How Heath Ledger's Sister's Final Plea Almost Saved His Life
Heath Ledger, who died on January 22, 2008, is one of the most beloved actors of all times. His performance as the DC villain Joker has been carved into the minds of his fans
Heath
Ledger,
who
died
on
January
22,
2008,
is
one
of
the
most
beloved
actors
of
all
times.
His
performance
as
the
DC
villain
Joker
has
been
carved
into
the
minds
of
his
fans.
Despite
the
actor's
success
in
the
industry,
he
was
suffering
from
insomnia.
Ledger,
before
his
death,
had
immersed
himself
into
his
character
Joker,
and
had
recently
moved
into
a
Manhattan
rental
apartment
after
splitting
from
girlfriend
Michelle
Williams.
Also,
suffering
from
'walking
pneumonia',
at
that
time,
Ledger
was
desperate
and
had
began
relying
on
prescription
drugs.
His
friend
and
housemate
Gerry
Grennell
had
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.'"
Friends
and
family
were
worried
about
Heath's
well
being.
The
night
before
his
death,
his
sister
Kate
had
begged
him
to
cut
some
of
his
medications
out.
"You
can't
mix
drugs
that
you
don't
know
anything
about," their
father
Kim
recalled
her
saying.
"I'll
be
fine,"
replied
Heath.
If
the
Australian
actor
had
listened
to
his
sibling
at
the
time,
the
events
that
followed
might
never
have
happened
that
night.
Heath's
father
Kim,
told
news.com.au,
"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
travelled
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."(sic)
He
continued,
"Heath
mixed
a
couple
of
drugs
together
with
sleeping
tablets
and
he's
gone
forever."
Heath
was
found
by
his
massage
therapist
Diana
Wolozin.
Diana
called
911,
when
she
realised
he
was
dead
after
finding
his
body
cold
while
trying
to
wake
him
up.
An
operator
reportedly
guided
Diana
through
CPR
until
the
paramedics
arrived
minutes
later.
While
the
world
was
shocked
by
Heath's
sudden
death,
fans
were
convinced
that
split
from
Michelle
had
plunged
him
into
a
state
of
depression.
According
to
the
autopsy
by
the
New
York
coroner,
Ledger
had
died
of
'acute
intoxication'
after
ingesting
a
cocktail
of
prescription
medication.
His
death
was
ruled
as
an
accident.
In
2017,
forensic
pathologist
Dr
Jason
Payne-James
said
that
it
was
the
addition
of
OxyContin
and
hydrocodone
that
proved
fatal
for
his
life.
Ledger
died
at
the
age
28,
just
a
few
months
before
the
release
of
his
film,
The
Dark
Knight.
The
record-breaking
Batman
release
also
earned
Ledger
an
Oscar
for
best-supporting
actor
posthumously.