Michelle's Dad Speaks Out
Filed under: Australiastic > Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger's family has released their statement on the actor's tragic death.
Now, Michelle Wiliams's father, Larry Williams, is speaking out as well.
He says:
"I think Tennyson got it right in the poem when he described someone as having died at a young age but burning the candles at both ends, and oh what a beautiful flame he made, that was Heath, what a beautiful flame he made and a great talent. My heart goes out to everyone in his family and my family. The saddest thing is his daughter whom he just loved dearly."
[Image via WENN.]
Posted: January 23, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Re: c. – Thanks - I caught that as well…
Brandy (above) said it best:
This just breaks my heart.
Because Heath Ledger wasn't just another pretty face-
He wasn't just another shallow celebrity.
He brought that special "something" to a film.
He had spirit. He had…. HEART.
Though I never even knew him
I will miss him being on the planet.
Rest in Peace…
_________
I am very very saddened by his death.
May his soul rest in peace.
thats beautiful, well said
it is so sad that this happened to just a talented man, my prayers are with his family especially his little girl who will have grow up hearing stories about her day…God Bless you Michelle Williams…
I miss Heath. I saw A Knight's Tale 5 times. I watched The Order just 2 weeks ago. I think I've seen all his flicks except Brokeback Mountain. Hopefully he is at peace now.
This is the saddest thing ever.
I feel horrible for poor little Matilda Ledger.
OMG this death makes me sooooooooooooooooooooooo sad!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feal bad for his little girl!!!
this all seems surreal! i can't believe he's gone!
is it just me or are there many more young/famous people dying now than before?
R.I.P heath, you were great.
P.s.
i hope you feel like trash perez, for insulting him in the past.
It's not Tennyson you boob. It was Edna St. Vincent Millet . . .
A very beautiful statement……..
"My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night
But oh my foes and ah my friends
It makes a lovely light'
Edna St Vincent Millay
RIP Heath. What a talented and beautiful boy.
What kind words I only hope he can be there for Michelle and Matilda.
I feel really bad about this, and maybe I am wrong for saying it but BRAD RENFRO just died too. It seemed that no one cared. He has been around longer than Heath and though he may not have been nominated for an Oscar, he's done great work. My heart goes out to BOTH families and friends…
Ok, so the guy was in fact dorking my daughter, did knock her up, didn't stay around to help her grow, was a great actor….wait a minute, was he acting with my daughter and my family? This guy was an asshole, why create some figure who was opposite? Real asshole, now a dead asshole! Good riddance!
Note on Tennyson: while he did not write the specific poem Williams referenced, (Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote that one, and it's already been quoted and misquoted a dozen times here, so I won't belabor the point) Tennyson -did- write a beautiful elegy for a close friend who died young. I could easily see how someone could end up melding the two.
Millay did eloquently sum up the bittersweet trade off that happens to those who live the most.
I'd say Heath Ledger fits the poem depressingly well.
I think that people like Helena and LiLo killed Heath. Instead of him spending time with his family and his precious daughter, he was hanging around them. They robbed that little girl of a father. They were too wrapped up in their own sadistic world to care about the lives of others. I can only hope that Heath is in a better place right now. My prayers for Matilda, Michelle and the rest of his family.
Re: jamii – Yeah he was OBVIOUSLY abusing whatever he was on…Dr drew even said a young healthy 28 year old would more than likely have had to of mixed them with something else in order to make them(sleepin pills) strong enough to cause death!
Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote that poem.
What a beautiful, perfect quote!
Her dad is clearly a class act.
That's very sweet.
I'm pretty sure that poem was by Edna St. Vincent, actually.
If all those people loved & cared about him, from his family, his ex's family, to the directors and actors he was working with, where the hell were they when he was depressed, popping pills, having problems. Once a talented actor like him goes, then everyone comes out of the woodwork saying " I loved him" "he was my best friend" we were very close" blah blah blah. The guy was having some trouble and no one helped him, the masseuse was an idiot, calling Mary Kate Olsen first, if she would have called 911 right away, maybe this wouldn't be such a sad story and more like an anecdote from which he needn't have died from.
It's Edna St. Vincent Millay, not Tennyson:
"My candle burns at both ends, it will not last the night. But ah, my friends and oh, my foes, it gives a lovely light."
