All language subtitles for How.It.Really.Happened.S01E16_English

♪♪

There was a train that was
flying past,

and it was taking me to life,
and I just had to jump on it

and discover
what was at the end.

Yeah, I'm young. You know,
I can't afford to be doing

anything but have fun, you know?

-Yeah.
-I think.

♪♪

♪♪

Hi, everyone.
I'm Hill Harper.

Heath Ledger -- in less than
a decade in Hollywood,

the ruggedly handsome, intensely
charismatic Australian actor

had become a household name.

With critical acclaim
for "Brokeback Mountain"

and a blockbuster role
as the Joker on the horizon,

Heath Ledger was
seemingly unstoppable.

Then tragedy.

On a cold January afternoon
in 2008,

the 28-year-old was found dead
in a New York City apartment.

As the world mourned the loss
of a beloved star,

speculation and suspicion
about his death began to mount.

He was an immensely talented
actor who died far too young.

What really happened?

[ Indistinct chatter ]

Ledger: I'm not looking to go
anywhere, to tell you the truth.

I don't expect to go anywhere.

You know, I just
take it day by day,

script by script.

That's my story.

♪♪

Roth: It was January 2008.

Things were looking bleak
in the economy.

[ Bell dinging ]

And I was positioned
near Times Square

in front of the NASDAQ
stock market with our live truck

to do live reports
on a falling stock market.

We're talking about a huge
sell-off in worldwide markets.

Roth: And I looked down at what
was, I think, my Blackberry,

and I saw that Heath Ledger
had just died.

I remember going, "Oh, my God."

The news came as a shock.
Actor Heath Ledger found dead.

I knew he was a big star
and that he had been nominated

for "Brokeback Mountain".

Heath Ledger in
"Brokeback Mountain".

I knew that "The Dark Knight"
film was going to be huge,

and I called
the New York Bureau

and said,
"I'm going to go down there."

We were just in our offices
getting ready

for another day of
entertainment news coverage

when this news breaks.

I remember hustling into a car
to get downtown to Soho

right outside of
Heath Ledger's building.

Here in New York, we're down
in Soho on Broome Street.

And the crowds had been
building through the afternoon

as word started to get around.

I remember the people who showed
up outside his Soho loft,

just this massive crowd,
chaotic scene.

Roth: It was dark, cold,
and already

there was a lot of buzz
on the streets.

There were cameramen,
still cameras running around.

-Just push back.
-Let's go!

Man: Clear the sidewalk.

Roth: The police had formed
of this walkway

walking right from the apartment
into what I believe

was the medical examiner's van.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

You line up, and the police
push people back,

and you hear every second
someone to your right

walking down the street saying,
"Hey, excuse me.

What happened?"
And another person on your left,

"Hey, do you know
what's going on here?"

Reporter: What do you think
of the scene here?

I actually just wanted to know
what was going on.

It's pretty crazy.

Hammer: And when you would hear
somebody tell them,

"That's where
Heath Ledger lives,

but they just
found him dead,"

there was a moment of pause
pretty much in everybody's face

because I can't say anybody
would have imagined this

or have seen this coming.

It's unbelievable.
I can't believe it.

He was so young and so vibrant.

And then the body
was brought out.

[ Camera shutters clicking ]

I think it was rather silent,
as usual,

except for the loud buzzing,
clicking of still cameras.

Velez-Mitchell: This was one of
the rare instances

where you actually saw
a star's body in a black bag

being removed
from the scene in a stretcher.

It was a tragedy.

Cooper: There are the rumors
and speculation,

the talk of whether illicit
drugs may have been involved.

Yammanee: The news of Heath's
death was quite hard-hitting.

Out of everyone we knew, he was
the one that seemed invincible.

He was the one that was
so full of life.

He'd be the last person
I would've expected

to be gone so young.

Heath was about living and life.

I'm always learning
my performance as I as a person,

it's evolving and maturing,

and I just want
to continue to do that.

The "Brokeback Mountain" actor
was found dead in his apartment

in downtown Manhattan today.

He had just completed
the new Batman movie

in which he plays the Joker.

