In the wake of pop superstar Michael Jackson’s death, professionals closest to the late Australian actor Heath Ledger have revealed how the star “battled with fame, a failed relationship and insomnia” in the days leading up to his tragic death in 2008.

Gerry Grennell, a vocals coach who worked and lived with Ledger during the filming of one of his last movies, The Dark Knight, has said that while the actor didn’t drink alcohol “once” during that period, the level of his sleeping pill consumption “was a concern.”

“I’d say: ‘If you can possibly bear it to stop taking the medications, do, because they don’t seem to be doing you any good’ – he agreed,” Grennell told Vanity Fair magazine.

“It is very difficult for me to imagine how close he came to not taking them.”

Ledger died in January of last year from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, including a host of sleeping medications, in his New York apartment at the age of 28.

Grennell believes that the sleeping medication – taken for the actor’s incurable insomnia – played a huge part in his shock death.

“[Ledger's death] was a combination of exhaustion, sleeping medication… and perhaps the after-effects of the flu,” the vocals coach said.

Nicola Pecorin, a cinematographer who worked with Ledger on the film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, admitted that the young actor had “dabbled” in narcotics but soon dropped the habit.

“He used to smoke marijuana on a regular basis,” she said, “like probably 50 per cent of Amercians [but Ledger] went clean as a whistle.”

Close friend and agent Steven Alexander said that around the time of his death, Ledger was quite concerned that his role in the “summer blockbuster” The Dark Knight would typecast him and turn him into a “matinee idol,” something the young star had never wanted to become.

“He wasn’t motivated by money or stardom but by the respect of his peers [and moviegoers],” Alexander explained.

“He was striving to become an ‘illusionist’ as he called it – able to create characters that weren’t there.”

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Heath Ledger has been given the perfect closing curtain over his stellar career, winning a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance as the Joker in the film The Dark Knight.

The late actor’s win has also been written into the history books, as only the second person in Oscars history to win a posthumous gong. Ironically enough, the only other actor to achieve such a feat was fellow Australian Peter Finch, who won for The Network in 1982.

Ledger’s family – father Kim, mother Sally Bell and sister Kate Ledger – accepted the honour on behalf of their son, who passed away from a drug overdose in early 2008.

“This award tonight would have humbly validated Heath’s quiet determination to be truly accepted by you all here — his peers within an industry he so loved,” a very emotional Kim Ledger told the crowd.

Sally Bell said that the family was “truly overwhelmed by the honour and respect bestowed on him with [the] award.” She added that her son was a “compassionate and generous soul who had greatly inspired their lives.”

The Brokeback Mountain actor had long been a favourite to win the award, with some punters betting as much as $110, 000 on the near-certainty.

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Want to rent the apartment where Australian actor Heath Ledger infamously lost his life? Then you’ll have to pay a small fortune – $26,000 USD a month, to be exact.

Before his death, Ledger was paying US$22,000 per month for his New York apartment, but the owners of the property have beefed up the rent since his death, because they believe people will be itching to rent it.

And the real estate agents agree.

“You don’t wait around in a hot rental market like this,” one agent told the New York Post. “As ghoulish as it sounds, people will rent that place in a heartbeat.”

Ledger started renting the place in September last year, shortly after the filming of Dark Knight was completed.

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The three actors who took over the duties on Heath Ledger’s final film role have given their pay to the Australian’s two-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose.

Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law was so concerned for the young child’s welfare after the loss of her famous father, who didn’t update his will in time to include his daughter, and so donated their last payment to give her something for the future.

“They didn’t take money – it goes to Heath’s daughter,” director Terry Gilliam explained.

“That’s extraordinary! And wonderful… and when you’re part of that, you think, ‘Ah, this is maybe why I went into the movies in the beginning. I thought it would be full of wonderful people.’

“And we’ve got a movie full of wonderful people who did extraordinary things to help.”

All three stars took over where Heath left off in the fantasy epic The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, playing versions of Ledger’s character, Tim.

Ledger passed away before he could complete the film, making the latest Batman flick, The Dark Knight, his last completed movie, and possibly his greatest ever achievement.

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It took her bloody long enough to come clean.

Mary-Kate Olsen has reportedly confessed to Grazia magazine that she was romantically involved with Heath Ledger’s at the time of his death..

“I’m just completely shattered about Heath,” Olsen is quoted as saying in Grazia. “I loved him so much. We had this amazing connection and now he’s gone. I just can’t get over him.”

