Heath Ledger's Body Leaves Funeral Home

The Actor's Grieving Family Has Thus Far Chosen To Keep Funeral Details Private

(CBS/AP)  The body of Heath Ledger left the funeral home as the family prepared to bury the "Brokeback Mountain" actor, the same day police insisted they have no interest in interviewing actress Mary-Kate Olsen.

Details about the Australian-born actor's funeral remained shrouded in secrecy. The body was moved from the police-barricaded funeral home at about 4 p.m. Friday amid a swarm of cameras and reporters. Ledger's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said funeral arrangements "will continue to be kept private at the family's request."

Their immediate plans were not known, though Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said his government would do whatever is needed to help the family bring back his body to Australia.

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Photos: On Losing Ledger

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Olsen called Heath Ledger a "friend" in a brief statement released Friday, the first word from the "Full House" star since the Australian-born actor's death. Released by her publicist, the statement, in its entirety, reads: "Heath was a friend. His death is a tragic loss. My thoughts are with his family during this very difficult time."

2The NYPD denied a report Friday that they want to interview Olsen in connection with calls she received from the masseuse who found Ledger's lifeless body.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said investigators have no interest in talking to Olsen. They interviewed everyone at the scene, each of whom was cooperative. That eliminated "any need to interview Miss Olsen," he said.

On Thursday, police released a detailed timeline of the calls that were made by Ledger's masseuse on Tuesday afternoon, after he couldn't be roused for a scheduled massage.

Police said the masseuse spent nine minutes making three calls to Olsen before she dialed 911 for help. The masseuse called Olsen a fourth time after paramedics arrived.

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Photos: Ledger's Life Cut Short

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The details about the calls do not have any significant bearing on the investigation because authorities believe Ledger was dead at that point and they have ruled out foul play.

Also Friday, a few onlookers and a large crowd of journalists gathered outside the funeral home where Ledger's family was expected later in the day.

Ledger's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said no details about the actor's funeral would be shared with the press.

3Ledger's family placed a death notice that appeared Friday in The West Australian, a newspaper based in his hometown of Perth, remembering him as "the most amazing 'old soul' in a young man's body."

"As a close knit and very private family we have observed you so determined yet quietly traveling in your self-styled path in life, nothing would get in your way ... no mountain too tall, no river too wide," said the notice, which the newspaper said had been submitted by Ledger's relatives. ".... Our hearts are broken."

The actor's sister, Kate, said she could "hardly breathe" as she tried to write her tribute. "We were the ultimate soul mates," she said.

"You were so many things to so many people, but to me you were just my little brother."

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Photos: A Look At Heath Ledger

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Authorities believe Ledger was already dead while his masseuse was dialing Olsen, with the first three calls ranging from 21 seconds to more than a minute and a half.

The cause of death will not be answered for at least a week, after medical examiners complete toxicology tests. Authorities suspect a possible overdose, but nothing conclusive has been determined. Several prescription drugs were found in the Manhattan apartment where Ledger's body was found.

4Police originally said the masseuse made two calls seeking Olsen's advice about what to do, but they revised it to four after taking a closer look at Ledger's phone records. The masseuse, Diana Wolozin, apparently knew both Ledger and Olsen and knew they were friends; all the calls were made from Ledger's cell phone, police said.

At 1 p.m. Tuesday, Ledger's housekeeper went into his bedroom to change a light bulb, saw him sleeping and heard what she thought was snoring. The masseuse showed up for Ledger's massage appointment at about 2:45 p.m., knocked on his door and called his cell phone at 3 p.m. to wake him up., police said.

After setting up her massage table, she tried to wake Ledger and realized something was wrong.

That was when events took a strange turn.

At 3:17 p.m., she made a call to the Olsen twin that lasted 49 seconds. At 3:20 p.m., she made another call, lasting 1 minute and 39 seconds. At 3:24 p.m., another call to Olsen. That one lasted 21 seconds.

Then, at 3:26 p.m., Wolozin called 911.

At some point during the frenzy, Olsen, who was in California, summoned her personal security guards to the apartment to help with the situation, the New York Police Department said.

Paramedics arrived at 3:33 p.m. and actually went up in the elevator to the apartment with Olsen's security guards. Paramedics did not allow the security guards into the bedroom where Ledger died, and they declared him dead at 3:36 p.m. - 19 minutes after the first call to Olsen.

