lot of people have been trying to get hold of it," he told the program.

"It was always going to surface.

"It would appear that what the magazines have been writing about (Ledger's alleged drug addiction) has been true."

Entertainment Tonight reportedly paid almost $A225,000 for the tape but it is unclear how much Nine has shelled out for the first-airing. A US program will not air footage of Heath Ledger talking about his alleged drug use out of respect for the actor's family.

"Out of respect for Heath Ledger's family, Entertainment Tonight and The Insider have decided not to run the Heath Ledger video which has been circulating in the world media,'' a statement on its website said.

Entertainment Tonight reportedly paid almost $225,000 for the tape which showed Ledger talking at the private party after sniffing a "cocaine-like" substance off a table with a rolled up bill in his hand.

Millions of Americans today saw scandalous footage of Heath Ledger allegedly on a drug bender at a Hollywood hotel in January 2006.

Although US program Entertainment Tonight showed edited clips from the footage, where Ledger allegedly talked about his drug habits, it did not end up airing the entire footage.

During the west coast version of Entertainment Tonight, host Mary Hart said the program would air the Ledger footage in tomorrow night's episode.

A statement on the program's website later said the show and its sister program The Insider, which are both on the same network, had reneged on airing the footage.

"Out of respect for Heath Ledger's family, Entertainment Tonight and The Insider have decided not to run the Heath Ledger video which has been circulating in the world media," the statement said late yesterday.

The video excerpts were streamed later on the website for US gossip blogger Perez Hilton.

The footage is understood to have been shot two years ago at Los Angeles celebrity hangout Chateau Marmont at a January 29 (2006) party following the Screen Actors Guild awards - where Ledger had missed out on two awards for Brokeback Mountain despite being favourite in both categories.

Ledger had appeared at the ceremony alongside his girlfriend Michelle Williams but she did not attend the private party and was reportedly sleeping in a room upstairs with the couple's daughter Matilda.

The footage, which was taken through a window into a hotel room, showed Ledger talking and sniffing a "cocaine-like" substance off a drug-filled table with a rolled up bill in his hand, his face noticeably twitching as he speaks.

"I'm gonna get so much sh*t from my girlfriend," Ledger said.

"We have a baby three months ago - Matilda, Matilda Rose.

"I shouldn't be here at all."

During another point in the video, Ledger talked about his marijuana habit.

"I used to smoke five joints a day for 20 years," he said, in a slurred voice.

US reports said Entertainment Tonight had paid almost $A225,000 for the tape but Nine Los Angeles bureau chief Rob Penfold told News Limited that the Australian network had not paid for the video.

"Definitely not," he said today.

"There was absolutely no money involved at all."

Penfold said following Ledger's death, the tape had become one of the most in-demand celebrity videos being chased by television stations across the world.

"This tape has been in circulation and a lot of people have been trying to get hold of it," he said.

"It was always going to surface.

"It would appear that what the magazines have been writing about (Ledger's alleged drug addiction) has been true."

To view the video do not click on the picture, click the play/pause button below it.

- with News.com.au
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You can watch the vid at that site.
 
Oh no! Not 5 joints a day! Not a line of coke! Clearly that proves he's an addict. 8(

Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't, but I fail to see the point it releasing a video like this. What is the point except for ratings? Actually, I guess I answered my own question.
 
agreed, but you can see how this would be relevant? It may not prove that he was an addict, but it sort of silences all those who say he never used (the family keeps saying that he never had a drug problem).

You don't think 5 joints a day is significant? I mean, not re: his death, but that's quite a habit. I can barely handle more than 1 bowl at a time!
 
5 joints could mean, 5 pinners, 5 Cheech and Chong doobs, 5 spliffs, 5...you get my point. You also could be sharing one or two or all of those with another person.
 
Hardly believe they were OTC sleeping pills. Celebrities don't use OTC sleeping pills - they get what they want from their doctors. For headaches, vicodin is the norm (just ask Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie).
Foxy Brown's (my avatar) morphine habit started off from a prescription to vicodin, eventually she got hooked exclusively on morphine to the point where she couldn't even function without it and then was treated at Cornell University Medical College.


It was probably a benzo sleeping pill, or less likely a barbiturate (though I highly doubt it).
 
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phrozen said:
^
Maybe it wasn't his bill. And that article above is just hearsay.


I mean, it's likely drugs were a factor in his death, if not the cause. But there isn't definitive proof yet.
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Oh yeah, people always leave their rolled up 20's in my house.
Dont you hate when that happens?
 
Actor Ledger 'died of overdose'

BBC NEWS 2-6-08
LINK
Hollywood actor Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, the New York City medical examiner's office has ruled.

The actor, 28, was found dead at an apartment he had been renting for several months in Manhattan.
A spokeswoman for the medical examiner said Ledger died "as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects" of six different drugs.
They include painkiller Oxycontin and anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax.
Last week, his former partner Michelle Williams spoke publicly for the first time since the star's death, saying: "My heart is broken."
The pair met on the set of their film Brokeback Mountain.
The couple, who had a daughter Matilda, now two, split up last September.
 
Someone please explain to me what was this man doing with an Oxy prescription ? Was this prescribed for Insomnia too ? 8o

Heath Ledger Died Of Accidental Overdose: Medical Examiner's Report; Family Issues Statement

Actor's death was caused by acute intoxication from the combined effects of several prescription drugs.
By Chris Harris

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On Wednesday (February 6) the New York medical examiner's office released the official cause of actor Heath Ledger's death: acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine.