Ledger was just 28 years old

and leaves behind
a 2-year-old daughter.

When news of his death hit, it
just didn't make too much sense.

And that just adds to the
tragic nature of this story.

Reporter: Relatives and friends
have been consoling his family

at their home in Perth.

Heath spent his Christmas there

in what he described
as his best holiday ever.

Outside the home of his
former fiancée Michelle Williams

and his 2-year-old
daughter Matilda,

signs of happier times.

Williams has told friends
she's devastated,

that words cannot describe
how she's feeling.

My very last memory of him
is at this party we were at,

and he was about
to leave for Prague,

and, you know, he said,

"When I get back,
we're going to get together."

You know, he kind of gave me
that smile

and walked out the door,
and that was it.

That was the last time.

The body was found
about four hours ago here.

That is what we are being told.

People were saying,
"Was it suicide?

Was it a drug overdose?

What was going on?"

How did this happen?

Why did this happen?

People wanted answers.

In the death of actor
Heath Ledger --

The death of Heath Ledger --

On so many different levels
during his short life --

Banfield: This was a story that
transcended just general news.

There was a lot
of mystery involved.

One of the pieces of that
mystery that still hasn't been

figured out is what the heck
did Mary-Kate Olsen have to do

with this entire situation?

Suddenly, if you weren't
interested in the story before,

now you are.

Roberts: Lots of questions this
morning surrounding

the death of actor Heath Ledger.

Hammer: There was obviously
rampant speculation

that night, that day that
Heath died, of what happened.

Roth: Ledger's body
was discovered

at the foot of the bed.

Cause of death is
still to be determined.

No.

I can't say that for certain.

Why did Heath Ledger die?

What was really going on
in that apartment?

Just moments ago, Ledger's
father spoke to reporters

in Perth, Australia,
where Ledger is from.

Heath has touched so many people

on so many different levels
during his short life,

but few had the pleasure
of truly knowing him.

He was a down-to-earth,
generous, kind-hearted,

life-loving,
unselfish individual

who was extremely
inspirational to many.

He was very close to his family,
and they were devastated.

It was heartbreaking.
They lost their boy.

Ledger: I've chosen to stay out
of the whole,

you know,
dazzlement of Hollywood.

I am -- you know,
I have my own life.

I have my own friends,
and, I don't know.

I keep grounded through that,
especially my friends back home

here in Australia,
my family back here.

They're very rich,
and they're strong,

and I love them, and I couldn't
have done it without them

and can't do it without them.

Heath Ledger was born
in Perth, Australia,

and he was the only son
of a race car driver/engineer,

that was his dad, and his
mother was a French teacher.

And he was into skateboarding
and wind surfing.

Ledger: I grew up surfing.

When I go home to Australia,
I surf as much as possible.

He didn't really start acting
or catch the acting bug

until he was in grammar school

and he was in a production
of "Peter Pan."

Heath and I met
at Gilford Grammar School.

We were 13.

I just remember this vibrant,
jovial, young boy

with a massive cheeky grin.

That's my first memory of Heath.

Yeah, he never really changed.

Ledger: I haven't really done
that much theater.

I mean, I did
when I was younger,

but I haven't for a long time,
for about seven years.

Yammanee: One of my favorite
times with Heath was back stage.

The theater, acting, that was
where we discovered ourselves

and became who we were.

Both of us were so excited
to move from Gilford

and go into the next chapter.

It was one of those moments
where you look into the future

and everything looks bright.

Heath Ledger's beginnings were
really in Australia in the '90s,

and it wasn't until he signed on
to a show in America

called "Roar" that he really
became part of the scene here.

I don't want to forget
what you look like.

I'll be here tomorrow.

Koslow: We got a 13-episode
commitment for a Fox summer show

and we decided
to do it in Australia.

An Australian casting director
sent us an audition tape

with about a dozen
Australian actors, young guys,

and Heath just
jumped off the tape.

You can't ever
go back there.

I don't want to.
I want to be with you.

I know a place where
you're safe for the night.

Some young talent comes
with this light around them.

I've seen it before,
and he had that light.

We were shooting it at the
small resort town in Queensland,

so everybody was on location.