The masseuse called Olsen a final time at 3:34 p.m. The duration of that call was unknown.

The death prompted rumors that Ledger may have been depressed and taking too many pills. Haydn and Mike Ledger, two of the actor's uncles, deflected a question from a CBS The Early Show interviewer Thursday about whether their nephew had been depressed, saying that should be left to his parents to address.

"We have fond and loving memories of a very loving, gentle trickster," Mike Ledger told The Early Show. "It was his vibrance and personality that really got people together. And that certainly was a trait that he took later on in life into his career."

Ledger told The New York Times in November that his recent work on the films "The Dark Knight" and "I'm Not There" had been stressful, and that he was struggling with sleeplessness and had taken the sleeping pill Ambien.

Ledger received an Oscar nomination for his role as a gay cowboy in 2005's "Brokeback Mountain," one of several acclaimed for the actor in recent years. He plays the Joker in the Batman flick "The Dark Knight," set to come out later this year.

Before moving to Manhattan, Ledger lived with then-girlfriend Michelle Williams in a Brooklyn brownstone with a black wrought-iron fence. Ledger split last year with Williams, who played his wife in "Brokeback." The two had a daughter, 2-year-old Matilda.

Mike Ledger told The Early Show that being a father meant everything to the young actor.

"We know that Heath would have wanted to be with her forever," the actor's uncle said.

Williams and Matilda returned to their Brooklyn home Wednesday evening from Sweden. The 27-year-old actress had been there shooting scenes for the upcoming film "Mammoth," said Martin Stromberg, a spokesman for film production company Memfis Film.

Makeshift tributes and memorials continued to pile up Thursday in front of Ledger's apartment building, including candles, handwritten notes and more than 100 bouquets.

[jojo19791]

Heath Ledger will be missed. I come from Perth and he was an inspiration to us all.My heart goes out to his family and friends.

RIP

[kwynn21]

JONWONDINGO, IF YOU''RE A LONG TIME FRIEND, DON''T YOU THINK IT''S A LITTLE WRONG TO GO RUNNING AROUND SAYING HE FAKED HIS DEATH? IF YOU THINK YOU CAN''T WATCH HIM "RUIN HIS NAME", THEN WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU''RE DOING. HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR THE DEAD. AND FINALLY...PROVE IT!!


R.I.P

[sumac61]

His colleague, actor Christopher Plummer, has publicly stated that he last saw Ledger on location last Saturday night, laughing and smiling and happy to be doing the work he was doing. He also stated that he has had a heavy cold for some time, possibly even walking pneumonia. That and the report that that Ledger was "snoring heavily" certainly suggests that he could have had some kind of airway obstruction that a combination of his position and some level of sedation could have helped turn into a catastrophic event. I have heard of people dying this way. Self-murder is a slanderous here, mostly because there isn''t much evidence to support it. He''s an actor and an artist and a high performance character; we can expect someone like this to talk about trouble sleeping and depression. Sometimes, those things are signs of being engaged with life.Clearly the gentleman loved his daughter, loved life and loved his work. Until and unless the autopsy contradicts that, I don''t buy it.

[ajaxtheleast]

HEATH LEDGER''S BODY LEAVE THE FUNERAL HOME !!!!!!

Shouldn''t this be in the UFO SECTION?

Is my moniter acting up or is this toe tappin''

color on purpose ? daaamn !

[iceman_1960]

"...another friend that asked not to be identified at the time claimed that Brando was in grave condition." - CNN

Grave condition ?

[barbaraf4]

CNN is saying that Christian Brando has died. I''m waiting for press saturation to start any minute now.

[barbaraf4]

Heath left the funeral home in a cardboard shipping box. My money is on him being buried in Australia.

[hypnotoad72]

mennowoman - trained is no excuse.

Trained, licensed, accredited massage therapists, chiropractors, and others can still make MISTAKES. Sheesh, there are unlicensed people who do a better job and can''t afford the piece of paper - that''s how whacked our society can be at times... well, that''s nothing compared to how brainless the phone redial issue was!!

No, you don''t call your friends - and definitely not the same friend THREE FRIGGING TIMES for SEVERAL MINUTES - you call emergency services. It seems like a common sense thing to do.

[ic1ssbill]

Just once I would like us to pay this much attention paid to the Men and Women of the US Military who have given the ultimate sacrafice. So another actor died. The only thing he was fighting was his own demons.

