An autopsy performed on the “Brokeback Mountain” star was inconclusive Wednesday so it will not be known for days or maybe weeks what happened the day before, when he was found dead inside the bedroom of his SoHo apartment.

The New York City Medical Examiner’s said office toxicology and tissue testing must now be done. Found in his apartment were prescription sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication as well as a rolled-up $20 bill that is being tested for any possible drug residue.

An accidental drug overdose seems to be the leading theory since the actor did not appear to be suicidal, according to friends and family. People.com reported that Heath was suffering from pneumonia at the time of his death.

The tributes to the Oscar-nominated star have been pouring in and none were more touching than the one read by his father, Kim Ledger, before television cameras in Australia: “We would like to thank our friends and everyone around the world for their well wishes and kind thoughts at this time,” the father said. “Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life but few had the pleasure of truly knowing him. He was a down to earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving and selfless individual who was extremely inspirational to many.”

Heath’s ex-girlfriend, Michelle Williams, was on location in Sweden at the time of the death with the former couple’s 2-year-old daughter, Matilda. She and Heath fell in love on the set of “Brokeback” but their three-year romantic relationship quietly ended last year.

Michelle was photographed Wednesday at an airport in Sweden preparing to board a flight back to the U.S.
Michelle’s father, Larry Williams, told The Daily Telegraph from his Sydney home that Heath’s death has left his family broken-hearted. He described the 28-year-old as a “great talent” who was devoted to daughter Matilda.

“I think Tennyson got it right in the poem when he described someone as having died at a young age but burning the candles at both ends, and oh what a beautiful flame he made, that was Heath, what a beautiful flame he made and a great talent. My heart goes out to everyone in his family and my family.”

“Brokeback” director Ang Lee called Heath’s death “heartbreaking.”
“Working with Heath was one of the purest joys of my life,” the director said in a statement. “He brought to the role of Ennis (Del Mar) more than any of us could have imagined – a thirst for life, for love, and for truth, and a vulnerability that made everyone who knew him love him.”

At the end of taping her syndicated talk show on Wednesday, Ellen DeGeneres called Heath an “amazing, amazing, talented young man... He was a friend – and we will miss him.”
She then ran a brief but delightfully fun clip of Heath’s most recent appearance on the show nearly a year ago then signed off with a simple, quiet wave.

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With everyone still reeling from the death of Heath Ledger, the ongoing Britney Spears drama seems even more annoying than usual.
How maddening it is that a little girl named Matilda Ledger will never know her dad while two little boys named Sean Preston and Jayden James might not know their mom because she refuses to get the treatment she needs?
A judge on Wednesday denied Britney visitation rights with her two sons. She had arrived for an emergency custody hearing Wednesday that she had requested – then left the courthouse before it began.

For more celebrity news, go to blogs.dailynews.com/hollywoodjoe and blogs.dailynews.com/outinhollywood

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The marathon will include the following episodes:

- Fly the Unfriendly Skies – Emily joins Bob's group to conquer her fear of flying (9:00-9:30 pm ET/PT).
- Tracy Grammar School, I'll Lick You Yet – Bob isn’t invited to vocation day in Emily’s class (9:30-10:00 pm ET/PT).
- Come Live With Me – Bob and Emily interfere in Carol's love life (10:00-10:30 pm ET/PT).
- Don't Go to Bed Mad – Emily objects when Bob watches Monday-night football (10:30-11:00 pm ET/PT).
- Emily, I'm Home -- Emily? – Bob is upset when Emily takes a full-time job (11:00-11:30 pm ET/PT).
- Bum Voyage – Bob resists Emily’s idea of a European vacation (11:30-12:00 am ET/PT).
- Emily in for Carol – Emily fills in as receptionist (12:00-12:30 am ET/PT).
- Mister Emily Hartley – Bob learns Emily’s IQ is higher than his (12:30-1:00 am ET/PT).