I remember I wandered into
a little restaurant one night,

and I saw Heath
and his dad having dinner,

and they invited me
over to the table.

And it turned out it was
Heath's 18th birthday,

and his father, obviously,
was very proud of him

and a little bit astonished
that his son was suddenly

the star of an American
television series.

Acting, well, for me, at least,
it's all about harnessing

the power of belief, you know,
and I think once you do that,

you can take yourself
kind of anywhere, really.

Anderson:
I think I became aware of Heath

when most girls
or young women did,

when he did
"10 Things I Hate About You"

with Julia Styles.

-How are you doing?
-Sweating like a pig, actually.

And yourself?

Now there's a way to get
a guy's attention, huh?

"10 Things I Hate About You"
is what really got him noticed.

Anderson: He was good.
He was handsome.

He was charming.

I think that's when I knew,

"Hey, here's this guy
from Australia,

and he's really going
to make his mark."

Your eyes have
a little green in them.

[ Chuckles ]

[ Retches ]

Yammanee: I remember seeing
"A Knight's Tale"

sitting in the cinema
and listening to all the females

behind me swooning over him.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

And it was just fun
just to chuckle to myself

listening to these people

idolizing this larger-than-life
person on the screen

knowing that he's such
a down-to-earth guy.

Koslow: I think perhaps the role
that turned the corner

for him was "The Patriot."

I was actually working
with Mark Gordon

at the time, who produced
"The Patriot",

and I remember him asking me,
"Do you think he can do it?"

And I said, "No question."

You know, it was the most
important year

of my career, definitely.

Hammer: "The Patriot" was
a big deal for Heath Ledger.

This is where he really got
to show his acting chops,

and that really set
the foundation for

the bigger roles that he was
about to walk into.

Reporter: Where can you
go from here?

I mean, only up, right?

Um, no, you can go down.

The thought crossed my mind
that if we hadn't picked him off

that tape, that kid from Perth,

who knows,
maybe he'd still be alive.

Cooper: The search for answers
tonight continues.

We've learned much more
about what was going on inside

his New York loft just before
and after his body was found,

even the link
to Mary-Kate Olsen.

What is going on here?

The youngblood from
Perth who is 22

is already one of
the hottest stars in Hollywood.

Would you please
welcome actor Heath Ledger?

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Whoo.
-Could you believe

when you drive around
Los Angeles, for example,

and you see your face up
on a billboard

or on the back of a bus,
is that weird?

I get really nervous
with it,

and I get very
self-conscious of it,

but I guess I'm learning
to deal with it

a little better
these days.

[ Indistinct chatter ]

Chetry: Actor Heath Ledger
who was found yesterday

in his New York City apartment.

Ledger, just 28, had finished
shooting a new Batman sequel

called "The Dark Knight"
where he played the Joker.

He also earned an Oscar
nomination for his role

in "Brokeback Mountain."

I think what truly hit home
was how somebody

with so much promise
and so much potential,

the life could be
snuffed out like that.

Banfield: One of the first
reports that came out from

the police was that
sleeping pills had been found

in or on or around Heath's body
when they discovered him.

There were --
I don't have an exact number.

People were saying,
"Was it suicide?

Was it a drug overdose?
What was going on?"

I don't deal in gut feelings.

I can just tell you there's been
no determination

as to the cause of death, okay?

Velez-Mitchell: There was
a sense he was a decent guy

who may have just fallen
into the wrong path

because of a whole bunch
of stressors.

Long days, 18-hour days,
and that's it.

So I've just really been
consumed with the work

that I've been doing.

Have you found it
a challenge to be working

and promoting your films
and be traveling so much?

Yeah, it is.

You know, I mean, it's not
killing me, but it's a grind.

Roberts: He was actually
kind of a quiet fellow.

I shared a row with him
on a flight

out to Chicago last summer.

We chatted a little bit,
and, you know,

he's a very quiet sort of guy,

but he liked to choose
challenging roles.

Norris: I spoke with people that
said Heath Ledger's darkest

moment during the time that
he knew them was after

being nominated for
an Academy Award

for "Brokeback Mountain."

He got a lot of attention.

