Perth, Australia, the hometown of Heath Ledger, was the location of first his service (attended by as many as 400 mourners) and then a private funeral. The service was accompanied by an Aboriginal mourning song An eulogy was given by Cate Blanchett and a speech by his sister Kate Ledger. After the private funeral, Heath’s body was cremated. Later, several service attendees including his sister Kate and Michelle Williams (his ex-fiance and mother of his daughter) swam in the ocean in honor.
Ledger died Jan 22nd in New York City of what is now being called an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.
Actor Barry Morse (seen standing behind David Janssen above) has died at the age of 89. His long career started in 1942, in The Goose Steps Out, and his last role was in the TV movie Icon in 2005. He was probably best known for his role from 1963-67 as Lt. Philip Gerard in The Fugitive TV series, in which he spent most of his time chasing Dr. Richard Kimble (played by David Janssen). Morse also had extended roles in other series such as The Adventurer and Space: 1999. Morse also directed and wrote for a small handful of TV series and movies. His career, which included theatre and radio, spanned seven decades.
The video clip below is from The Fugitive’s series finale.
Heath Andrew Ledger, who would be 29 in April, has been found dead in a NYC residence (UPDATE: NOT owned by actress Mary-Kate Olsen), potentially of an accidental drug overdose. The actor, one of my favorites amongst the younger set, was found in his bed surrounded by pills. He’s survived by daughter Matilda Rose, whom he fathered with actress Michelle Williams, his former fiancee.
The handsome and talented Australian has been in a number of thoughtful and/or interesting films (10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight’s Tale, The Patriot, Ned Kelly, The Brothers Grimm, Brokeback Mountain) and will appear as The Joker against Christian Bale’s Batman/Bruce Wayne in this year’s Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight. Ledger was also scheduled to be in 2009’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Both Ledger and Bale currently appear in I’m Not There, a film that muses about singer/songwriter Bob Dylan’s life.
RIP, Heath.
[sources: Popcrunch, TMZ, NY Times]
Suzanne Pleshette, who would have turned 71 at the end of January, has died of lung cancer. Pleshette is probably best known for her “wife” role in the Bob Newhart show, but she had more recently appeared in other sitcoms such as Will & Grace and 8 Simple Rules. She also had a TV and theatrical movie career that included a role in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.
Allan Melvin, known for his role as the lovable Sam the Butcher in The Brady Bunch TV series, died of cancer at 84, according to his wife of 64 years (!!), Amalia. Melvin appeared in numerous other TV shows dating back to 1959, including the role of Barney on All in the Family. His last work was voice-based roles for a Scooby-Doo TV movie in 1994.
Brad Renfro, 25, also died earlier this week. The cause has yet to be determined, though he had been fighting drug addiction. He had just finished a project, The Informers (based on Bret Easton Ellis’ The Informers), which is to release sometime this year.
