A special, very private viewing/funeral for actor Heath Ledger was held today in New York City.  Ledger's family arrived in Manhattan today for the ceremony and, afterwards, will transport the body back to Ledger's home country of Australia.  Regarding Ledger's death, there's not much more in the way of details.  The autopsy was inconclusive, though it's generally assumed that the tragedy was an accident and Ledger did not intend to take his own life.  The most intriguing and, sadly, tabloid friendly story involves calls made to Mary-Kate Olsen that Ledger's masseuse made upon finding the body.  These calls were supposedly made before she called 911 – though police are saying Ledger was likely deceased well before the masseuse found the body.

Though the connections to Mary-Kate Olsen may appear out of nowhere and mysterious, it appears that it was mostly innocent.  Apparently, Olsen and Ledger had been casually dating (this according to People) since Ledger's split from Michelle Williams.  If Olsen was currently Ledger's closest friend in Manhattan, it makes sense that the masseuse would call her upon finding something as horrific as she did.  Furthermore, it's being reported that the masseuse was unlicensed, which could mean jail time for her.  It's certainly reasonable then that she would call Olsen in an attempt to save her own ass, not wanting to become embroiled in a hectic police scene.  I wish everyone could be cool-headed about this situation and assume that nothing diabolical was going on.  It was simply a horrible, horrible tragedy. 

Michelle Williams (Dawson's Creek) planned on attending the funeral ceremony today.  I can't imagine the heart break she's going through right now.  It's only been a few months since the two split (they have a child together as well) and the connection between the recent break-up and a possible depression induced overdose has not been ignored by the media. 

Personally, I would prefer any such conjecture to be ignored.

The thing that kind of sickens me is the wide spectrum of opinions on Ledger's death in the media over the past few days.  That FOX radio host mocked Ledger, there have been thinly veiled Brokeback Mountain jokes (a clear indication of our culture's still-rampant homophobia) and currently-baseless allegations of suicide.  In the wake of a tragedy like this, we don't need opinions.  Regardless of any facts that may later present themselves, it's all moot.  The only thing that matters is that Heath Ledger is dead, and people who like movies are worse off for it.  His family has been relatively silent about the death, and they should be.  For them, it's a personal matter and any excess interaction with the media would feel exploitative. 

The precedent for the tactless media portrayal of a high-profile entertainment death was firmly set with Anna Nicole Smith last year.  That media fire storm was completely out of control and ugly, but she had long established herself as a tabloid icon, so the coverage of her demise was predictable.  By all accounts, Ledger was a private person and his death deserves some posthumous nobility.  In the last few days it's become clear, however, that much of the media disagrees, which is a tragedy in and of itself.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: TVGuide, People
(Image Courtesy of Time)