It's Edna St. Vincent Millay, not Tennyson:
"My candle burns at both ends, it will not last the night. But ah, my friends and oh, my foes, it gives a lovely light."
umm, that's not Tennyson, that's Millay!
it wasn't tennyson, it was edna st vincent millay. sheesh.
The poem in mention is not by Tennyson, instead it is by Edna St. Vincent Millay-
"my candle burns at both eneds
It will not last the night;
But, ah, my foes, and oh my friends–
It gives a lovely light"
just giving credit where it's due…
Re: Brandy –
that was my exact thought of heath.
who knew this would happen.
he was such a kind hearted person,
you can tell by the look on his face how down to earth he was.
i have him in my thoughts.
rip
I think that he is thinking of the Edna St. Vincent Millay poem First Fig:
"My candle burns at both ends,
It will not last the night,
But, ah, my foes, and, oh, my friends,
It gives a lovely light."
It's a very lovely sentiment and very fitting.
Yah, Mr. Williams, but it was Edna St. Vincent Millay who said that: "My candle burns at both ends. It will not last the night. But, ah, my foes, and oh, my friends - It gives a lovely light."
oh my >
heath missed his little girl and michelle…… it says in this article in the australian…….he told his new gal fling……gemma ward
———–
The Australian newspaper is reporting that Heath's father, Kim, will be attending an event in Los Angeles at the end of the week with Aussie model Gemma Ward, the woman last romantically linked to Heath. It's believed the event will be a memorial service for the star. Gemma's mother, Claire, told the newspaper that her daughter is currently in New York.
Meanwhile, the 20-year-old's sister, Sophie (who's also a model), told the West Australian newspaper that Heath had sworn off alcohol at Christmastime amid a bout of anxiety over being unable to see his daughter Matilda, 2.
Sophie says that Heath was distressed over his split with Michelle Williams and being away from Matilda. He was "quite upset because he couldn't see his daughter as much as he'd like to," she said. "He was traveling so much and I think he was just frustrated with it all."
yeah it is sad but lets not forget the thousands of young lives lost every day all round the world people who never had the opportunities that this man had up untill his death, whose deaths will go completley unoticed
!!!!
This is truly sad and depressing, hit hard, almost the same age by 11 days and i've had some struggles too, i shall try to live each day to the fullest cause you never know, easy to say harder to do but if we can all make that effort life would be more enjoyable………………………………….
far be it for me to split hairs when referring to lines of poetry regarding an extremely recent death, but that poem he's talking about is by Edna St. Vincent Millay.
Just the same, H.L's death is so sad.
Beautifully put!
I am just so, so sad… 28 and everything to live for. I really hope it turns out to be an accident, i'm sure it was. I think he had just got so involved with his most recent role and a combination or that stress and not sleeping …. just a sad story. his poor little girl. May he rest in peace….
ps… i really hate those photos of him being wheeled out of his apartment in front of a huge press wall. That photos sums up a lot about our society nowadays. horrid.
/; this sucks; rest in peace, and so much love to michelle and matilda. (and larry's rather classy, let's hear more from him)
the quote is by edna st. vincent milay 'first fig'. it's beautiful.
Re: Moon – place blame where it belongs…he did it to himself…Its not anyone elses fault! tsk
can't belive it! So terrible. was in shock. but also in shock that people want to think there were drugs all over the place. Wait for all the facts! It is bad enough he is gone why add to it?
Re: loo – Was just thinking the same thing! Good point..Our newspaper has obituaries every day!…and no one really cares or goes to a message board to proclaim how BRILLIANT they were!..guess ya gotta be a rich spoiled celebrity for people to give a crap really!
Remember that post a few months ago that was all, "omg what happened to Heath Ledger", where he looked scruffy and like he had aged 10 years in a day? I feel so badly for saying he looked like shit. No idea what he was going through. Fame's a real bitch. You see these seemingly perfect people put on a pedestal, everyone aspiring to be like them, and then you find out they're going through their own private hell just like the rest of us. All the money in the world won't save a person. RIP.
I knew that statement was from another poem! I love Edna St. Vincent Millay and even though I'm really sad about Heath Ledger, I kind of wish Michelle's dad had checked this out first before he made a statement that's going to be plastered throughout the media for weeks to come. No one respect literature anymore!
I think he died from suffocation. Too weak from the sleeping pills to turn his head in midsleep. Sleeping face first into a pillow. Still alive at 12:30 PM. I'm guessing an overdose would have gotten him near inital bedtime which was probable early to late morning.