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I saw Heath at all the awards shows during the year of "Brokeback Mountain" when he was nominated for best actor but we never spoke. I did interview Michelle Williams on Oscar nomination morning two years ago and she told me how excited they were to be nominated.
So why is his death hitting so many of us so hard? It's his youth, his immense talent and his un-movie star personality. He was an actor who happened to be famous but you sensed that he was an actor first - and a very good one.

For me, I know the reason I feel it in the stomach is because of that portrayal of Ennis in "Brokeback Mountain." He broke my heart in that film and I have said, ever since seeing it, that it was one of the best screen performances of all time. It stayed with you: Ennis' heartbreak, his conflict, and he showed vividly how much love can hurt - love between two men. I know Phillip Seymour Hoffman got the Oscar that year, but Ledger's performance is what will stand the test of time - even more so now that he's gone.

In addition to "Brokeback," I was also deeply moved by Heath's performance in "Monster's Ball" as Billy Bob Thorton's son. It was a small part, but a memorable one. And, of course, who can forget how he burst onto the scene as Mel Gibson's son in "The Patriot" and followed it up with "A Knights Tale." I loved him in "Lords of Dogtown" and he was what saved "The Four Feathers" from being a complete disaster.

I have not seen all of Heath's movies, but have had some DVDs around the house for some time that I now plan to watch: "Casanova," "Brothers Grimm," and "10 Things I Hate About You." I will also watch "I'm Not There" soon in which he is one of the many actors portraying Bob Dylan.

We still have "The Dark Knight," the Batman sequel he completed that will be released this summer but it will never be enough. He was that good at just 28. Imagine what he could have done as the years went on.

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 8:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is the latest in my "Whatever Happened To" series...
Alison Arngrim will forever be known to most people as mean girl Nellie Oleson on “Little House on the Prairie.”

Now 46, the one-time child star figures if you can’t beat the rap, make the most of it. Instead of moaning about how tough it is to transition to adult stardom unless you’re Jodie Foster, Arngrim has taken put together an act and taken it on the road.

“I do my stand-up comedy, I do my one-woman show called ‘Confessions of a Prairie Bitch’ which has become quite successful,” she said last week. “The title says it all. show, I do have a facsimile of the wig and we make fun of that and ask,’How do I look now? Do I look the same?’ I tell people I had myself laminated in the early 80s.”

Even without the wig, the actress hasn’t really changed much since those days.

“Unlike a lot of Hollywood, I never had any work done or got a nose job so I just kind of look exactly the same which is a little spooky,” she said. “Some days I go out and no one says anything and other days, it's like they put out an APB - I can’t go 10 feet without: ‘You’re Nellie Oleson! what are you doing here?’ It’s pretty cool.”

She has kept busy with her stage act which is popular in France and a lot of other unlikely places: “I’m going to be up with the Vancouver Gay Men’s Chorus in February and then I’m doing a prison guard's convention in Las Vegas. I’m sort of all over the map.”

She’s also kept busy with various television guest appearances and a decades-long dedication to AIDS/HIV activism spurred on by the AIDS-related death of her “Little House” co-star Steve Tracy who played her husband.

“I lost a lot of friends,” she said. “A lot of people were afraid to talk about AIDS in 1986 but for some bizarre reason, were willing to talk about it with someone from ‘Little House on the Prairie.’ With Nellie Olseon it was OK. So I was able to reach people that other people had trouble reaching.”

Arngrin, who appeared in more than 100 episodes of “Little House” between 1974 and 1982, was in the headlines just last month when she made Mr. Blackwell’s infamous worst dressed list.
She had a sense of humor about it.

“He said I looked like a fashion correspondent for the 1940s Farmers Almanac,” she said, laughing. “I kind of had it coming. There was this fabulous event in Tombstone, a ‘Little House on the Prairie’ cast reunion, ...I did have on a particularly henious outfit involving an orange skirt and a purple top and a cowboy hat., So, yes, I got to be number 10. I was getting calls from every newspaper, every magazine and from friends who were driving down the street and heard it on the radio and nearly totaled the car.”

Posted by Greg Hernandez at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)