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Thank you, Heath Ledger, for a
life less ordinary
24 January, 2008
He was young, he was not really
restless, or as he came across to the
many millions who had seen his steady
rise on the silver screen. Heath
Ledger, the quiet underdog to have
joined the ranks of young, thinking
stars, failed to live up to our
expectations in real life. Ledger died
of an overdose on January 22, 2008.
Heath was perhaps the less talked
about celebrity, at loggerheads with
the paparazzi flash bulbs, the
gossiploids, a man with the
Arien resolve to claim the
highest peak and shine at the end of
his quest.
As news has it, he was waiting for his
massage therapist in his Manhattan
apartment, when he was found dead on
his bed by his housekeeper at about
3:30 pm. While the cause of his death
is being speculated over as possible
suicide, a claim his family and
friends deny, what is more or less
certain is that he died of an overdose
of sleeping pills. Heath was suffering
from pneumonia. Whatever be the
reason, we will have to wait for an
autopsy report. Heath was, however,
reportedly separated from Michelle
Williams, whom he met on the sets of
Brokeback Mountain. He had a daughter
with her.
Heath started his onscreen career
early, in Australia where he appeared
as a gay cyclist in Sweat. His career
hit big time in 2000, as high profile
and critically acclaimed roles came
his way in movies like The Patriot,
A
Knight’s Tale, Ned Kelly, and
The
Brothers Grimm. What could perhaps be
the most talked about role in his filmography was of the reticent, gay
cowboy Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback
Mountain, a short story by Annie Proulx adapted by Ang Lee. He dared to
play a character his bigger
contemporaries had declined. A
courageous meteor, Heath came in from
virtually nowhere, shone, and just
when we thought a star, not just a
scintilla, was born, the glow died in
one little lapse of the moment.
Heath’s death brings to mind the ugly
connection between celebrities,
substance abuse, and death. Before
Heath Ledger, the tragedy that seems
to envelop stars has claimed many a
celebrity, snatched them away from
their fans in a ruthless battle
between stardom and a search for a
stable personal life. River Phoenix,
once a close friend of Keanu Reeves,
was found dead of an overdose of
heroin and cocaine outside the famous
Viper Room in 1993. Or Kurt Cobain,
the name synonymous with Seattle
Grunge, whose life was fraught with
complications. Or Michael Hutchens of
INXS. Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Phil
Lynott, Janis Joplin, Dinah
Washington, the list could go on. So
will their tales of sorrow behind an
illustrious public façade.
We will keep on adding pages to our
memory of those who left their mark,
if only briefly, but the mark will
remain forever, so will your loss.
Rest in peace, Heath Ledger.
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