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A young man is dead
Published: 1/23/2008 3:08 PM
Last Modified: 1/23/2008 3:08 PM

There’s no peace for the dead celebrity. Cold, but true, and terribly sad in the case of Heath Ledger, star of “Brokeback Mountain,” the upcoming Batman film and now the bad soap opera that is entertainment reporting.

What must we know about his death, and how fast? The voracious appetite of the public for this kind of TMZ slop never ceases to amaze. The apparent result of this sickening hunger is that it forces the hand of formerly reputable journalists into prodding through the gutter, pushing police to release information they should just keep to themselves.

Didn’t law enforcement like the NYPD once pride themselves in keeping a tight lid on the details of a case?

The importance of that secrecy is doubly important in a case like Ledger’s. Releasing salacious details to the public add nothing to the police investigation. They only ramp up the urgency of infotainment slug media to speculate on something they know nothing about.

First report: Heath Ledger found dead inside NYC apartment building. Follow-up: Heath Ledger found dead, naked, waiting on a masseuse to arrive at his apartment. Follow-up: Heath Ledger found with prescription drugs near his bed.

Then came a report that a preliminary autopsy had been inconclusive, meaning a pathologist could not with certainty determine either the cause of death or the manner, as in natural, homicide or suicide.

That’s plenty to speculate on for 10 days, a point at which police said a more definitive answer would surface from a full autopsy, including drug analysis. But no, hang on Access Hollywood, the police have returned to the podium.

A rolled-up $20 bill was found near Heath Ledger’s corpse. No drug residue was discovered on the bill, authorities said, but there’s only one natural speculation at such news: A rolled-up bill is the tool of the drug-user.

Heath Ledger must have been snorting illegal substances, we’re left to assume for perhaps 10 more days, because he had a rolled-up bill near his 28-year-old dead body.

Can we not just mourn the passing of this young man? Can we not just let the process take its course without this thirst for the kind of garbage that I’m ashamed the AP fills the news with on a daily basis, via their constant priority updates on the Britney Lindsay Paris & Amy circus?

Rest in peace, Heath Ledger.

Reader Comments

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MissT (5 years ago)

Mr. Smith, I agree with your words. I am a fan of his work and to be honest I do not pay attention to all of the garbage that is being printed, weather it be true or not. I will be sad for his family and stay out of the media. Thank you for a well written article.

Dave Bryan (5 years ago)

Dear Mr. Smith:
I'm sick to death of the media proclaiming that they MUST report the private lives of celebrities because the public demands it. This is a big fat lie, and YOU know it.
Mr. Smith, take responsibility for your actions. You report this crap without ANY knowledge of the public's demands. You merely ASSUME because it's convenient.
If you want respect, take responsibility for your actions. Otherwise, you're just another media whore, blaming the public for your own reporting. Poor baby!

Michael Smith (5 years ago)

Mr. Bryan, you lost me, as you seem to be agreeing with me and disagreeing with me at the same time.
If you will notice the Tulsa World print edition, you won't find the plethora of stories on the entertainment reporting axis of evil, aka britney, lindsay and amy or whoever has joined this circus. Check it out.
On our online site, it's a different matter. You will see those national entertainment stories, generated by various wire services, reporting this variety of junk news. Not that you seem to want that information, for which I agree with you.

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I See Movies for Free

“I was born a poor, black child” … not me, actually, but Steve Martin’s character in the “The Jerk.” That absurd opening line is just one of the absurd number of film facts, quotes and minutiae contained in movie critic Michael Smith’s brain, at his disposal to toss out on a moment’s notice. It’s a key requirement as Tulsa World film critic to know these things. Michael learned a few other life facts along the way (seven years as a Crystal’s Pizza & Spaghetti manager) before attempting journalism and joining the Tulsa World in 1996, where he’s covered everything from a school shooting in Fort Gibson to a tornado in Stroud to witnessing an execution. A little community theater coverage was sprinkled in there, too. Movies engender many of his happiest memories, from standing in line for “Star Wars” and “Grease” at the Southroads Cinema to the James Bond and Pink Panther movies that always premiered at the enormous Continental Theater.

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