It was Edna St. Vincent Millay who wrote the poem
your reporting on the ledger death is pathetic………why report crap that is not true and then try to reprieve yourself w something real
Um, Edna St. Vincent Millay, you dumb fucks?
My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night
But ah my friends
And oh my foes
It gives a lovely light.
Sheesh.
Did any of you graduate from high school?
As of today, I will no longer be visiting this website. I am appalled at the way perezhilton.com has been handling the death of Heath Ledger from the sensational details that have been posted about his death to the sickening mockery of the ones mourning his tragic passing. Perez was never a witness to Heath's death…he was not at the scene when it happened and therefore he has no right to post ANY UNCONFIRMED information on the matter. But he has been vigorously doing so since yesterday to mislead his readers and to taint Heath's name. Perez, how dare you try to make people think that Heath had a substance-abuse problem? Do you have legitimate proof that you can show us to back up your words? Are you aware that any kind of defamation (in your case, libel) is a crime and is punishable by law? Any grown individual knows that in order to make a factual statement, one needs concrete evidence and a number of reliable sources to justify any allegations that he/she brings forward. I have been visiting this website for quite some time and there have been days when I felt like Perez was bending the rules, but I just let it go. But today, I no longer wish to associate myself with a website that has no respect for the dead. Heath passed away ONLY yesterday, but that didn't stop Perez and his staff from posting every possible rumor about the circumstances on his death on this blog.
EVERY rumor that's been circulating on the net's most deceitful websites has wound up on this blog…and what does that say? That says that for perezhilton.com, it is far more important to employ the techniques of yellow journalism (to receive more hits per day) than to deliver credible news to its readers. You can mess with a lot of things, but there's just no excuse for dishonoring someone, who has just died, by spreading all sorts of gossip about the way the died or lived their life. It is not up to Perez or anyone to judge Heath or any celebrity for that matter, because none of us are perfect. We would all by hypocrites if we criticized others, but not ourselves. Not much was expected of you, Perez…just a bit of compassion and understanding toward a family that has lost a son, a brother, a companion, a father. But even that you couldn't do because your ratings are far more important than protecting the dignity of someone who had just lost his life. You even posted a video of Heath, where he was merely answering questions during an interview, and went as far as to allege to your viewers that he's been battling a drug problem for some time. What makes you think you have the right to do such a thing? Do you not think at all of Heath's family and how they will react to such allegations? How dare you try to slander a man, who never even said a bad thing about you? Who the hell do you think you are?
Keep on posting ridiculous shit and I guarantee you that you will earn yourself a spot in hell. You are too pathetic to understand what it feels like to lose a loved one, a friend, a person whom you admired for years. You are a jealous prick who is so unhappy with himself that you defame others and involve yourself in cheap scandals in order to feel better about yourself. Well, keep on feeling better about yourself because no one else ever will. You are inhumane, corrupt and abusive and nothing good will ever come your way, if you keep infecting the world with your miserable existence.
Rest in peace, Heath. You will truly be missed. The world will never be the same without you My heart goes out to Heath's family, friends and loved ones.
And leave Britney alone already. She's still more successful than you'll ever be. Envious lowlife!
that wasn't tennyson. it was edna st. vincent millay
It's time for the bloggers to back off on their wild claims about this young father death. The NYC police are not going to release any information until their investigaiton is complete and that will take more then several days if not weeks. The medical examiners toxicology report takes up to 2 weeks to determine what if anything was in Heath's system. During the course of the day I was away from the blogs and when I arrived late in the day I found the time to read todays events and all I came across was wild claims of this and that only for those claims to be retracted later in the day after the police confirmed that what was posted earlier was incorrect. It really is wrong to post undocumented information that only fuels more inaccurate stories. The police have nothing to hide while they conduct their investigaiton but they do have a responsiblity to Heath's family to release only the pertenent information. Back off and let the family bury their father, son, brother and friend to many. Let Michelle and Matilda have their privacy. Don't be trying to get their picture, Michelle is notoriously private about have her and her childs photo taken. This isn't a Spears Family crisis, this is a different family, a private family. STOP POSTING STORIES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN CONFIRMED BY THE NYPD OR THE OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL EXAMINER!
oh man… for once i dont know what to say but that im so so sad and sorry michelles and their little girls loss. i would hate to lose a love or father. oh man…. i couldnt believe when i heard it.
the poem's by edna st. vincent millay, First Fig: my candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night// but ah! my foes, and oh! my friends - it gives a lovely light!
