Not Joking

I am almost deeply ashamed of how involved I am with celebrities' lives. But what do you really expect? I am emotionally involved in the lives of characters on TV shows and in books I read. (Yes, that was me sobbing at the last five minutes of Six Feet Under.) How can you not get wrapped up in the ups and downs of people you read about everyday? Whose faces and stories you're thrust upon everytime you sign online?

Heath Ledger died yesterday, and I'm extremely upset. The kind of upset where I don't even know how to put it into words, nonetheless silly blog-speak. He's an Aussie, from Perth, Australia, the locale of a pilot I wrote. I always thought in the back of my mind, I bet when I have enough connections to get this produced, Heath would be interested in exec-producing... it's extremely jarring to think, nope, that's not happening, ever, because he's dead. He was a brilliant actor who I had a deep respect for, at least career-wise, as I knew very little about his personal life. Which, really, is/was a good thing. It's not often I can say how little I know about a famous actor apart from his work (Daniel Day Lewis comes to mind). I almost prefer it that way, so as not to be biased when I see them perform.

But apparently Heath had troubles, many drug-related, and he was found dead yesterday afternoon at 3:30pm in his manhattan apartment... the last time he was seen alive was noon that day. He was surrounded by pills. Jesus Christ. This is upsetting to summarize.

I really do see myself as an Aussie in spirit. Heath felt like one of my own, like how horrible I felt when Steve Irwin died, but within a community of the rest of Australia. That country is so, so proud of their people when they go abroad and make names for themselves, they give the ex-pats a pat on the back for good luck. When something joyous (like oscar noms) or tragic (like this) happens, they feel it extra strong, and that's a beautiful characteristic to hold. The US is so large and wild, I don't think we carry the same comraderie with our own people.

Not to mention, if you hadn't realized already from my previous blog posts, how head-over-heels excited I was to see Heath as The Joker in The Dark Knight. His performance in the trailer gave me chills. What a role to go out on.

What else can I say? Nothing. I can't provide any personal stories since I did not know him in real life. It just shows how much effect you can have on people you don't even know, have never met, probably will never meet. And not just with celebrities or people of "note". I put myself out there by writing in this blog, having a job I go to everyday, walking down the street - who knows who might be truly getting something out of what I think I'm doing here on earth.

I just sincerely hope there is no chance of drug overdoses happening in my future, or my friends or family's future. Take care of yourselves, guys.

Back to the sarcastic posts later.

P.S. I bought that "Why So Serious" Dark Knight poster. It'll be framed as a tribute to you in my living room, Heath. It's the thought of the memorial that counts.