Another talented actor succumbs to the pressures of stardom and fame and inevitably, prescription drugs. Heath Ledger, 28, died today in Manhattan of an apparent overdose.
In the late nineties, Ledger was best known as the mysterious bad-ass hunk hero in the modern Shakespeare movie, 10 Things I Hate About You. Lucky for his film legacy, his career only took off from there. Avoiding roles that only type casted him as the hunky Australian he was, Ledger made quite the stamp on Hollywood in the past few years. He scored an Oscar nod and gay icon status for his portrayal of the cowboy Ennis in 2006's most honored and talked about film, Brokeback Mountain. Post- Brokeback, Ledger starred in the Australian film, Candy; the Bob Dylan bi op I'm Not There; and the much anticipated (by me, at least)Batman sequel, The Dark Knight, due out this summer.
Because he was a babe, the paparazzi, of course, loved and stalked him. Making hipster everywhere jealous, Ledger moved to a Brooklyn brownstone with his girlfriend, Michelle Williams (former Dawson's Creek star, co-star in Brokeback, and puller-off of the pixie haircut)and their daughter, Matilda. The family was spotted around Brooklyn, looking normal, if not more attractive than normal. While I'm sure all of Brooklyn was rooting for them, Ledger and Williams split up. Ledger crossed the Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan and until his death, was rumored to be struggling with drug addiction and, apparently bad taste, as he was rumored to be dating former Full House alien baby, Mary-Kate Olsen.
The blogsphere is buzzing with sadness, confusion, and who the fuck cares. So, since I am in the blogsphere, let me say this: As Heath Ledger was a person, father, son, etc. his death is indeed, sad. Cynics contend that Ledger was a rich and selfish. True, and that is what lead to his demise. Is that to say that we should harp on Ledger's death more than we did Benazir Bhutto's? U.S. Soldiers and Iraqis? The people of Darfur? The millions of people who suffer from depression and addiction? No. Americans love sensational and tragic stories of celebrities so that we can pretend that we don't have an incompetent president, a sinking economy, and an endless war. Plus, they are nice to look at (except you, Britney Spears.).
So while Heath Ledger will look great in his coffin, he has a daughter that will never know him and a public that will never know if he really was the next Brando.
3 comments:
say what you will about my celebrity...knowledge...,
this man was beautiful and a great actor. it's a sad, sad waste.
respectfully, els
yes it is a waste. He was an incredibly attractive man.
Perhaps this will slowly start to deter all the pillfaces/ cokenoses out there.
Or not.
(also, who was calling him the next Brando? I don't think so. Brando was an original who lived to become old and fat. Heathcliff is closer to the next James Dean: a Brando-imitator who collapsed under the weight of his own self-indulgence.)
ah heath, you're sorely missed. you will make shop glamorous and will always be the best at performing "can't take my eyes off of you" in an i'm sorry serenade.
p.s. i truely appreciate your celeb knowledge, keeps up to date.
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