The quote attributed to Tennyson was actually from a poem written Edna St. Vincent Millay.
I burn my candle at both ends,
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends
It gives a lovely light.
Sounds like what happened to Heath. What a loss!
this is SO sad, and SO touching.
its nice to know michelle's dad is compassionate like that.
RIP Heath
Re: i survived – i'm sorry about your father. but try not to make everything about yourself.. its time to pay respect to heath and his family. just…. be considerate
Re: superman – your fucking dumb. before you try and talk about this.. get your story straight. he didn't do it on purpose. do you know what accidental means?? and "probably" is an assumption.. you don't know wether he would have given you the time of day, so your judging him for something you"think" he would do.. how can you judge someone for something you don't know if they have done it or not.. this is a sad thing.. learn to be considerate.
So young, so sad… It just goes to show you that it can happen to anyone. Never take life for granted. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Re: Lily – Thanks for your stern words Lily but posting it once would have been more than sufficient, if not simply unnecessay.
the poem is by edna st. vincent millay, not tennyson,
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends–
It gives a lovely light!
it is my favorite poem
Re: Lily – "As of today, I will no longer be visiting this website." but you then post another 3 times with your ranting. Do you mean at the end of today or tomorrow's today? Why don't you just leave quietly instead of trying to make a grand exit, you boring twat.
i feel terrible for this woman and her great loss. something about her attire in this just reminds me of ronald mcdonald.
Yeah. But not Tennyson. Edna st. Vincent Millay.
Re: i survived – Then you should know the feeling and be more sympathetic… its tough to loose a parent *i know i lost my mum* but seriously show some compassion toward this young child she doesn't get to grow up with a father now… the least we all can do it try to turn away from the negative right now and just hope for the best.
what a wonderful statement to sum up Heath's character and talent, such a loss, R.I.P. Heath…………..
"My candle burns at both ends, it will not last the night, but for all my foes and all my friends, it gives a lovely light." — Edna St. Vincent Milay …
Edna. St. Vincent. Millay.
Larry.
I feel so bad for Michelle and Matilda:(
sad sad sad.. it reminds me of river phoenix
i'll miss you heath!!
TO MOON
You're an idiot. Has it crossed your mind that his family and friends didn't know he needed help? Maybe he kept things to himself (a bit like you) and
they had no idea.
He was very talented. I hope people like you will leave his family alone.
moron! that edna st vincent millay he's misquoting.
It was Edna St. Vincent Millay who wrote that poem. Way to sound like a dumbass!
I think its disgusting that his family found out about this from the radio. The news broke about 8am our time so they would have been driving to work. I feel so sorry for them. I enjoy listening to the news and reading celebrity gossip as much as the next person but that is a horrible way to find out. The media really should have waited until the family was notified. We are living in such a heartless society.
it wasn't tennyson . . . it was edna st. vincent milay
it was millay you schmuck
I still can't believe is dead , he was so fucking young.
my God this life is so cruel, and now her daugther will grew up without her daddy, and even michelle williams was his ex she should be devastated, imagine you lost one of your biggest love, oh it's so sad.so sad.
Re: brandi –
yes that is the poem he meant to mention. (one of my favorites)
yeah it's definitely edna st. vincent millay, not tennyson.
luv a literary reference though.
Heath, the whole world is now heart-breaked..
You left too early, and your daughter, I hope that she'll remember you someday, but now ’cause she's still so young, She wont remember you.
And everybody knew how mutch you loved your little Matilda.. Man, this is not right. You were too young to die, I'll be always remember your lovely smile.
Rest In Peace Heath
Love from Finland
there u go again with the hypocrisy perez. ur only putting heath on ur website so ppl will read it. leave him the fuck aloneee
Re: Kay – "Peace", not "piece", dummy!
Tennyson didn't say or write that, Edna St. Vincent Millay did. My candle burns at both ends and will not last the night, but all my foes and ah, my friends it makes a lovely light.
It was not Tennyson, it was Edna St. Vincent Millay: "My candle burns at both ends, it will not last the night. But ah my friends, and oh my foes, it gives a lovely light."
It wasn't Tennyson, it was Edna St. Vincent Millay who wrote about burning the candle at both ends. The sentiment is heartfelt, nonetheless…