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HEATH Ledger’s shocking demise is not only a terrible loss for his daughter Matilda, his Perth-based family and his many fans, it also throws into disarray two movies.

Ledger was in production with the next instalment in the Batman series, The Dark Knight, in which he was starring opposite Christian Bale as a macabre joker.

Early photos from the set suggest Ledger was taking the series into a new darker chapter.

Also on Ledger’s slate was the new Terry Gilliam film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, about a travelling theatre company. It was due to start filming in London shortly.

Ledger was one of Australia’s true international acting stars. His American breakthrough role came with the teen hit 10 Things I Hate About You, but real global respect came with his Oscar nominated turn in the moving gay cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain.

He met his now ex-partner Michelle Williams on the set of the film. The pair had a baby, Matilda, but broke of their engagement and split recently.

Gossip has since linked him with troubled young actor and party girl Lindsay Lohan.

Ledger had a troubled relationship with the media in his home town of Sydney. Paparazzi photographers squirted Ledger and Williams with water pistols at the premiere of Brokeback Mountain.

He later angrily denied reports he had spat on the photographers.

“It was just silly and unnecessary. It really hurt our feelings and it hurt my feelings to suddenly have a quick title above my name now, that we’re a gang of spitters,” he told the Herald Sun later.

But he said he regretted flicking the finger at photographers.

“Pulling finger signs at photographers, it’s not representing who I am, it’s representing the panic that occurs when you turn around and there’s a camera staring in at you. You see red, or I do.

“I’m a young guy and I’ve grown up with this in the younger years when you’re more passionate and protective and you’re more explosive during that time of your life and it felt like a natural reaction for me.

“I didn’t feel that I was rebelling against anything. Obviously it’s not the most polite way of dealing with things, but I didn’t feel they were being polite. I forget that when I do that I’m not pulling a finger sign at a guy holding a camera, I’m pulling a finger sign in a newspaper that everyone reads.”

Ledger later sold his Sydney dream house, claiming the paparazzi had driven him out, and moved to Brooklyn in New York where he lived with Williams and Matilda before the split.

Ledger can be seen in cinemas now in the Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There.

HEATH Ledger’s shocking demise is not only a terrible loss for his daughter Matilda, his Perth-based family and his many fans, it also throws into disarray two movies.

Ledger was in production with the next instalment in the Batman series, The Dark Knight, in which he was starring opposite Christian Bale as a macabre joker.

Early photos from the set suggest Ledger was taking the series into a new darker chapter.

Also on Ledger’s slate was the new Terry Gilliam film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, about a travelling theatre company. It was due to start filming in London shortly.

Ledger was one of Australia’s true international acting stars. His American breakthrough role came with the teen hit 10 Things I Hate About You, but real global respect came with his Oscar nominated turn in the moving gay cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain.

He met his now ex-partner Michelle Williams on the set of the film. The pair had a baby, Matilda, but broke of their engagement and split recently.

Gossip has since linked him with troubled young actor and party girl Lindsay Lohan.

Ledger had a troubled relationship with the media in his home town of Sydney. Paparazzi photographers squirted Ledger and Williams with water pistols at the premiere of Brokeback Mountain.

He later angrily denied reports he had spat on the photographers.

“It was just silly and unnecessary. It really hurt our feelings and it hurt my feelings to suddenly have a quick title above my name now, that we’re a gang of spitters,” he told the Herald Sun later.

But he said he regretted flicking the finger at photographers.

“Pulling finger signs at photographers, it’s not representing who I am, it’s representing the panic that occurs when you turn around and there’s a camera staring in at you. You see red, or I do.

“I’m a young guy and I’ve grown up with this in the younger years when you’re more passionate and protective and you’re more explosive during that time of your life and it felt like a natural reaction for me.

“I didn’t feel that I was rebelling against anything. Obviously it’s not the most polite way of dealing with things, but I didn’t feel they were being polite. I forget that when I do that I’m not pulling a finger sign at a guy holding a camera, I’m pulling a finger sign in a newspaper that everyone reads.”

Ledger later sold his Sydney dream house, claiming the paparazzi had driven him out, and moved to Brooklyn in New York where he lived with Williams and Matilda before the split.

