Heath Ledger’s father recently shared poignant memories of the last conversation he had with his son before his untimely death. The family was taken by surprise by the tragedy.
Ledger passed away on January 22, 2008, at just 28 years old, due to acute intoxication believed to result from an accidental overdose of prescribed medication.
At the time, The Dark Knight was nearing completion, and Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker was already being hailed as one of the finest ever seen by film enthusiasts.
Following his death, Ledger was posthumously awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, which his father Kim accepted on his behalf.
In an interview with Australia’s ABC News eight years ago, Kim described how the family was left in ‘terrible’ shock by the actor’s sudden passing.
The medication Ledger was taking had been prescribed to help him sleep, a struggle he had faced for a long time.
Kate, Ledger’s sister, had a conversation with him the night before his death, cautioning him about the dangers of mixing drugs, as revealed by Kim.
Kim shared: “I guess the whole thing was such a surprise to us. We knew that he was taking some prescription medication for an illness that he had, and my daughter Kate was talking to him literally the night before.”
In a different interview with news.com.au, Kim mentioned that his son had unfortunately mixed the wrong medications.
He explained: “It was a one-off thing. That’s what killed us because he was warned by his sister the night before: ‘You shouldn’t mix what you’re taking for pneumonia with your ambien.’ But most of Heath’s problems were self-induced.
“He was a young guy who travelled all the time for work. Even as a two-year-old, he hardly ever slept. He was trying to work and travel and do everything in a short space of time.”
Kim’s final conversation with Heath was deeply moving. Recounting it to ABC News, Kim said: “It was daytime here in Perth and nighttime there in New York, and basically Heath was complaining about not being able to sleep because he was busy, meeting Steven Spielberg the next morning.
“He really needed to be bright and shiny and it was finding it difficult with the chest cold, or the chest infection, to sleep.
“So Kate was saying to him, ‘Well, Heath, you can’t take sleeping tablets on top of prescription medication – you know, it’s not a good mixture.’
“And he sort of said, ‘Katie, Katie, look, it’ll be fine. I just need to get some sleep.’
“Well, they are really the last words we ever heard from Heath – or at least the last words that Kate heard.”