Heath Ledger Photos & Pics Archive

Though it's been a little over 5 months since Heath Ledger's untimely passing, the Academy Award nominated actor's name has been all over the place with the upcoming release of The Dark Knight. The previews look great, it's generated a lot of hype, and some industry experts are even beginning to throw around Hollywood's favorite five letter word: Oscar.

Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers reviewed the film and gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars and a very glowing recommendation:

"I can only speak superlatives of Ledger, who is mad-crazy-blazing brilliant as the Joker...Ledger takes the role to the shadows, where even what's comic is hardly a relief."

"It's typical of Ledger's total commitment to films as diverse as Brokeback Mountain and I'm Not There that he does nothing out of vanity or the need to be liked. If there's a movement to get him the first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch won for 1976's Network, sign me up."

"The haunting and visionary Dark Knight soars on the wings of untamed imagination. It's full of surprises you don't see coming. And just try to get it out of your dreams."

We really want to see this movie!

Heath Ledger may be gone - but thanks to the new scholarship for Australian actors established in his name, his memory will live on forever!

The Los Angeles Times reports that Australians in Film (AIF), an organization for Australians working abroad in the entertainment industry, has established the Heath Ledger Scholarship Fund, an annually-given scholarship fund designed to help one lucky young Aussie actor or actress pursue a career in Hollywood.

The scholarship was introduced at AIF's 4th annual Breakthrough Awards ceremony held last night where longtime Ledger friend Gregor Jordan will read statements of support from the departed actor's family.

Before his tragic death in January, Ledger had been heavily involved with AIF, even serving as an ambassador for the organization. Ledger had maintained a long-standing friendship with AIF President Susie Dobson ever since 2000 - long before the Foundation had even been founded.

""Someone told me that there was a young and very, very shy Australian actor sitting on a couch by himself, and they suggested I go over and talk to him and try to make him feel at home," Dobson told the paper. "It was Heath Ledger, and he was here to promote his first big U.S. film, The Patriot, with Mel Gibson. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt and was incredibly sweet, shy and soft-spoken."

"Through Heath's scholarship," she said, "we will be able to assist burgeoning Australian talent launch their careers in the U.S. to become potential future recipients of a Breakthrough Award."

Sounds like a great cause to us - and there's plenty more information on the AIF's website!

The late Heath Ledger may have fathered a child when he was 17 years-old and had a relationship with an older woman, according to Heath's uncle Haydn Ledger.

The elder Ledger has told the Australian media, "There is a very real possibility that Heath was the father," according to the Melbourne Sun.

The 25 year-old woman was living with another man at the time of her alleged affair with a much-younger Heath; she learned of her pregnancy only after the relationship ended. She now has a family and will not comment on the rumors.

It isn't known whether Heath's family, who received 100% of his estate after his death, would provide for the child if it were proven to be Heath's. Heath's father has said Michelle Williams and her daughter with Heath, Matilda, will be taken care of.

Heath Ledger's family have now started fighting over the late actor's estate. Heath's uncles say Heath's dad, Kim, has bad financial sense and has a record of mishandling money.

Apparently Heath's great-grandfather's estate plunged into debt under Kim fifteen years ago.

It's not the first time a financial fumbler has gotten hold of his offspring's millions -- look at the formerly bankrupt Jamie Spears with his hand in Britney's bank!

Heath Ledger's will was drawn up before his relationship with Michelle Williams and the birth of their daughter Matilda, reports People.com.

The Oscar-nominated actor wrote up the document in April 2003 in Australia, where most of Ledger's estate will be handled.

Heath, who died of an accidental prescription medication overdose at 28 years-old earlier this year, left everything to his parents and sister.

Doctors in California and Texas have been cleared in an investigation into the medications they prescribed to their patient Heath Ledger who was found dead in his New York apartment last month.

The docs did NOT prescribe the two power drugs OxyContin and Vicodin that were found in Ledger's body in the autopsy, according to the New York Post.

The Drug Enforcement Agency had questioned two physicians Ledger was found to have visited recently before his death but the investigation found them innocent.

Federal drug authorities are investigating doctors in Texas and in California in connection with Heath Ledger's death last month, according to the NY Daily News.

Autopsy results reported an accidental mixture of prescription drugs and now docs in two states are being investigated for possibly having supplied Ledger with Oxycontin and Vidodin. Authorities want to know if the drugs were prescribed illegally, according to the News. A law enforcement source told the paper, "It's not clear if there was any wrongdoing."