Ledger can be seen in cinemas now in the Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There.

HEATH Ledger’s shocking demise is not only a terrible loss for his daughter Matilda, his Perth-based family and his many fans, it also throws into disarray two movies.

Ledger was in production with the next instalment in the Batman series, The Dark Knight, in which he was starring opposite Christian Bale as a macabre joker.

Early photos from the set suggest Ledger was taking the series into a new darker chapter.

Also on Ledger’s slate was the new Terry Gilliam film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, about a travelling theatre company. It was due to start filming in London shortly.

Ledger was one of Australia’s true international acting stars. His American breakthrough role came with the teen hit 10 Things I Hate About You, but real global respect came with his Oscar nominated turn in the moving gay cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain.

He met his now ex-partner Michelle Williams on the set of the film. The pair had a baby, Matilda, but broke of their engagement and split recently.

Gossip has since linked him with troubled young actor and party girl Lindsay Lohan.

Ledger had a troubled relationship with the media in his home town of Sydney. Paparazzi photographers squirted Ledger and Williams with water pistols at the premiere of Brokeback Mountain.

He later angrily denied reports he had spat on the photographers.

“It was just silly and unnecessary. It really hurt our feelings and it hurt my feelings to suddenly have a quick title above my name now, that we’re a gang of spitters,” he told the Herald Sun later.

But he said he regretted flicking the finger at photographers.

“Pulling finger signs at photographers, it’s not representing who I am, it’s representing the panic that occurs when you turn around and there’s a camera staring in at you. You see red, or I do.

“I’m a young guy and I’ve grown up with this in the younger years when you’re more passionate and protective and you’re more explosive during that time of your life and it felt like a natural reaction for me.

“I didn’t feel that I was rebelling against anything. Obviously it’s not the most polite way of dealing with things, but I didn’t feel they were being polite. I forget that when I do that I’m not pulling a finger sign at a guy holding a camera, I’m pulling a finger sign in a newspaper that everyone reads.”

Ledger later sold his Sydney dream house, claiming the paparazzi had driven him out, and moved to Brooklyn in New York where he lived with Williams and Matilda before the split.

Ledger can be seen in cinemas now in the Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There.

Updated, 6:06 p.m. | The actor Heath Ledger was found dead this afternoon in an apartment in Manhattan, according to the New York City police. Signs pointed to a suicide or an accidental overdose, police sources said. Mr. Ledger was 28.

At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived the fourth-floor apartment of the building, at 421 Broome Street in SoHo, for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of the bedroom Mr. Ledger was in. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger naked and unconscious on a bed, with sleeping pills — both prescription medication and nonprescription — on a night table. They moved his body to the floor and attempted to revive him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities.

The police said they did not suspect foul play. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the office of the city’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, said that employees of the office were at the apartment and that an autopsy would be conducted on Wednesday.

Police officials initially said that the apartment was owned by the actress Mary-Kate Olsen. They said they believed Ms. Olsen, 21, was in California and that Mr. Ledger had been living in her apartment. Ms. Olsen attended the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, for the premiere of “The Wackness,” a film in which she stars with the actor Ben Kingsley. It was not clear where she went after the film screening.

A representative of Ms. Olsen said this afternoon that the apartment did not belong to the actress. “It is not her apartment,” said Annette Wolf, a publicist for Ms. Olsen. “She does not own the apartment. She has never owned the apartment. She and her sister have an apartment in New York City but they are not in this building.”

Mr. Ledger, a native of Perth, Australia, won acclaim for his role as a co-star in “Brokeback Mountain” (2005). The film, based on a short story by Annie Proulx about two cowboys who fall in love, won critical acclaim. Reviewing the film in The New York Times, the critic Stephen Holden wrote, “Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn.” Mr. Ledger was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in January 2006.

Mr. Ledger met the actress Michelle Williams while filming ‘’Brokeback Mountain.” The two actors fell into a romance and moved to Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, where their comings and goings were widely noted by the celebrity press. They had a daughter, Matilda Rose, who was born on Oct. 28, 2005. The couple separated last year.

Mr. Ledger’s first Hollywood film was the teenage romantic comedy “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999). He later appeared in romantic-hero roles in films like “A Knight’s Tale” (2001) and “Casanova” (2005).