Reporter: Are you prepared
for the onslaught

of all the Oscar buzz
that it's already receiving?

Um, no, not really.
I'm not sure how to.

Woman: The Best Performance By
an Actor in a Leading Role,

Heath Ledger
in "Brokeback Mountain."

And this thing grabs hold of us
again in the wrong place

and the wrong time,
and we're dead.

Reporter: Getting
a lot of Oscar buzz.

Uh, sure.
Have you thought about it?

Uh, obviously, yeah.

You can't help
but think about it

when people are
ramming it down your throat.

Tuchman: He was nominated for
an Oscar for his performance,

and the woman who played
his wife in the film,

Michelle Williams, became
his girlfriend in real life.

Hammer: Heath and Michelle met
on the set of

"Brokeback Mountain"
back in 2004,

and they instantly hit it off.

Their romance was written
like a Hollywood script.

Anderson: It was said that when
he was really rough on her

during a scene
that he would apologize

and wrap her in his embrace

and, "I'm sorry
I was hard on you today,"

that sort of thing,
but that's where

they became extremely close,

and that's where
they fell in love.

Ledger: My life changed
certainly from meeting Michelle.

I have a family,
a beautiful family

and two beautiful girls
thanks to "Brokeback Mountain."

So it's extraordinary, the level
in which my life has changed.

Hammer:
Less than a year later,

Michelle gave birth
to their daughter, Matilda,

to whom Heath was
so devoutly dedicated.

This was now the great love
of his life.

Reporter:
Congratulations.

How does it feel
to be a dad?

Um, very humbling, yes.
Yes.

I'm very comfortable
in the daddy position.

Yeah.
Just like that.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

On the red carpet,
Heath was working,

but not really doing the work
he really liked.

I don't know.

I'm not really up
on the whole system.

And when he was home,

he loved to carry his daughter
around all the time.

Cho: They really tried to give
that little girl

as much of a normal life
as they could.

I mean, as normal as you could
be for a Hollywood star.

Banfield: The fame came
to him so quickly,

the paparazzi, the attention,
the media glare.

It's a lot of stress
for a young person to handle

when you're working hard
at the same time.

Velez-Mitchell: People think
being an actor is easy,

but when you're an actor who
becomes a star, it is so hard.

You've got to go out there
and sell yourself.

Heath Ledger hated it.

Hammer: So part of deal when you
sign up to be in a movie

is you sign up to do
the promotion for the movie.

He didn't love being
in front of the camera

unless it was
for portraying a role.

What I love doing
and all of that I do

is that time
between action and cut.

That's what I really love,

and that's what I invest
all my effort

and all my emotions
and time into.

Hammer: Howard Bragman was one
of people who was brought in

to help him be more comfortable

in preparing for interviews
for "Brokeback Mountain."

I was retained by Focus Features
to get everybody involved

in "Brokeback Mountain" singing
from the same hymnal, as we say.

Heath was one they were
particularly concerned about.

Heath was never known to be
a good interviewer.

We're recording right now.

Bragman: He had no desire to be
more comfortable in the media.

It was very clear to me
by reputation

and watching his interviews
that he didn't like it.

It's obviously --
you know --

He can't sit still,
the poor guy.

He's kind of anxious and
scratching and jumping around,

would get irritated
if he didn't like the question.

That was a quick
eight minutes. Thanks.

Just kind of everything
you could do wrong,

he kind of embraced it.

Anderson: He loved acting.
He loved his craft.

He wanted to be an actor.

He did not want
to be a celebrity.

Man: Look straight
ahead, Heath!

Heath always had a tenuous
relationship with the paparazzi,

and who can blame the guy?

The paparazzi can be extremely
aggressive and intrusive.

Woman: And over here,
please!

Hammer: The Australian press
had become frustrated

with Heath Ledger.

He was their native son.

He had all the success
in Australia in the late '90s

that led to
a big Hollywood career,

and here now we have
"Brokeback Mountain."

This is arguably going to be

the biggest role
of his career so far,

and he was always press averse,
not interested in necessarily

giving the photographs
and great sound bites.

Woman: Heath,
over here, please!

