In the days leading up to his death, Heath Ledger battled chronic insomnia, pneumonia and exhaustion, according to several members of Ledger’s inner circle – who paint a portrait of a tortured man who struggled with personal strife and professional indecision, reports the August Vanity Fair, on sale nationally July 7.

Apparently, one of the biggest struggles in Ledger’s life was his deteriorating relationship with partner Michelle Williams.

“Heath was always blaming himself [about the relationship], asking ‘what did I do wrong?’” says Ledger’s friend and mentor, director Terry Gilliam. “Once it started going south, it went very quickly. He was overwhelmed by lawyers, and there were more and more of them, as if they were breeding.”

Especially contentious were the custody issues surrounding the couple’s daughter, Matilda. As the couple battled over the child, “there were definitely heated conversations,” says one source, “and emotions were high.”

The stress of his personal life left Ledger unable to sleep.

Chronic Insomnia
Gerry Grennell, a vocal coach who lived with Ledger during the filming of The Dark Knight, said that the actor used sleeping medication to combat chronic insomnia. “I’d say, ‘If you can possibly bear it to stop taking the medications, do, because they don’t seem to be doing you any good,’ ” recalls Grennell, who said that Ledger would spend his nights finding ways to occupy himself, such as rearranging the furniture.

Grennell also says that everyone has a different view on how Ledger died. “From my perspective, and knowing him as well as I did, and being around him as much as I was, it was a combination of exhaustion, sleeping medication … and perhaps the aftereffects of the flu,” he says. “I guess his body just stopped breathing.”

Grennell and other sources claim that Ledger was no longer using illegal drugs or alcohol when he died.

Professional Indecision
Despite the actor’s eventual success – and posthumous Oscar – as the Joker in the The Dark Knight, Ledger’s friend and agent, Steven Alexander, tells the magazine that Ledger “was always hesitant to be in a summer blockbuster, with the dolls and action figures and everything else that comes with one of those movies. He was afraid it would define him and limit his choices.”

Friends say that Ledger agreed to join the Batman franchise because it would be such a long shot that it would give him an excuse to turn down other offers. Ledger reportedly had a pay-or-play deal for Dark Knight, meaning that he’d receive a paycheck no matter what, so he took creative liberties with the Joker.

According to cinematographer Nicola Pecorini, Ledger hoped his performance would be so over-the-top that he’d be fired.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

GO HERE TO WATCH HEATH’S DAD ACCEPT THE OSCAR FOR HEATH.

Heath Ledger won best supporting actor for his performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight” at the 81st annual Academy Awards on Sunday.

His parents and sister accepted the award for the actor, who died in January 2008.

“This award tonight would have humbly validated Heath’s quiet determination to be truly accepted by you all here — his peers — within an industry he truly loved,” said Ledger’s father, Kim.

Ledger is only the second actor to win a posthumous actor. Peter Finch won best actor for 1976’s “Network” two months after he died in early 1977.

Penelope Cruz won the first Oscar of the night, a best supporting actress honor for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”

“Has anybody ever fainted here? Because I might be the first one,” she said, before paying tribute to writer-director Woody Allen, who oversaw “Vicky Cristina,” and writer-director Pedro Almodovar, who gave her some of her best roles. She then thanked “everyone who has helped me from the beginning.”

“Slumdog Millionaire” got on the board early, with screenwriter Simon Beaufoy winning best adapted screenplay. The film also won Oscars for cinematography, sound mixing and film editing.

“Slumdog,” which has dominated this awards season and received 10 Oscar nominations, is considered the favorite to win best picture. The only film with more nominations, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” has three Oscars — for art direction, makeup and visual effects. “Button” earned 13 nominations.

Dustin Lance Black, who won original screenplay for “Milk,” gave an impassioned speech in favor of gay rights.

“If Harvey [Milk, the subject of the film] had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he would want me to say to all the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told they are less than by the churches, by the government, by their families,” Black said, “that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value, and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights, federally, across this great nation of ours.”

“Milk” concerns Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to major public office. The film has also been in the spotlight because of Proposition 8, the California law against gay marriage that was the subject of a contentious campaign last year. (more…)

No laughing matter!

According to a witness at the No on H8 show at The ­Improv in Hollywood on Dec. 16, Twilight star Robert Pattinson, 22, booed a comic who said, “Here’s my impression of Heath Ledger,” then collapsed and began faking convulsions.

“Robert and his friend went nuts yelling at him,” the source tells Us Weekly. “[Pattinson screamed] f–k you! You suck!”

But the actor — who recently cut his famous hair — went unrecognized by the performing comic.

“The comic didn’t know who it was, but I’m sure he found out later!” the source tells Us.