Mr. Ledger was also cast as The Joker in the latest Batman installment, “The Dark Knight,” set to be released this summer.

In an interview in London for an article published in November, Mr. Ledger told The New York Times, ‘’I feel like I’m wasting time if I repeat myself.” He said in the interview that he was not proud of his latest role, in Todd Haynes’s “I’m Not There,” in which Mr. Ledger was one of a half-dozen actors depicting the musician Bob Dylan. ‘’I feel the same way about everything I do. The day I say, ‘It’s good’ is the day I should start doing something else,” said in the interview.

As news of Mr. Ledger’s death made its way across the Internet, the Police Department issued a fairly terse summary of the death: “ON TUESDAY, 01/22/08, AT APPROXIMATELY 1530 HOURS, IN THE CONFINES OF THE 5 PRECINCT, POLICE RESPONDED TO 421 BROOME STREET AND FOUND A M/W/28 UNCONSCIOUS. THE VICTIM WAS PRONOUNCED DOA AT THE SCENE. M.E.’S OFFICE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF DEATH. INVESTIGATION CONTINUES.”

Calls by The Times to Mara Buxbaum, a publicist for Mr. Ledger, and Steve Alexander, the actor’s agent, were not immediately returned this afternoon.

Thomas J. Lueck and John Sullivan contributed reporting.

HEATH Ledger’s shocking demise is not only a terrible loss for his daughter Matilda, his Perth-based family and his many fans, it also throws into disarray two movies.

Ledger was in production with the next instalment in the Batman series, The Dark Knight, in which he was starring opposite Christian Bale as a macabre joker.

Early photos from the set suggest Ledger was taking the series into a new darker chapter.

Also on Ledger’s slate was the new Terry Gilliam film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, about a travelling theatre company. It was due to start filming in London shortly.

Ledger was one of Australia’s true international acting stars. His American breakthrough role came with the teen hit 10 Things I Hate About You, but real global respect came with his Oscar nominated turn in the moving gay cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain.

He met his now ex-partner Michelle Williams on the set of the film. The pair had a baby, Matilda, but broke of their engagement and split recently.

Gossip has since linked him with troubled young actor and party girl Lindsay Lohan.

Ledger had a troubled relationship with the media in his home town of Sydney. Paparazzi photographers squirted Ledger and Williams with water pistols at the premiere of Brokeback Mountain.

He later angrily denied reports he had spat on the photographers.

“It was just silly and unnecessary. It really hurt our feelings and it hurt my feelings to suddenly have a quick title above my name now, that we’re a gang of spitters,” he told the Herald Sun later.

But he said he regretted flicking the finger at photographers.

“Pulling finger signs at photographers, it’s not representing who I am, it’s representing the panic that occurs when you turn around and there’s a camera staring in at you. You see red, or I do.

“I’m a young guy and I’ve grown up with this in the younger years when you’re more passionate and protective and you’re more explosive during that time of your life and it felt like a natural reaction for me.

“I didn’t feel that I was rebelling against anything. Obviously it’s not the most polite way of dealing with things, but I didn’t feel they were being polite. I forget that when I do that I’m not pulling a finger sign at a guy holding a camera, I’m pulling a finger sign in a newspaper that everyone reads.”

Ledger later sold his Sydney dream house, claiming the paparazzi had driven him out, and moved to Brooklyn in New York where he lived with Williams and Matilda before the split.

Ledger can be seen in cinemas now in the Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There.

HEATH Ledger’s shocking demise is not only a terrible loss for his daughter Matilda, his Perth-based family and his many fans, it also throws into disarray two movies.

Ledger was in production with the next instalment in the Batman series, The Dark Knight, in which he was starring opposite Christian Bale as a macabre joker.

Early photos from the set suggest Ledger was taking the series into a new darker chapter.

Also on Ledger’s slate was the new Terry Gilliam film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, about a travelling theatre company. It was due to start filming in London shortly.

Ledger was one of Australia’s true international acting stars. His American breakthrough role came with the teen hit 10 Things I Hate About You, but real global respect came with his Oscar nominated turn in the moving gay cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain.

