Just as they did when Anna Nicole Smith was found dead, celebrity rumor mills have been working overtime in the days following Heath Ledger’s death. The fact that pills were found near the actor’s body certainly didn’t help to lessen growing speculation. Add to that the bizarre involvement of a masseuse who called Ledger’s alleged lady love former “Full House” actress Mary Kate Olsen before dialing 911 and you got the recipe for a full blown celebrity circus.
So what is fact and what is fiction? Let’s break it down:
THE FUNERAL
According to a New York funeral home director, arrangements have been finalized for the 28-year-old actor’s wake service. News reports also noted that Ledger’s family members are due to arrive in New York City from their native Australia today.
THE MARY KATE CONNECTION
Both the New York Post and Daily News confirmed that Ledger and the 21-year-old Olsen twin were dating and further revealed that the two met during the summer of 2006 when Ledger was living at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood.
The papers report the two were not “exclusive” rather they had been dating casually for three months prior to Ledger’s death. But unlike with this former fiancée Michelle Williams, with whom he shared a child, sources say Ledger and Olsen shared little more than a love for the same brand of cigarettes, late night partying, and a desire to have a good time.
One source said of Ledger and Olsen, “They had a bond that was based on partying, and they had the same tastes in partying … like, in terms of where they liked to hang out in New York, what time they would want to go out. They just had the same sensibility.”
The source also noted that the Oscar nominated actor was “charmed” by Olsen and liked the way she could “make him laugh.”
THE PILLS
A top forensics doctor told a New York newspaper yesterday that it’s highly unlikely Ledger could have accidentally overdosed on the prescription pills found in his apartment.
According to police reports, officers found six types of prescription pills issued in Ledger’s name in various spots throughout his Manhattan apartment. Police say they were primarily generic versions of the anti-anxiety medications Xanax and Valium and two types of sleep aids.
According to the doctor, those types of sleeping pills generally have a large safety margin.
“You just don’t take one extra pill and die,” the doctor told the newspaper. Rather, he says fatal overdoses involving the pills can occur if a person takes “10, 20 or even more at one time, which is far beyond the recommended dosage, and well beyond what someone might take accidentally, even if he was groggy and forgot he already had taken a pill.”
The doctor, who is also the former chief medical examiner of New York City, added to the rumor mill by telling reporters that if someone is prescribed the same sleeping pills under a wide variety of brand names – as they were in Ledger’s case – it could indicate that person was abusing the drugs.
I should stress that a preliminary autopsy on Ledger’s body came back inconclusive and toxicology test results won’t be back until next week so until then no one will know what really killed the young actor.
THE MOVIE
Crew union managers on Ledger’s latest movie, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, confirmed yesterday that production has been suspended indefinitely following the actor’s death.
According to UK’s The Sun, Ledger was 6 weeks from finishing the fantasy flick and now director Terry Gilliman wants Johnny Depp to film the remaining scenes.
A studio source told the paper: “There is a point in the film when Heath falls through a magic mirror. He could change into another character after that and that is where Johnny would come in. It’s a weird, fantasy, time-travel movie so Heath’s character could easily change appearance.”
This report, however, has yet to be confirmed by the movie’s producer or by Gilliman himself.
Related Articles:
What of Michelle Williams and Ledger’s Other Loves?
Heath Ledger and Mary Kate Olsen More Than “Just Friends”
Reaction to Heath Ledger’s Death
Celebrities and Sleeping Pills – Part One
Celebrities and Sleeping Pills – Part Two