347 Augusta

 Like, for real. Allegedly, this was the result of a drug overdose. Big surprise. I’m sure that teeny boppers’ hearts are bursting as the news spreads across the world. But at least he finished filming as The Joker (above) in the upcoming Batman movie, right? Right.

So, here is my official prediction: Heath Ledger’s death produces so much hype about The Dark Knight that—in a sympathetic move—Christian Bale gets the nomination for Best Actor at the Oscars next year. Of course he wins and, during his acceptance speech, dedicates his award-worthy performance to the memory of his good buddy, Heath Ledger. In the middle of it all, we see one stray tear fall from his left eye. Then he has to wrap it up. Game over.

Update: We just learned that he wasn’t even found in his own apartment; he was in the apartment of Mary-Kate Olsen. Naked and surrounded by what was left of some over-the-counter meds. What a douche. Seriously.

Another Update: According to The New York Times, he wasn’t actually found in Mary-Kate’s apartment; the guy “reversed” an earlier statement he had made. So, this is either true and he just fucked up or those little girls have enough money to pay off the New York Police Department. Here’s the info:

 (At first, Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s deputy commissioner for public information, said that the apartment was owned by the actress Mary-Kate Olsen, but later reversed himself and said that was not the case. In a phone interview, Annette Wolf, a representative of Ms. Olsen, said, “It is not her apartment,” adding, “She does not own the apartment. She has never owned the apartment. She and her sister have an apartment in New York City but they are not in this building.” An earlier version of this article reported the erroneous detail from the police.)

From The New York Post:

January 22, 2008 — Actor Heath Ledger was found dead today in a Broome Street apartment, apparently from a drug overdose.Ledger, 28, was well known for his role in “Brokeback Mountain,” and he stars in the upcoming “The Dark Knight” Batman movie as the Joker.He split last year from partner, Michelle Williams, with whom he has a daughter, Matilda.When he was found in a bedroom this afternoon and pills were strewn across his bedroom, his housekeeper told police. It was unclear if it was an intentional or accidental death. The housekeeper let in a massaeuse who tried to wake Ledger, and found him unresponsive at 3:20 p.m. The massaeuse then noticed sleeping pills strewn around his room and called paramedics at 3:26 p.m.The father of one was pronounced dead at 3:35 p.m.Ledger’s early career as an actor was marked by small roles in several independent features in his home country of Australia.He broke onto the international movie scene in 1999 with his turn as the brooding high-school heart-throb who captures Julia Stiles’ attention in “10 Things I Hate About You.” After starring roles in “The Patriot,” “A Knight’s Tale,” and “The Brothers Grimm,” Ledger earned critical acclaim with his poignant performance as a gay cattle rancher in director Ang Lee’s “Brokeback Mountain,” for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.In 2007, he appeared in the independent film “I’m Not There,” as one of many incarnations of Bob Dylan. He recently wrapped filming on ‘The Dark Knight,’ the sequel to ‘Batman Begins,’ in which he plays the villainous Joker. His most recent role was in director Terry Gilliam’s ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,’ which is listed as still “in production” on imdb.com.Ledger’s love life earned him as many headlines as his acting career. He has been romantically linked to such A-list starlets as Naomi Watts and Heather Graham. He has a daughter, Matilda Rose, with actress Michelle Williams. The couple, praised for their down-to-earth lifestyle in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens, announced their split earlier this year.