First Brad Renfro, Now Heath Ledger
Two tragic deaths in one week have people wondering how to mourn the loss—and scrutinize the lives—of celebrities.
Nick Haramis
January 23, 2008
“Anybody who posts something snarky about this is going to hell.” It’s the first user comment on Gawker‘s top post about the death of 28-year-old Academy Award-nominated actor Heath Ledger. And it’s telling, given the site’s propensity for vitriol. Only one day after Brad Renfro’s body was laid to rest in Knoxville, Tennessee (where the 25-year-old actor spent most of his childhood), Ledger was found dead in a SoHo apartment owned by Mary-Kate Olsen, surrounded by containers of Xanax, Valium, Ambien, Donormyl, and Zopiclone, reports the New York Post. Both men had children; Ledger, a 2-year-old daughter with ex-girlfriend Michelle Williams, and Renfro, a young boy who lives with his mother in Japan. Both had promising careers, a wealth of talent, and yes, drug demons. Neither death has been fully explained, but press—from The New York Times all the way down to traditionally venomous gossip blogs—are giving Ledger’s death the attention it deserves. But where does this media frenzy leave the memory of Brad Renfro?