Go Rob! Don’t let ‘em make fun of our beloved Heath. He will always remain a legend.

Source, Splash

After months of closed-door court meetings — all of Heath Ledger’s estimated $20 mil estate will go to his 2-year old daughter Matilda Rose.

According to news reports, Heath’s dad Kim Ledger says the will originally had all the assets divided up to his parents and sisters, but Heath’s family thought the right thing to do was to give it all up — for the benefit of Matilda.

Heath Ledger died of an accidental prescription pill overdose in January.

Source

Paul McCartney’s ex Heather Mills was responsible for leaking a bogus story about the rocker’s heart problems earlier this year in a bid to discredit the star.

The former Beatle was alleged to have undergone a secret coronary angioplasty operation in December 2007, after doctors warned MCCartney that his reported drink and marijuana habits had contributed to the health scare.

MCCartney subsequently blasted the reports, insisting he never had such an operation.

And now Mills’ former publicist Michele Elyzabeth has confessed to releasing the story to the media herself - on the instruction of the ex-glamour model.

She says, “Heather instructed me to leak news about Paul’s op in a bid to win sympathy. She told me his procedure was the result of drinking too much red wine and smoking too much dope. I don’t know if that was true, but I greatly doubt it now. Heather had first told me about Paul’s heart problem in 2006 when they were still married. She said his doctor had told him to stop smoking pot and drinking because he was going to die. She claimed he didn’t care and refused to stop. But he still went ahead and had the op. Heather never produced any evidence to back it up, but she insisted it was true so she wanted it out there.”

Source

WENN

The U.S. Attorney’s Office closed its investigation into Heath Ledger’s accidental overdose death and will not enforce a subpoena against Mary-Kate Olsen, a law-enforcement source tells People.

The probe was closed without any charges being filed.

Olsen, 22, was subpoenaed by a federal grand jury on April 23, but her attorney had been in negotiations with federal authorities since then, the source says.

Olsen had wanted immunity before testifying. Olsen’s attorney released a statement saying the actress “had nothing to do” with Ledger’s drugs and had already provided “relevant information” to investigators.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and Olsen’s rep both declined to comment.

Ledger, 28, was found dead in his Soho apartment on Jan. 22, and the coroner determined the actor died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs for pain, anxiety and sleep.

Olsen Called When Body Found
The federal probe focused on how he obtained Oxycontin and Vicodin, two powerful and often-abused painkillers for which Ledger had no prescription.

Masseuse Diana Wolozin found Ledger lying on his bed shortly after 3 p.m., and called Olsen three times, records show. The longest call lasted one minute and three seconds.

Wolozin told Drug Enforcement Administration agents she called Olsen because “it was the right thing to do” and spoke to her each time, but agents had not been able to confirm that with Olsen, the source says. They requested Olsen’s phone records but had not yet received them, the source says.

Olsen’s bodyguards arrived on the scene four minutes after Wolozin called 911, and just as the paramedics were arriving. They, too, cooperated with the federal probe but “had nothing pertinent to say,” the source says.

Olsen was the only person who declined to be interviewed in the investigation, the source said. Model Helena Christiansen was interviewed as was Ledger’s ex-girlfriend Michelle Williams and Ledger’s family and friends.

Source

WENN

Despite her claim that she has no information that would help clear up the mystery of Heath Ledger’s overdose death, Mary-Kate Olsen has been issued a subpoena by the Drug Enforcement Administration office in New York, requiring her to testify in front of a grand jury.

In a statement issued on Monday, Olsen’s lawyer said that the actress had nothing to do with the drugs that killed Ledger and that she has already cooperated with police in the investigation. Several media outlets also reported that Olsen had refused to speak to investigators unless she was granted immunity from prosecution.

“Access Hollywood” broke the news about the subpoena on Tuesday night, but gave no timeline for when Olsen might be called to testify. Five different medications were found in Ledger’s body at the time of his death, three of which he’d gotten from doctors in Texas and Los Angeles. Officials are trying to determine how he got the OxyContin and Vicodin found in his apartment without a legal prescription.

Olsen was the first person that Ledger’s housekeeper called after his masseuse found the actor dead from an accidental overdose in his New York apartment on January 22.

A lawyer not associated with the case, high-profile defense attorney Benjamin Brafman (who has defended P. Diddy and Michael Jackson in the past), told “Access Hollywood” that seeking immunity is not the same as admitting guilt. “It may not mean anything other than she’s getting good legal advice,” Brafman told the show. “You don’t know what the DEA may suspect in this case, and I think it’s a cautious way to proceed. I think it would be wrong to assume she’s done something criminal simply because she’s invoking her Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination.”

Source

WENN