Author Topic: Heath Ledger Tributes and Obituaries...  (Read 377421 times)

Offline Love

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Re: Heath Ledger Tributes and Obituaries...
« Reply #250 on: September 29, 2008, 01:13:29 pm »
11:39 AM - Ledger’s Life Insurance Co: Suicide = No Cash

Posted Sep 29th 2008 4:59AM by TMZ Staff

The company that wrote Heath Ledger's $10 million life insurance policy is being sued after claiming the actor's death might have been a suicide, even though officials concluded it was accidental. Lawyers for Ledger's daughter say it's a transparent ploy to avoid paying the money.

ReliaStar Life Insurance Company wrote the policy in June 2007 -- six months before Ledger died. The beneficiary of the policy is a trustee who would hold the money for 2-year-old Matilda.

Instead of paying the $10 mil, ReliaStar set out to investigate whether Ledger took his own life, despite the fact that the New York City Medical Examiner ruled the death accidental.

TMZ has obtained a lawsuit, filed by Matilda's trustee, claiming ReliaStar (owned by ING Americas) has acted in bad faith by not promptly paying the $10 million and by wrongfully prying into the life of Heath Ledger after his death.

Sources say lawyers for the insurance company have claimed Ledger's death was "suspicious" -- possibly suicide, which would nullify the policy. The company alleges in its answer to the lawsuit, "ReliaStar is entitled to investigate Plaintiff's claim to determine if the 'Suicide' provision is applicable." That provision states, "If the Insured commits suicide ... we will pay only the amount of premiums paid to us."

ReliaStar's lawyers have informed Matilda's lawyers they intend to take the depositions of Mary-Kate Olsen, as well as the masseuse who was at Ledger's home when he died, Ledger's colleagues on his last film, his agents, doctors, psychologists and others. Lawyers for Matilda believe the insurance company is trying to scare and shame them into submission. They believe ReliaStar is trying to drag the process out, for what could be years, to avoid paying the money.

We're also told ReliaStar believes Ledger may have lied on two questions on his insurance application -- specifically, whether he was taking prescription drugs when he filled out the application and whether he ever used illegal drugs.

In its answer to the lawsuit, ReliaStar claims it can contest the policy if Ledger lied on the application and it was a "material misrepresentation." Sources tell us Ledger had a prescription for Ambien when he filled out the application, but Ambien was not in his system when he died, nor were any illegal drugs.

Lawyers for Matilda's trust claim ReliaStar is flagrantly violating California law, which prohibits insurance companies from re-examining insurance applications after the policyholder dies. In the lawsuit, Matilda's lawyers say they received a letter from ReliaStar, asking them to identify "all physicians who attended to [Ledger] and all hospitals or institutions where [he] was treated since 1996." Matilda's lawyers say the request blatantly violates the law.

An official for ReliaStar told TMZ, "No decision has been made on the claim." But lawyers for Matilda's trust believe ReliaStar should have already paid and, according to the suit, is acting "maliciously, fraudulently and/or oppressively ... depriving plaintiff of the insurance policy benefits."
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Re: Heath Ledger Tributes and Obituaries...
« Reply #251 on: October 01, 2008, 06:42:45 am »
Joker No 2 on all-time movie characters
1st October 2008, 8:00 WST

Heath Ledger's haunting Joker has been voted as the second greatest movie character of all time behind Indiana Jones, in a new poll.

Out on Wednesday in Empire Magazine, the list of the top 100 characters sees Darth Vader, Captain Jack Sparrow and Hannibal Lecter round out the top five.

Empire Editor Rod Yates said it was no surprise that Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, took the top spot, but said the late Ledger's Joker in the Dark Knight was also impressive.

More than 80 per cent who voted for the Joker chose Ledger's interpretation over Jack Nicholson's, the magazine said,

Its defining moment was: "Ledger's Joker taunting Batman in the interrogation room - You're just a freak like me".