Ledger died on January 22; he was found in his SoHo apartment by his housekeeper and a masseuse. Ledger is survived by his daughter Matilda and her mother, Michelle Williams.

BBC News is reporting that the film Heath Ledger was working on at the time of his death will resume filming without him.

Director Terry Gilliam has reportedly hired three actors, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to play different incarnations of Heath's character in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Apparently, the original footage of Ledger will remain in the film, with the three new actors representing the character in different incarnations.

TV Guide is reporting that the DEA is launching an investigation into how Heath obtained the lethal combination of prescription drugs that ultimately let to his death.

Apparently, the DEA has already requested a copy of the autopsy (which found traces of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine) and the original police report.

It was previously reported that Heath held prescriptions for at least three of those medications: diazepam (aka Valium), temazepam (aka Restoril), and alprazolam (aka Xanex).

While his friends and family gather in Australia to bury Heath Ledger, Us is reporting that authorities in New York have just released their official report on the actor's death.

Ellen Borakave, spokesperson for Office of Chief Medical Examiner, informed the magazine this morning that Ledger's death was "[an] accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications."

Toxicology reports showed that Ledger's death was brought about by the combination of drugs the actor was ingesting.

Borakave claims that Ledger's death was consistent with a reaction to oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine.

Three of those medications - diazepam (aka Valium), temazepam (aka Restoril), and alprazolam (aka Xanex) - were found among Ledger's medications by the NYPD.

What a sad way to go - but at least Heath's loved ones finally have a few answers!

Us is reporting that a forlorn Michelle Williams arrived in Australia with her daughter Matilda to lay Heath Ledger to rest.

Williams kept her profile as low as possible upon deplaning, quickly carrying Matilda (and Matilda's prized stuffed bunny) out of the airport.

Williams refused to comment to reporters about the plans for Ledger's funeral.

While Heath's family have finally completed their long journey back to Perth (where they'll place Heath in his final resting place), his cause of death still remains unknown.

The New York Chief Medical Examiner's office has confirmed to X17 that they expect to release the results of Heath's death "today or tomorrow."

Our thoughts are with the Ledger family during this difficult time.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes attended an LA memorial for Heath Ledger this weekend. (Their six degrees is that Katie was in Dawson's Creek with Michelle Williams, of course.)

The pair stopped by Joan's On Third for a quick bite after the ceremony ...

After attending a memorial service at Sony Studios for actor Heath Ledger, Hollywood supercouple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes - dressed all in black - made a stop at Joan's on Third for a quick bite...

Is it just me, or is watching the new Batman movie this summer going to be incredibly difficult?

Drugs may not have played a role in Heath Ledger's untimely demise - but it's starting to sound like they played a frighteningly huge one during his life!

Us Magazine is reporting that back in 2006, Ledger's fiancee Michelle Williams actually drove the troubled actor to the famous Promises rehab center - only for Heath to refuse to be admitted once they arrived!

A source close to the story told the magazine that Williams had borne witness to Ledger partaking in all sorts of druggy delights, "including cocaine, heroin and "a variety of pills."

Of course, when confronted with the check-in desk at Promises, Heath suddenly seemed capable of stopping, swearing to Michelle that he'd clean up his act.

Apparently, even Heath's young daughter Matilda - then only five months old - couldn't curb his appetite for destruction.

Maybe that's why, when the couple split up in 2007, Michelle demanded that Heath be drug-tested before his visits with Matilda!

Heath Ledger's father, Kim, stopped by the New York apartment today where his son was found dead last Tuesday afternoon, Page Six is reporting.

According to the site, Kim Ledger spent approximately one hour inside the apartment, stopping to acknowledge a memorial erected in the garden by Heath's neighbors.

Although Kim discussed collecting some of his son's belongings with the super, he did not take anything with him today.

Our hearts go out to Kim - losing a child must be one of the hardest things a parent can ever go through!

We expected poor Michelle Williams to be rocked by the loss of Heath Ledger - but it sounds like the actress may need even more time to recover than we thought!

People is reporting that plans for filming Blue Valentine, Williams' next movie, have been suspended while she copes with Heath's death.

"We will hold off until she is ready," a source connected with the film told the mag. "The production is in the process of sorting it out in respect to her."

Production, originally set to start on February 25th, has been pushed back indefinitely.

"We're hoping she will still come back and do the film and are happy to wait," the source says. "The film is tailor made for [Williams and co-star Ryan Gosling] so of course we would want to wait. You can't get much better than them."

Poor Michelle - we'd hate to hurry along her grieving process, but we sincerely hope she's able to come back from this tragedy sooner rather than later!