It’s been 16 years since the tragic death of Hollywood star Heath Ledger, who was at the peak of his career.
The night before his untimely demise, Heath’s sister pleaded with him to stop combining prescription drugs. Heath, best known for his role in 10 Things I Hate About You and The Dark Knight, tragically died on January 22, 2008, aged just 28, after consuming a mix of pills.
Following his death, Heath’s father Kim revealed that his daughter Kate had warned her brother the night before he died: “You can’t mix drugs that you don’t know anything about.”
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However, Heath reportedly reassured his sister by saying: “I’ll be fine,” but tragically, he was found dead in his apartment the next day by his massage therapist Diana Wolozin.
(Image: Getty Images)
The New York coroner’s autopsy report stated that the father-of-one died from “acute intoxication” due to a cocktail of prescription medication. His death was ruled accidental.
A variety of drugs including anti-anxiety medications Valium and Xanax, painkiller OxyContin, cough suppressant hydrocodone, and sleep aids Restoril and Unisom were found in his system.
In 2017, forensic pathologist Dr Jason Payne-James suggested that the combination of OxyContin and hydrocodone was what proved fatal for Heath.
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
His father Kim spoke to news.com.au about the coroner’s findings, saying: “It just put his whole system to sleep I guess. It was a one-off thing.
“That’s what killed us, because he was warned by his sister the night before: ‘You shouldn’t mix what you’re taking for pneumonia with your Ambien’.
“He was a young guy that traveled all the time for work. Even as a two-year-old, he hardly ever slept. He was trying to work and travel and do everything in a short space of time.
(Image: FilmMagic)
“Heath mixed a couple of drugs together with sleeping tablets and he’s gone forever.”
Heath had spent the months before his death immersing himself into the role of The Joker for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight. He had recently moved into a Manhattan rental apartment after splitting from girlfriend and mother of his daughter, Michelle Williams.
His friend – and sometimes housemate – Gerry Grennell claimed that Heath was desperate to sleep and had been suffering from “walking pneumonia”. He told People magazine: “I would hear him wandering around the apartment and I’d get up and say, ‘Come on, man, get back to bed, you have to work tomorrow’. He said, ‘I can’t sleep, man’.
(Image: REUTERS)
“He missed his girl, he missed his family, he missed his little girl – he desperately wanted to see her and hold her and play with her. He was desperately unhappy, desperately sad.”
Gerry continued: “He said, ‘I got to stop, it’s not helping, I’m not well, it’s making me feel more upset’. “It wasn’t helping with the relationship issues, it wasn’t helping with missing his kid, it wasn’t helping his sleeping – and he knew that.”
(Image: FilmMagic)
When Heath Ledger tragically passed away, The Dark Knight was still in post-production. His portrayal of the Joker earned him widespread praise and admiration from both fans and critics.
Posthumously, he received a plethora of awards for his role, including the coveted Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