So at the "Brokeback Mountain"
premiere on the red carpet...

Man: Turn around!

Woman:
Please turn around!

...paparazzi shoots him with
water guns to get a reaction.

[ Indistinct shouting ]

Anderson: The paparazzi said
they were just getting him back,

basically, because
Heath had spit on them.

-Get him off me. Get him off me.
-Look, look, look, look.

This is a guy
that did the water pistol.

And the reason Heath spit
on them was apparently

because they had jumped out
and surprised him

and he was with Michelle.

So it wasn't pretty for him.

Velez-Mitchell: The lack of
privacy, the false rumors,

the gossip,
the constant scrutiny.

Norris: There's an assault
not just of flashing lights

but of yelling, "Over here,
over here, over here!

Heath, Heath, Heath!

I don't know how long
that's been a fact

of being in the public eye,

but it can't be easy
to acclimate to.

It was too much,
and he retreated from it.

Anderson:
They settled in Brooklyn.

They had a quaint life with
their baby Matilda in Brooklyn.

Not at all glitzy, just
shockingly, shockingly normal.

It's an honor to kind of be part
of films that are well-received.

On the flip side of that,
you know, my personal life

completely outweighs any hype
that's in my professional life.

Anderson: It was a nice life,
and it seemed to be the normalcy

outside of his job
that he was seeking,

but things did get
tough for them.

I don't know what his demons
were in his past,

but Heath clearly had them,

and I think acting was a way
to soothe his soul.

Anderson: His performances
onscreen were intense.

They were dynamite.
They were gold.

But at what cost?

Ledger: I've just really been
consumed with the work

that I've been doing.

Hammer: That was the beginning
of a deep, dark spiral

for Heath Ledger.

Welcome back to
"how it really happened."

The mystery surrounding
the death of Oscar nominated

actor Heath Ledger
continued to deepen.

Police reported sleeping pills
and other prescription drugs

had been discovered near
the 28-year-old's body.

And speculation ran rampant.

Was it foul play, suicide,
or an unfortunate

and untimely accident?

Investigators delved into
the last weeks, days,

even hours of Ledger's life,
looking for clues.

A private viewing today
for the family of Heath Ledger.

Details about the actual funeral
not being released just yet,

but there are new details
about the timeline of events.

This was a story
that led the news.

You're waiting for
every last little detail

that could give any clue
into what may have happened.

Police officials telling CNN
earlier that some

sleeping pills, over-the-counter
sleeping pills,

were found near
the Australian actor

who had completed filming
of the latest Batman film.

When I finally went to see
"The Dark Knight",

excellent film,
you couldn't not think of

standing outside his apartment

and watching his body
come out.

It's just 900 degrees

from the unbelievable
performance on that screen.

I think it's safe to say
that his death

cast an enormous shadow over
the subsequent release

and promotion of
"The Dark Knight",

the Batman film.

Bale: The problem becomes when
people start to look at it

in a macabre fashion.

When people start to abuse that,

it becomes a circus
based on that.

Banfield: And I think a lot of
people in those theaters

were wondering, "Did this role
have anything to do with this?"

I've spoke with people
who found it offensive

that that role was sort of used
to explain his descent

into darkness
and ultimately death.

-So what are you proposing?
-It's simple.

Kill the Batman.

Norris: "See the role that drove
Heath Ledger to the edge."

Come on. Hit me!

Hammer: The Joker, yeah.

That was the role that everybody
has pointed to

as sort of the beginning
of a deep, dark spiral

for Heath Ledger,
and particularly how Heath

played him was this
massive psychopath.

Ledger: You're a product of
environment, and there are

certain methods and things
that you have to go through

in order to feel
that and portray that,

but it's quite hard
to put a finger on it exactly.

Yammanee: He'd find the layer,
and then he'd go deeper

and deeper and deeper,
and that's what gave

such wonderful characters
that he brought to life.

You know, it's kind of
a Faustian bargain.

You really have to give a lot.

You have to sacrifice
a lot of yourself

to do something like that.

It doesn't come without cost.

He would spend a long time
trying to get the smallest

detail of a character right.