He met his now ex-partner Michelle Williams on the set of the film. The pair had a baby, Matilda, but broke of their engagement and split recently.

Gossip has since linked him with troubled young actor and party girl Lindsay Lohan.

Ledger had a troubled relationship with the media in his home town of Sydney. Paparazzi photographers squirted Ledger and Williams with water pistols at the premiere of Brokeback Mountain.

He later angrily denied reports he had spat on the photographers.

“It was just silly and unnecessary. It really hurt our feelings and it hurt my feelings to suddenly have a quick title above my name now, that we’re a gang of spitters,” he told the Herald Sun later.

But he said he regretted flicking the finger at photographers.

“Pulling finger signs at photographers, it’s not representing who I am, it’s representing the panic that occurs when you turn around and there’s a camera staring in at you. You see red, or I do.

“I’m a young guy and I’ve grown up with this in the younger years when you’re more passionate and protective and you’re more explosive during that time of your life and it felt like a natural reaction for me.

“I didn’t feel that I was rebelling against anything. Obviously it’s not the most polite way of dealing with things, but I didn’t feel they were being polite. I forget that when I do that I’m not pulling a finger sign at a guy holding a camera, I’m pulling a finger sign in a newspaper that everyone reads.”

Ledger later sold his Sydney dream house, claiming the paparazzi had driven him out, and moved to Brooklyn in New York where he lived with Williams and Matilda before the split.

Ledger can be seen in cinemas now in the Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There.

Entertainment Tonight is a daily television entertainment news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada, on the Nine Network in Australia and on UBC Inside in Thailand. The show is the most popular and longest-running entertainment news program, with its first broadcast on September 14, 1981, and was the first syndicated program distributed via satellite.

Contents
1 In relation to The Insider
2 Canadian, weekend and radio versions
3 Competition
4 Background
5 Paid exclusives interviews and paparazzi
6 Hosts
6.1 Special correspondents
6.2 Lead hosts
6.3 Previous co-hosts and correspondents
7 Entertainment Tonight in other countries
8 Footnotes
9 References

In relation to The Insider
In its current form, it is half of a one-hour entertainment news block that also includes its spin-off, The Insider. Three versions are available—a “standalone” version, a version for stations that air The Insider just beforehand, and one for those that air The Insider immediately after.

Canadian, weekend and radio versions
In Canada, Entertainment Tonight Canada is broadcast instead of The Insider.

ET Weekend (formerly known as Entertainment This Week), a one-hour weekend edition, is also produced. Originally a recap of the week’s news, most or all episodes now have some sort of special theme. ET Radio Minute, a daily radio feature, is syndicated by Westwood One.

Competition
Despite stiff competition from Access Hollywood, Extra, and newcomer TMZ (and Showbiz Tonight and E! News on cable), Entertainment Tonight still remains one of the Top 10 highly-rated programs in the syndication ratings. As of the early stages of its twenty-seventh season, its daytime TV rankings have gone back and forth from fourth and fifth place, due to the competing ratings of the popular Judge Judy court show.[1][2]

It was announced on January 30, 2006, that Entertainment Tonight has been renewed through the 2011–2012 season, which would be the show’s 31st season.

Background
Andy Friendly was the show’s original producer establishing the program’s unique look, sound, pace and reporting style. Friendly put together a diverse staff ranging from former rock roadies to veteran television reporters of the Vietnam War—some of whom continued to work on the show for over twenty years. Veteran television producer Al Masini was the program’s creator, coming off his success with the 1970s television hit Solid Gold. Masini initially hired managers and producers from local news stations like original managing editor Jim Bellows, formerly of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. Early on in the program’s history, numerous discussions were held as producers, creators, and directors attempted to figure out what type of program ET would be and just how ‘newsy’ the program would get.

