From the New York Times web site:

Actor Heath Ledger Is Found Dead

By Sewell Chan

The actor Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in an apartment building at 421 Broome Street in SoHo, according to the New York City police. Mr. Ledger was 28.

At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A in the building for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Mr. Ledger's bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger unconscious. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities. The police said they did not suspect foul play and said they found pills near body.

Mr. Ledger, a native of Perth, Australia, won acclaim for his role as a co-star in "Brokeback Mountain", a 2005 film. The film, based on a novel by Larry McMurtry about two cowboys who fall in love, won critical acclaim. Reviewing the film in The New York Times, the critic Stephen Holden wrote, "Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn."

Wow. That's crazy. Our generation's young dead celebrities are going to start amassing.

From CNN:

He died at 3:26 p.m., they said.

The New York Fire Department received a call at 2:27 today responding to a "cardiac arrest call" in New York.

They found an unresponsive male dead at the scene.

I'm stunned. He was a great actor, and far too young.

I wonder how this will affect "The Dark Knight."

He was such a good actor and a nice looking guy - and his poor little girl.

this is a good article which they are updating. they were oe of the first to report it.

http://www.tmz.com/2008/01/22/he...

more here: http://www.indy.com/posts/4004

It'll be kinda creepy watching him in the new Batman then. Sorta like when you watched The Crow, back in the day.

Really, he's the last person I expected to croak. Brit, sure. Amy Winehouse, maybe. Paris Hilton, wishful thinking. But it's also a HUGE reminder of just how messed up a lot of Hollywood folks are. Drugs kill. They're not just fun and games.

Sad.

I know it. This is very much Brandon Lee and The Crow.

While he was terrific in 'Brokeback Mountain' and I'm sure will be (would've been? How does this tense work?) in 'The Dark Knight,' I'll always remember him in '10 Things I Hate About You.'

Aww, me too. All day I've been picturing him dancing on the bleachers trying to impress Julia Stiles. He was so cute in that movie!