Friends also told the magazine Olsen felt she had been made the villain and was convinced she is hated by Ledger’s family, friends and fans, particularly in Australia.

Actually, I don’t think anyone in Australia gives two shits about her, especially when it concerns Heath Ledger, who has been nearly deified since his death. Ted Casablanca sums it all up pretty well, when he says:

“no one seems to be mentioning what the ef killed the Aussie star, i.e., drugs…way too many of them.

And now, nothing at all’s being blamed. It’s just being labeled “tragic” and “too soon” that Heath passed. Look, idiots, it’s called drugging yourself to death. Wake up. I exclaim this entirely respectfully, too, mind you—no one misses his über talents more than I. Superdamn shame.”

Yep, I think it was called hillbilly heroin.

Michelle Williams, the former partner of the late Australian actor Heath Ledger, is making a movie about his life so that their two-year-old daughter, Matilda, can see what her father was really like.

The actress wants Ledger’s friends and co-stars to “share their stories on him” so that young Matilda can get to know her father “through their eyes.”

A source revealed: “This is incredibly important for Michelle to do. It makes Michelle’s heart ache that Matilda was so young when Heath died and she’s unlikely to retain any memories of her father.

“She wants to keep his spirit alive with something Matilda can treasure all her life.”

Michelle first met Heath on the set of Brokeback Mountain in 2004 when they played a married couple, a role they came so close to imitating in real life. They parted ways in September 2007.

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Looks like the dust is far from settled over Heath Ledger’s will.

Despite claiming that Matilda will be taken care of, there is a concern that Heath’s father, Kim, has no intention of looking after his grand daughter.

Heath’s mother, father and other family members are flying to the US for the “Dark Knight” premiere on July 14, as a kind of public tribute for Heath.

Michelle Williams however, may not be there. She is furious over the lack of dealings she has had with Kim over Matilda’s claims to Heath’s will.

“Michelle is furious with Heath’s family and threatening to boycott the premiere. Matilda is supposed to be the beneficiary of the will, but Michelle has seen nothing from them. Heath didn’t have much in cash, but there was a big house in LA and a back-end deal for ‘Dark Knight’ [that] could reap millions.”

Ledger’s will was written in 2003, prior to the birth of Matilda. In the will, Heath left everything to his father, mother and sisters. Matilda is now considered the beneficiary, with Kim acting as the executor.

Williams is concerned that there will be nothing left by the time Matilda turns 18.

Going on Kim’s reported total mismanagement of his own father’s estate, these concerns may be well founded. He reportedly lost millions while managing that and is still at odds with his brothers over the mater.

Sounds like she can kiss the money goodbye.

Nearly five months have passed since the tragic death of Australian actor Heath Ledger, yet “close friend” Mary-Kate Olsen still refuses to comment on why she was the first person called when the Dark Knight star was found unconscious in his New York apartment.

Elle magazine tried to broach the subject with the 21-year-old during an interview for their July issue, and got this response from the young actress: “I’m not going to comment on that.”

Olsen added: “I won’t give you a word about that in the nicest way possible. Let’s move on.”

When news first surfaced of Mary-Kate’s involvement in Ledger’s shock death, rumours of a secret romance between the two began to circulate. However, Olsen was quick to deny any romantic links to Ledger, and released a statement in late January claiming they were “just friends”.

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Australia’s Heath Ledger features heavily in a killer new Batman clip released by Warner Bros. studio over the weekend, giving fans another taste of the horror that is to come in the star’s final completed film before his tragic death.

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The latest Dark Knight trailer begins with Ledger’s hauntingly evil character, The Joker, claiming he’s going to “Kill the Batman,” before announcing what is sure to be one of the film’s most memorable lines.

“The city deserves a better class of criminal and I’m gonna give it to them!” Ledger [as The Joker] cackles.

Ledger, who died in New York of a drug overdose in January this year, was only part-way through completing the film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, making The Dark Knight his final movie.

The Dark Knight is scheduled for release in Australia on July 17.

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Michelle Williams claims that she is being haunted by Heath Ledger’s ghost, saying he has visited her twice as a shadowy apparition.

The first time, she was woken at night after hearing furniture move.

In another ‘visitation’, she said he apologised to her for not being there to help raise their two-year-old daughter, Matilda.

Good to know it’s not just me……