"A fitting tribute to a much-missed actor," Yates said.



http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=5&ContentID=100525
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Offline MilAn

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Re: Heath Ledger Tributes and Obituaries...
« Reply #252 on: October 02, 2008, 09:34:57 pm »
Simon Pegg:
Quote
British funnyman SIMON PEGG was left stunned and "humbled" after meeting HEATH LEDGER, when the late star revealed he was a fan.
Pegg and his wife were mingling at the BAFTA Awards in Britain, when Ledger was nominated for Brokeback Mountain - and he was thrilled when the American made his way over to him to say hello.
The Hot Fuzz star recalls, "My wife loved Brokeback Mountain and said, 'Please introduce me to Heath Ledger,' and I'm like, 'I'm not gonna bother him. He gets bothered enough.' I was gonna have to go, 'Hello Heath, this is my wife,' which I was nervous about doing.
"That evening I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around and it was Heath Ledger and his wife (girlfriend Michelle Williams). He said, 'I really liked Shaun of The Dead,' and I felt so humbled by that because he's such a massive star and he actually bothered to do that.
"It left me with such a good impression of him, which made his death even more awful after having that moment with him and meeting such a gracious person."
Pegg only wishes that every big star was like Ledger: "There's a lot of ego in this business and some people sometimes don't want you to know that you like them. I'm not like that. I do go up to people and tell them they're great. It's a relief sometimes when you go up to somebody to say hello and they know who you are; it just takes the edge off it."

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/pegg%20humbled%20by%20ledger%20meeting_1082149



Offline Love

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Re: Heath Ledger Tributes and Obituaries...
« Reply #253 on: October 10, 2008, 03:24:47 pm »
 Wednesday, October 08, 2008
     

3:31 PM - MATILDA MAY BECOME ONE OF THE WORLD’S WEALTHIEST GIRLS

by ENTERTAINMENT AND SHOWBIZ! Posted on October 7, 2008

Heath ledger's daughter Matilda may become world's wealthiest girl if she
wins75 million court battle over the late actor's life insurance.

Heath's lawyer John LaViolette has sued the American ReliaStar Life Insurance
company, as the firm has refused to pay out the 12.5 million dollar policy the
'Brokeback Mountain' star took out last June - seven months before his death.

William Shernoff, representing LaViolette, said the company was wrongfully
prying into Ledger's life to stall paying up.

"The money belongs to Matilda," the Daily Telegraph quoted Shernoff, as saying.

LaViolette would hold the money for Matilda until she turns 18. Neither
Michelle nor Heath's family is involved in the legal action. (ANI)
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Offline Love

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Re: Heath Ledger Tributes and Obituaries...
« Reply #254 on: October 16, 2008, 05:36:25 pm »
imdb.com

A long time passed since 10 Things I Hate About You hit the big screen. Julia Stiles got Bourne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has become a powerhouse on the indie scene, and Heath Ledger ... we know what became of him. I'm guessing that his death and reminiscing moments about his work is what inspired this next piece of news: Ace Showbiz reports that ABC Family is going to make the Shakespeare-inspired film into a television series, with the film's director, Gil Junger, signed on to helm the pilot. In it, Kate and Bianca Stratford will face "their new high school environment." I don't know if that means freshman hitting the big leagues, or the girls moving to a new zip code, but I can only hope that they come up with a new love interest for Kate. There's only one Patrick Verona.

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Offline southendmd

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Re: Heath Ledger Tributes and Obituaries...
« Reply #255 on: October 16, 2008, 06:34:19 pm »
imdb.com

A long time passed since 10 Things I Hate About You hit the big screen. Julia Stiles got Bourne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has become a powerhouse on the indie scene, and Heath Ledger ... we know what became of him. I'm guessing that his death and reminiscing moments about his work is what inspired this next piece of news: Ace Showbiz reports that ABC Family is going to make the Shakespeare-inspired film into a television series, with the film's director, Gil Junger, signed on to helm the pilot. In it, Kate and Bianca Stratford will face "their new high school environment." I don't know if that means freshman hitting the big leagues, or the girls moving to a new zip code, but I can only hope that they come up with a new love interest for Kate. There's only one Patrick Verona.




Amen, sister!



