For the second time in a week a young actor was found dead in what appears to be a drug-related incident.
Heath Ledger, a 28-year-old Australia native died this afternoon in his New York City apartment. The talented actor, perhaps best known for his performance in the controversial film Brokeback Mountain, leaves behind a two-year-old daughter, who he had with ex-girlfriend and fellow-actor Michelle Williams.
Following the apparent drug-related death of another young actor Brad Renfro, 25, last Tuesday, the media frenzy around Ledger's death is something to be discussed. Renfro was laid to rest today.
The site TMZ.com has posted up to the minute information and video on the story that is surely feeding fan curiousity, but some of it may go too far. While speculation on the cause of death is newsworthy, I'm not sure the minute and a half video of the body being removed from his apartment is entirely necessary.
Also on TMZ, there is a video of a clearly distraught Lindsay Lohan being heavily pursued and asked about the death of her reportedly close friend.
As one CNN anchor points out on a TMZ video, the coverage was so immediate and intense it's possible that Williams would have learned of his death through the media.
I'm no lobbyist for celebrity privacy, but it seems they have the least of it in death and although this shocking story is devastating and newsworthy, the coverage has been somewhat disturbing.
Boston Globe obituary
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