He had said that he spent
a month locked up in

a hotel room trying to
figure out what was the voice

he was going to use
for the Joker,

secluding himself
from everywhere

and everybody just so
he could figure out the voice.

Ooh, you want to play.
Come on.

♪♪

Velez-Mitchell: He created
a diary where he really

fleshed out the Joker's persona,
not for the camera

but behind the scenes,
to try to inhabit

this role of a sociopath.

That's pretty extreme.

Hammer:
And as the diary evolved,

it got darker and darker.

Anderson: And the very end of
that diary, it says "Bye-bye."

And he may have been talking
about just wrapping up

that role, but with
what happened, ultimately,

it hit home
a little bit differently.

I think that Heath always
immersed himself in his role,

and certainly the character
had a lot of pathology,

and I'm sure it didn't help
Heath, but it didn't kill him.

Maybe it's really all about
the fact that he had issues

with prescription medication,
and to play a role like that

might push you
right over the edge.

Banfield: There were so many
things that created a confluence

of circumstance
for Heath Ledger,

a dark role, a bright spotlight
that was not welcome,

a new child,
a breakup in his life.

Reporter: People.com reports
Heath Ledger

and Michelle Williams
have split.

The couple met filming
while "Brokeback Mountain"

three years ago.

Their daughter Matilda
turns 2 next month.

Heath Ledger actually was
in a perilous place

in his life right then.

Hammer: One of the narratives
that was going on about

why there was trouble
for Heath and Michelle

was that he still wanted
to be out and about.

Certainly by the time he died,
there were two Heaths

that the public consciousness
seemed to be entertaining.

One was the committed
the Oscar nominated actor,

serious artist, who was just
as serious about his daughter.

The other Heath was a party boy.

Hammer: There was that other
thing going on that portrayed

Heath as a guy at one point
in his life who loved

the party scene, who loved to
go out and go to clubs,

and then there was
speculation about drugs

because drugs will follow
in those circumstances.

Yammanee: The close friends of
Heath were saying that

abuse of drugs was not an issue,

and I tend
to trust them on that.

It's a mystery when someone
dies inexplicably,

but it was more the way

that the pieces didn't fit
in this puzzle.

The New York City police
spokesman saying very firmly,

"We do not have
a cause of death,"

and that's going
to be determined

by the city's medical examiner.

Over time,
we did learn some more

about what really happened
in that apartment.

At this hour,
the details are still unfolding.

And then, of course,
la piece de resistance

would be Mary-Kate Olsen.

Mary-Kate Olsen, we all heard
that and thought, "What?"

Just not five days ago,
finished a job in Sydney

and that was my fifth
in a row,

and so now I'm just going
to retire for a while, live.

There's some new details this
morning about the moments

immediately after actor
Heath Ledger was discovered dead

in his New York City apartment.

Here was a 28-year-old actor,
a Hollywood movie star

in the apex of his career,

and suddenly he was gone
under mysterious circumstances.

Reading all the reports,
the gossip items,

you're struggling to find
a picture of who was

Heath Ledger, especially
in his final days.

Banfield: In 2007, he was
struggling after the breakup

with Michelle Williams,
and he really threw himself

into his work, and he started in
on this very unique film called

"The Imaginarium of
Dr. Parnassus."

Shooting on "Dr. Parnassus"
started two or three weeks

after he finished his work
on "The Dark Knight."

He was already suffering
from chronic insomnia.

The weather wasn't good.

Apparently it was very damp
and very cold.

Heath, as far as people
were able to tell,

actually came down
with walking pneumonia.

Anderson: When you're
working that hard,

when you're traveling
between time zones,

when you don't really
sleep well anyway,

and then you're having
trouble in your relationship,

you're going to struggle.

A couple days before
Heath Ledger died,

he flies back from London
to New York

and settles into his place
down in Soho.

[ Siren wailing ]

♪♪

Scott: I spoke to Heath Ledger
three hours or four hours

before he died,
and he seemed to be

having a miserable time
sleeping.

Heath's father reported
that Heath had been on the phone

with his sister Kate
the night before,

that he told her
he wasn't feeling well

and that Kate
had actually warned him

not to mix prescriptive drugs.