The office concluded that the manner of death was accidental, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications. The drugs, according to the medical examiner, are the generic names for the painkiller OxyContin, the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, and the sleep aids Restoril and Unisom.

Heath Ledger's father, Kim, released the below statement following the announcement of Heath's cause of death, according to People.com:

"We remain humble as parents and a family, among millions of people worldwide who may have suffered the tragic loss of a child. Few can understand the hollow, wrenching, and enduring agony parents silently suffer when a child predeceases them. Today's results put an end to speculation, but our son's beautiful spirit and enduring memory will forever remain in our hearts.

"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.

"Our family enjoyed an extremely happy two week visit with Heath just prior to the New Year. Those recent precious days will stay with us forever. We as a family feel privileged to have some of his amazing magic moments captured in film. To most of the world Heath was an actor of immeasurable talent and promise. To those who knew him personally, Heath was a consummate artist whose passions also included photography, music, chess and directing. We knew Heath as a loving father, as our devoted son, and as a loyal and generous brother and friend.

"We treasure our beautiful granddaughter Matilda (to our dear Michelle) as well as an unbelievably wonderful network of close friends, forever, around the world. Families rarely experience the uplifting, warm and massive outpouring of grief and support as have we, from every corner of the planet. This has deeply and profoundly touched our hearts and lives. We are eternally grateful.

"At this moment we respectfully request the worldwide media allow us time to grieve privately, without the intrusions associated with press and photography."

The 28-year-old actor's body was discovered inside a New York apartment on January 22. The initial autopsy report was inconclusive, and it took approximately two weeks for the medical examiner's office to conduct additional tests and to complete its investigation into the nature of Ledger's death. The results of toxicology screenings helped the office determine the specific cause of death.

Soon after Ledger's death, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told reporters during a press conference the actor was found face down in a normal sleeping position, not at the end of a bed as had been rumored. Kelly also confirmed reports that crime-scene technicians had found a rolled-up $20 bill inside the apartment, which they collected for testing. The bill was rolled in a manner common among cocaine users, but police said no visible drug residue was found on it.

Police told reporters that there were no illegal drugs recovered from the apartment, but they said six different prescription drugs were found in the apartment, including ones to treat insomnia and anxiety, along with an antihistamine. The actor had struggled with addiction to prescription medications.

Ledger's housekeeper, Teresa Solomon, arrived at his apartment around 12:30 p.m., and police say that about a half-hour later, Solomon entered the bedroom, where she found the actor lying in bed, face down, with a sheet pulled up to his shoulders. Solomon claims she could hear Ledger snoring and left the room.

Masseuse Diana Wolozin arrived just before 3 p.m. and called her client's cell phone. When Ledger failed to answer the call, both women entered the bedroom and attempted to stir the actor from his sleep. Ledger did not respond, prompting Solomon to call Mary-Kate Olsen, a friend of Ledger's, using his phone. The housekeeper called, seeking guidance, police said. She eventually called 911 just before 3:30 p.m.

Memorial services for the actor have been held in New York and Los Angeles, and family and friends have arrived in Ledger's hometown of Perth, Australia, for his private funeral, which is expected to take place on Saturday.

For more on Heath Ledger's tragic passing, read reactions from his peers and other admirers, as well as casting directors he worked with. Also, watch Ledger talk about his evolution as an actor in a 2005 interview with MTV News.

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1581008/story.jhtml
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^
I don't think it says that he was prescribed oxycodone and hydrocodone. Also, the oxycodone may have been from an oxy/apap pill, and not from OxyContin.
 
phrozen said:
^
I don't think it says that he was prescribed oxycodone and hydrocodone. Also, the oxycodone may have been from an oxy/apap pill, and not from OxyContin.
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Well I assumed he had script for all of them for some reason ? I might be wrong of course.
 
Crazeee said:
Well I assumed he had script for all of them for some reason ? I might be wrong of course.
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I'm pretty sure he did have a script because they reported no illegal drugs were found
 
He was "legitimately" prescribed all those medications by his doctor. It's kind of ridiculous that he had so many prescriptions that obviously would have interacted together. Although, he could have been a doctor shopper and not have told various doctors what he was getting from the other ones. I cannot imagine what a doctor would have prescribed oxycodone for that the hydrocodone couldn't take care of...
 
But the opiates weren't originally included in the articles... I guess their bottles weren't in the room?
 
damn, who knew he was so into benzos and opiates? I also agree with the person who wrote that he was probably doctor shopping since no doctor would prescribe vicodin and oxycotin to a healthy adult male.
 
accidental OD my ass how could you really mix all those together and think youll be fine thats a hell of a combo. Temazepam is a knockout by itself even if your a hardcore insomniac.
 
bakedbean said:
actors like gettin fucked up too.
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True.

I personally loathe cocaine but a friend of mine who loved it said how if he were a rich celebrity who could afford to buy large quantities of coke and stay high on coke all the time he would.

I also doubt that this was "accidental".

Shit, just one oxycotin, even half of one, or a quarter (depending on mg of oxycodone of the pill) would be more than enough for me; but I have zero tolerance to opiates right now since I haven't used any in years.

I've never taken benzos in low recreational doses like people do.
 
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