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Offline Love

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Re: Heath Ledger Tributes and Obituaries...
« Reply #256 on: October 20, 2008, 08:32:07 am »
Heath Ledger & Peter Finch

Like Heath lived in Australia,was considered for a posthumously oscar and shooted 2 gay movies :"Sunday bloody sunday" and "The trials of Oscar Wilde".

(Peter in "Sunday bloody sunday")

(Heath in "Brokeback mountain")

Piece found on imdb .com

"Three decades before the controversy over Brokeback Mountain (2005) losing the Best Picture Academy Award to Crash (2004/I), there was a similar controversy involving Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), one of the first openly and unapologetically gay-themed motion pictures, and the macho police-thriller The French Connection (1971), after the awarding of the Oscars for 1971. Many at the time thought that The French Connection (1971) was not a worthy winner, and that its victory came at the expense of A Clockwork Orange (1971), a highly controversial movie that was recognized as a masterpiece while simultaneously condemned for its depiction of "ultra-violence." However, it was the Best Actor Award that was evocative of the Brokeback Mountain (2005) controversy. As one of the three stars of Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), Finch won the first of his two Best Actor Academy Award nominations for playing a gay doctor involved in a love triangle with a bisexual man and a straight woman. Finch inherited the role from Alan Bates who wanted to do it but couldn't due to his being held up filming The Go-Between (1970); and after replacement, actor Ian Bannen was fired at the beginning of shooting for balking over a simulated sex sequence. This film brought Finch the best reviews of his film career up to that point. It has been revealed that "officially," Bannen was sacked due to the deleterious effect his anxiety over portraying a homosexual who would be involved in the first screen kiss between two men in a major, mainstream motion picture had on his acting. Finch took the role and kissed his co-star Murray Head as part of his characterization and won an Academy Award nomination. Many observers believe that Finch lost the Oscar to eventual winner Gene Hackman because of the gay kiss. For playing the role brilliantly, Finch won the BAFTA and National Society of Film Critics Awards prizes for Best Actor, though Hackman won the prestigious New York Film Critics Circle Award and beat Finch out for the Golden Globe. Some observers believe that Finch's posthumous win for Network (1976) five years later was one of those fabled "Make Up" awards bestowed by the Academy to make up for past wrongs, such as James Stewart's 1941 win for The Philadelphia Story (1940) to make up for a year earlier, when his Mr. Smith inexplicably lost the gong to Robert Donat's Mr. Chips, or Henry Fonda in 1982 for On Golden Pond (1981) over Burt Lancaster's far-more deserving turn in Atlantic City (1980) to make up for Fonda's own egregious 1941 loss to his pal Stewart when he should have won for Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940). Finch's Network (1976) co-star William Holden had been a slight favorite to win his own second Oscar before Finch passed away during the early going in the Oscar campaign season, making it imperative that amends be made immediately. (ironically, Hackman -- the actor who had earlier bested Finch -- turned down one of the lead roles in Network (1976).) The then-reigning Oscar champ, Jack Nicholson -- a Brokeback Mountain (2005) supporter in 2006 -- had been a vocal champion of Finch winning Best Actor honors in 1977 and led the applause at screenings of Network (1976) intended to boost Finch's chances of copping the award. He did, and went down in Academy Award history as the first, and so far only, posthumous winner of an acting Oscar." :)
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Re: Heath Ledger Tributes and Obituaries...
« Reply #257 on: October 21, 2008, 05:34:10 pm »
Spike TV's 'Scream 2008'

'The Dark Knight' Tops The Competition With Twelve Trophies

in particular Heath has won :
BEST ACTOR IN A FANTASY MOVIE
OR TV SHOW
-Heath Ledger; "The Dark Knight"

BEST VILLAIN
- Heath Ledger as The Joker;
"The Dark Knight"

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/legendary-filmmaker-george-lucas-makes/story.aspx?guid={33401F82-634A-4107-834D-95FF07917002}&dist=hppr
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Re: Heath Ledger Tributes and Obituaries...
« Reply #258 on: October 24, 2008, 04:34:39 pm »
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Re: Heath Ledger Tributes and Obituaries...
« Reply #259 on: October 25, 2008, 04:02:23 pm »




directed by Heath Ledger
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