Anderson: A massage therapist
went to his Manhattan apartment

to give him a scheduled massage.

She calls his cellphone
because he failed to answer

her knock on the door.

She goes in and sets up
her massage table,

even while Heath Ledger
is lying there.

And that's making
a lot of noise,

but he doesn't stir,
he doesn't wake up.

Then the masseuse
goes to try to shake Heath

and wake him up and finds
his body cold to the touch.

She became concerned,
so she used his phone.

Calls a client that she had
in common with Heath Ledger.

Cho: The masseuse
did not call 911.

She called not once, not twice,

but three times,
his very good friend,

another celebrity,
Mary-Kate Olsen.

So Mary-Kate Olsen is
well-known for people

who used to watch "Full House."

She was one of a set of twins,
Ashley Olsen being her sister.

Anderson: We were all stunned.

We never knew that
there was a connection.

Hammer: Apparently, Mary-Kate
tells the masseuse --

she didn't say she was
going to call 911 for her.

She said, "I'm sending over
a security guard."

Roth: Mary-Kate Olsen dispatches
her private security guard

to the apartment while
the massage therapist

finally dials 911.

Hammer: The folks at 911
instruct the masseuse

in how to perform CPR on Heath.

Finally, at about the same time
the security guard shows up,

so do the medical professionals.

Paramedics arrived.
It was too late to revive Heath.

Cooper: It is a grisly scene
as he was taken out

just a few hours after being
found at approximately

3:30 p.m. this afternoon.

There was no suicide note.

There were no signs
of foul play.

People were speculating
it was drugs immediately.

There were reports that
a $20 bill had

drug residue on it.

And you're never really sure
how much of it is true.

Police are revising their story
as more information comes out

and as they talk
to more people who were there.

There were
no illegal drugs found.

There were prescription bottles.

There's been wide speculation
that he may have overdosed

on sleeping pills,
but it's going to be another

two weeks before
we know for sure.

He gave an interview
toThe New York Times

saying that he had
chronic insomnia.

In fact, he said,
and I believe I'm quoting,

"I was sleeping
two hours a night

because my mind was just going
and going and going."

And so it was known
that he had sleep problems.

How he died, still a mystery,
but remember,

this is a young actor,
just 28 years old,

compared to Marlon Brando,
Sean Penn.

Anderson: There was a lot of
speculation and criticism.

Why did no one call
911 immediately

when there were concerns?

The idea that it's not a reflex

when you come upon a person
who's non-responsive,

you don't try to revive them
and call paramedics immediately

is hard to comprehend.

Anderson: Why did Mary-Kate
want to reach out

to security versus paramedics?

Lots of questions this morning
surrounding the death of actor

Heath Ledger.

Investigators wanted
to know, why her?

What did she know?

Banfield: They wanted to talk
to Mary-Kate Olsen.

Astoundingly, she didn't
want to talk.

It has changed the question
from what killed

Heath Ledger to what does
Mary-Kate know?

♪♪

Anderson:
Two weeks after the death

that shocked Hollywood
and the world,

the New York City
medical examiner

revealed how Heath Ledger died.

People wanted answers.

So every day, we worked to try
and get more and more answers.

Heath died of
an accidental overdose

of six prescription
medications.

Roth: The New York City medical
examiner eventually reported

that Heath Ledger died
of an accidental overdose

from prescription medications.

Nothing illegal.

No illegal drugs
were found in the apartment.

Hammer: There were a whole lot
of drugs in Heath's system

and a whole lot of drugs that
shouldn't be taken together.

Painkillers, sleeping pills,
anti-anxiety medication.

I mean, drugs with names
like valium,

vicodin, oxycontin, Xanax.

Anderson:
And these were strong drugs,

and he combined them,
and it was fatal.

Pinsky: Today when my patients
die of drug addiction,

9 times at least out of 10,
prescription drugs,

and it is always the combination
of benzodiazepine and opioid.

And that is precisely what
they found in Heath Ledger.

Opioids suppress
your respiration.

Benzodiazepines suppress
your respirations,

but together
they do it profoundly

without you noticing it.

