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Heath Ledger 1979 - 2008

Date: Feb 20 2008

Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Ever since he danced across the bleachers while singing in 10 Things I Hate I About You in 1999, Heath Ledger has been one of Hollywood’s most popular actors. Tragically, the Australian star died last month at the age of 28.

Ledger’s death, and the mysterious circumstances surrounding it, have been a major topic of conversation lately both in the media and among friends. Listen in as Marni tells Amanda the bad news.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Amanda

Marni: Did you hear about Heath Ledger?

Amanda: What about him?

Marni: Oh my God, he died.

Amanda: What? What is he, 27, 28 years old?

Marni: 28 years old and he died…

Amanda: Baby girl, right?

Marni: Yes.

Amanda: Didn’t he just separate from his wife? Recently, maybe within the last six months?

Marni: Yeah. Michelle Williams.

Amanda: OK I have to ask. Suicide? Drug overdose? It wasn’t a murder, right?

Marni: No. They don’t really know. And there was this whole weird involvement with Mary-Kate Olsen apparently.

Amanda: What?

Marni: Well, he was unconscious and his masseuse came in and thought he was sleeping, was setting up for a massage and called Mary-Kate Olsen instead of calling 9-1-1 immediately and there may be repercussions with that. In actuality, he was already dead so there was nothing they could have done.

Amanda: Interesting. Mary-Kate Olsen.

Marni: Yeah. So, I don’t know they’re connected…friends…

Amanda: Autopsy yet?

Marni: Not yet, but apparently he was taking Ambien…

Amanda: That’s it?

Marni: And they think he may have actually overdosed on that. Or potentially had a heart attack. I’ve also heard that.

Amanda: At 28 though? I guess it’s possible.

Marni: Very very sad. He was very talented. And get this. This is the crazy thing. People were protesting at his funeral.

Amanda: Why?

Marni: Because of his role in Brokeback Mountain.

Amanda: Oh, because it was phenomenal?

Marni: Well, exactly but apparently because they are such horrible people that they would protest a role that he played…

Amanda: That would have been wonderful for his wife and his daughter, you know?

Marni: Yeah, and his family. That’s really nice.

Amanda: That was his breakthrough performance.

Marni: It was incredible, and I think he was very talented and he will be missed.

Amanda: He just got started.

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Discussion

Amanda hadn’t heard that Heath Ledger died. When Marni tells her, the first thing she thinks of is his baby daughter and his wife from whom he separated only six months ago.

When Amanda asks how Ledger died, Marni says that no one is quite sure but that it somehow involved young actress Mary-Kate Olsen. Amanda is quite surprised and Marni explains that when Ledger’s masseuse found him dead, she called Mary-Kate Olsen for some reason.

Marni guesses that Ledger may have died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. This has since been confirmed as the cause of his death.

One of the saddest things about Ledger’s death is that his funeral was protested by people who opposed his role in Brokeback Mountain, a film in which he played a gay character.

Amanda and Marni consider how awful it must have been for his family to have protesters at the funeral. They’re sad that he died because he was very talented and would have made a lot of good movies if he had lived.

Stars often die young. Can you think of another actor or musician who died early in his or her career?

Comments

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xiaowugui

China

it is pity

just_agurl

Sudan

oooh …i feel sorry for his family …he's only 28yrs old …

alice197

China

i saw the film <Brokeback Mountain>,an excellent one.it remind me the chinese boy Luo sang,who acted the gastriloquism,died of traffic accident,same to Liu dan,a chinese actress acted the fragrant lady in <huan zhu Infanta>.They all died not so long after their fame and died young.