The River Phoenix of Our Time: Heath Ledger Died, Possibly of Drug Overdose, at 28

http://wcbstv.com/breakingnewsalerts/heath.ledger.dead.2.635530.html

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Heath Ledger, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the critically-acclaimed movie Brokeback Mountain, was found dead in his New York City apartment this afternoon.

The Australian-born actor was just 28.

He was pronounced dead at 3:26 p.m. in his downtown Manhattan residence by his housekeeper, who discovered him in cardiac arrest and called 911, an NYPD spokesperson says. He was apparently scheduled to have a massage in his apartment this afternoon.

Sources tell CBS 2's Scott Weinberger the death may be drug-related and that there were pills scattered around the room.

Ledger had recently separated from his wife, actress Michelle Williams. The couple have one daughter, Matilda, who was born in 2005.

Before marrying Williams, Ledger had also dated actress Naomi Watts and Heather Graham.

Most currently, Ledger was featured in the Bob Dylan biography film "I'm Not There."

He is also appearing in the next installment of the "Batman" movie opposite Christian Bale as the infamous "Joker" and was in the midst of filming "The Imaginarium Of Dr. Parnassus."

Of the most well-known 15 films Ledger appeared in: "The Patriot," "A Knight's Tale," and "Monster's Ball." He was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in "Brokeback Mountain."

Ledger grew up in Perth, and began doing amateur theater at age 10. At 16, he moved to Sydney to pursue an acting career, quickly landing TV movie roles and guest spots on Australian television.

After several independent films and a starring role in the short-lived Fox TV series "Roar," Ledger moved to Los Angeles and costarred in "10 Things I Hate About You," a teen comedy reworking of "The Taming of the Shrew."

Offers for other teen flicks came his way, but Ledger turned them down, preferring to remain idle than sign on for projects he didn't like.

"It wasn't a hard decision for me," Ledger told the Associated Press in 2001. "It was hard for everyone else around me to understand. Agents were like, `You're crazy,' my parents were like, `Come on, you have to eat."'

He would have turned 29 on April 4.

Stay with wcbstv.com and CBS 2 for the latest in his developing story.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)