So when you go to sleep,
you do not wake up.

King: Heath's father released
a statement on behalf of

the Ledger family after
the medical examiner's

findings were released.

"We learned today that
the combination of

doctor-prescribed drugs
proved lethal for our boy."

Heath Ledger's father, Kim,
issued that statement about

saying that this combination
of drugs proved lethal

for our boy.

The last four words of that
press release are so sad

and do show what
this is actually about.

An investigation was launched
because they wanted to find out

exactly who prescribed
these drugs,

where they all came from.

I think whenever someone dies
regarding any drug overdose,

you want to dot your I's
and cross your T's.

Was he on prescription
medication?

If so, were they
the right doses?

Were they properly prescribed?

Good afternoon.
I'm NYPD lieutenant --

Banfield: The investigation
is going into full steam,

and they wanted to ask
a lot of questions

of anybody
who might know something.

Chetry: New developments today

in the painkiller-related death
of actor Heath Ledger.

They did speak to doctors
and speak to his former fiancée

and speak to those
who were close to him.

And there was an issue, though,
in speaking to Mary-Kate Olsen.

[ Police radio chatter ]

Mary-Kate Olsen got involved
because when his masseuse

found him and he was cold
and non-responsive,

she didn't call 911.

She called Mary-Kate Olsen.

Hammer: Investigators
are putting the pressure

on former child star
Mary-Kate Olsen

to answer questions
about Ledger's mysterious death.

And investigators want
to know what Olsen knows.

It took a while, but finally
she released a statement saying,

"I knew nothing about
where the drugs came from."

In response, Olsen's attorney
put out a statement

this week saying in part, quote,

"Mary-Kate Olsen had nothing
whatsoever to do with the drugs

found in Heath Ledger's home
or his body,

and she does not know
where he obtained them."

She demanded immunity
before talking to investigators,

and that only created
more mystery, more intrigue.

I will say of all the things
that raises an eyebrow,

it's the fact that she's
reportedly asked for immunity.

Jackson: Now, they never got
to speak with her

because the federal government
of the Southern district

just closes up
the investigation.

Cho: Federal Investigators have
dropped their case

into how Heath Ledger
got those powerful painkillers.

In published reports,
a law enforcement source

says prosecutors have given up
on the case in part

because there's no, quote,
"viable target."

Velez-Mitchell: They never found
out who prescribed all the meds

or how he got all the meds,
whether he got them online

or he got them
through some friend,

but here's the sad truth
about America.

You want prescription drugs,
you can get your hands on 'em.

It's not difficult.

Nobody will ever know exactly
what happened in the hours

before Heath Ledger's death
because he was alone.

And at the very least,
he seemed like someone

who, at that point,
should not have been alone.

Yammanee: The death of Heath is
going to go into

the annals of history
as a mystery.

I'd rather people concern
themselves with the way he lived

and what he did rather
than how he died.

He had an incredible life,

and his light really burned
bright, very brightly,

but not long enough.

That's the tragedy.

Arkin: And the Oscar goes to

Heath Ledger
in "The Dark Knight."

Bragman" I remember when
I watched the Oscars

and he won, shedding a tear
and just thinking how sad it was

that he wasn't there
to grab this moment.

[ Applause ]

Koslow: I was just thrilled,
vindicated, you know,

a real celebration of who he was
and what he did with his life.

Bragman: But I'm not sure
how comfortable

he would have been
in that moment either.

I think there's a part of him
that would have loved

the recognition by his peers
and a part of him that would

have cringed at all the press
he would have had to do, too.

It's almost like you're trying
to hide yourself,

and what bleeds
through of yourself

are the bits
that make it on film, I guess.

The rest is just there.

It's me anyway with a wig
and some funny teeth on.

In the years following
Heath Ledger's death,

his father has crusaded against
prescription drug misuse.

He toldPeople Magazine
in July 2016

that Heath mixed a couple of
drugs together with

sleeping tablets,
and he's gone forever.

That's something we just
have to deal with.

But the reasons why his son took
the lethal combination of pills

will forever remain a mystery.

I'm Hill Harper.
Thanks for watching.

♪♪