Paid exclusives interviews and paparazzi
Since the 1996-97 season, Entertainment Tonight switched from primarily covering behind-the-scenes coverage of the latest movies, music, and television shows to include stories based on sensationalism. For example, ET has featured paid exclusive interviews with controversial and infamous newsmakers. Among those who have been interviewed by ET:

Disgraced Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding, who became notorious for her role in the conspiracy to physically attack rival Nancy Kerrigan at a 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships practice session.
Amy Fisher and Joey and Mary Jo Buttafuoco, reunited following the latter Buttafuoco’s infamous 1992 assault by Fisher.
Convicted child molester Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau getting married.[3]
Attorney Howard K. Stern from the Anna Nicole Smith paternity controversy.[4][5]
Additionally, ET has also aired exclusive coverage of stories related to Anna Nicole Smith, including her daughter as well as Smith’s funeral.[6]
In 1996, television actor George Clooney boycotted Entertainment Tonight to protest the presence of intrusive paparazzi after Hard Copy did an expose on his love life violating an agreement he had with Paramount, which produced the tabloid show as well as Entertainment Tonight.[7] In a letter he sent to Paramount announcing plans to boycott the program he wrote that he would encourage his friends to do the same.[8] Clooney ended his boycott, but Entertainment Tonight has continued to frequently broadcast video and photography taken by paparazzi stalkers of celebrities.

Hosts
It is currently hosted by Mary Hart and Mark Steines with several correspondents, including Jann Carl (who co-hosts the weekend edition with Kevin Frazier), Leonard Maltin, Steven Cojocaru, and Thea Andrews.

On October 9, 2006, Mary Hart renewed her contract with Entertainment Tonight.

Special correspondents
Entertainment Tonight also has special correspondents that report on special features for the show. Paula Abdul is a special correspondent for ET’s coverage of American Idol, and Dancing with the Stars had correspondents for the second season (Tatum O’Neal) and third season Lisa Rinna. Marcia Clark is a special correspondent for high profile trials and the red carpet at awards shows.

Lead hosts
Ron Hendren, Marjorie Wallace and Tom Hallick (1981)
Ron Hendren and Dixie Whatley from 1981 to 1982
Ron Hendren and Mary Hart from 1982 to 1984
Mary Hart and Robb Weller from 1984 to 1986
Mary Hart and John Tesh from 1986 to 1996
Mary Hart and Bob Goen from 1996 to 2004
Mary Hart and Mark Steines from 2004 to present

Previous co-hosts and correspondents
Army Archerd (1981 pilot only)
Nina Blackwood
Chris Booker
Mindy Burbano
Eric Burns
Lisa Canning
Bobby Colomby
Steven “Cojo” Cojocaru (fashion correspondent)
Leanza Cornett
Leeza Gibbons
Bob Goen
Gerry Grant (special correspondent during the O.J. Simpson trial)
Alan Hemberger (weekend ET with Dixie Whatley, now anchor at KHCW)
Ron Hendren
Don LaFontaine (voice over)
Robin Leach
Chrishaunda Lee (who still does voice overs for this show today)
Maria Menounos (who left ET in 2005 to join Access Hollywood)
Vanessa Minnillo
Julie Moran
Al Owens (Reporter and fill-in anchor from 1984-1987)
Carlos Ponce
Tony Potts (now with Access Hollywood)
Selina Scott (correspondent for London)
John Tesh
Robb Weller
Dixie Whatley
Chris Wragge (now at WCBS-TV in New York)

Entertainment Tonight in other countries
Entertainment Tonight UK, hosted by Irish celebrity Amanda Byram, launched in January 2005 on satellite/cable pay TV channel Sky One (which additionally airs each US episode a day or two after its American showing).
ET Canada, a Canadian version, was launched on the Global Television Network on September 12, 2005 with host Cheryl Hickey and lead correspondent Rick Campanelli; it airs back-to-back with the American version in most Canadian markets.
Entertainment Tonight was produced by Australia’s Nine Network during the 1990s. It was presented by Richard Wilkins and Marie Patane. Journalist Terry Willesee also guest hosted. The show was essentially a mix of locally produced stories, and ones imported from the main American program. It ended in 2000 and was replaced by the American version. The American show is now shown at 3 p.m. It also airs on the cable channel Bio. with its sister program The Insider.
Entertainment Tonight was aired in France under the name “Exclusif” and was hosted by Thierry Clopeau (1998), Emmanuelle Gaume (1998-2000), Flavie Flament (2000-2001), Valérie Bénaïm (2001-2002) and Frédéric Joly (1998-2002). There were several correspondents like Ness, Stéphanie Pillonca, Génie Godula and Jonathan Lambert.