USN Retired

[tabyt]

Ledger was a wonderful actor who embraced his roles! For those putting such ugly comments I hope you can sleep at night knowing that someone just lost a son, a dad, and a friend! You could see he wasn''t all about getting attention! He loved acting you could tell it by his work and all you can do is walk all over him and disgrace his name! Heath Ledger will go down as a legend in acting. What bothers me is they say no foul play, when the housekeeper came in he was snoring but then when the massuese came in he''s dead. Well that sounds foul to me. Maybe that massuesse should be looked at a lil closer! Why would someone who loved his daughter so much and had a wonderful family overdose. You know when you take too much of something, I just don''t believe what they are wanting us to believe!! He will always be a star in my eyes and heart! Some actors don''t even have half of the talent he did! Heath Ledger I keep you and your family in my prayers. I hope you watch over your daughter and hope you family knows that you are ok!!

[easeup-2009]

Get well soon, Heath!

[incog-nito]

Great! Now we get to know every little detail about the funeral. They just reported that "funeral arrangements were made" yesterday. Next they''ll report on when and where the body arrives, who cried the loudest at the funeral, the clothes they were wearing, what they had for dinner, etc. This is all very useful information.

[mennowoman]

Puzzler125, it''s not like in the movies. You weren''t there, you don''t know in what condition he was found. It could be that his eyes were open and unresponsive, that his body was cold and his lungs had expelled their air, that his skin was pallid and his lips blue, and that his body had soiled. If you have ever been around a person who has died, you know when they are gone. I find it really hateful that you are judging someone you don''t know over circumstances you don''t know. She''s a trained massage therapist, which in NY is licensed by the state under the medical board. She had some training and probably could identify that he had been dead a while. Just like my step-nephew who was found by his mother the medical assistant. She knew right away that he was gone because she had seen death before. Stop judging and making people feel bad not doing what you THINK you would do.

[puzzler125]

Yeah and the first words out of your mouth should have been "hang up immediately and call 911 NOW!" I have zero tolerance for the fact that FOUR phone calls were made to someone other than EMS, Police, the Operator or 911.

[mennowoman]

When I found my father dead at his house, I could see that he had been dead for at least an hour. I didn''t call 911 first, I called my sister. Then I called 911. I didn''t want her hearing about it someother way, like through the fire/EMS scanner that her fireman husband keeps constantly running at their house. That''s the way her husband had found out his son had died, and it hurt him very badly that his ex-wife didn''t call him with the news herself. I couldn''t do that to my sister. It probably happened that way with Mary Kate Olsen, too. The massage therapist didn''t want her to find out about her best friend by hearing it on the radio, so she called her personally. Far from being an act of murder or cover-up, it was probably an act of mercy toward a young woman who has her own frailties and struggles. God bless her for being so compassionate.

[shanev137]

Dancing on the graves of dead people and getting off on it.

You slimebags really need to seek professional help.

You''re pathetic and the worst excuses for human beings I''ve seen in a long time.

[lisann326]

I think people do odd things when they are in shock. If 911 would have been on his speed dial, she probably would have called that number 1st. Once I was burgled and I called a friend first because I couldn''t think straight. They called the police because they were afraid the burglers were still in the house.

[dgshiner]

Is it that we are not getting the full story or is it that people in the entertainment world are just plain crazy? I will let anyone attempt to answer the first part of this question, and to all of us old timers and children who have cell phones which you use for more foolishness please if you should encounter a person not moving or not breathing and you are near a phone please dial 911 and try and get some help if you are to scared or shakey or whatever just pressing the O for operator I am told it still works, Don''t call Mary Kate!!!!

[mandylou4u]

this is the part of the media I hate. This was actually a nice guy from what his family has said. Some of the comments on here are cold but most are pretty nice. The folks that are on here talking trash, just think if your son or daughter died in a tragic way like this, would you really want people poking fun? It is, I''m sure, very hurtfull to the family and I praise them for not letting the media know everything. More parents need to do this. rip

[ihavluv4evy1]

this man had a talent and he used it in all different ways yes he played a gay man on screen it does not mean he will die in hell who are you people to jugde him i didnt recall right before god dying saying hey yea you guys make the rules
you get to send people to hell well he diddnt
god loves everyone and i think it bothers him if you talk about people he loves in a mean way plz just stop wasting ur time borrowing your nasty mean thoughts into peoples thoughts

thank you
R.I.P. Heath