The Hollywood Vice

Heath Ledger 1979 - 2008

What does it take for the entertainment industry to wake up and ask what the hell is going on with it's young members? Heath is just the latest in a string of deaths in young Hollywood. Entertainers who were given a gift from God only to let it go to waste. Some people will not agree with what I will say in this blog, but that is just fine. I am not here to trash Heath and others who have passed, only to ask when will this stop. What is going on in Hollywood to make these individuals feel so alone, so depressed that there only escape is death? It hasn't been confirmed by toxicology reports exactly how Heath died, but I am sure the prescription drugs that were found near his body will have a roll. Six different types of drugs folks, six! Shouldn't that raise a flag to someone in his camp?

In just the last month actors Heather Ledger and Brad Renfro have been found dead. This makes you think back to other young artists who died too early. River Phoenix, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison, just to name a few. Apparently, the environment surrounding these people is toxic. Not knowing who you can truly trust. Realizing that most people you meet want something from you instead of genuinely wanting to get to know you. I know that some of you are thinking you aren't in that situation, so how do you know you wouldn't end up the same way. To be completely honest, I don't know, but I hope I would be smart enough to surround myself with a couple of people I know I can trust and who will keep me grounded. I have several friends who are either in the biz are on their way to being in the biz. I hear it all the time how Hollywood can chew you up and spit you out. For every Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and so on, there is a James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and a John Belushi. Someone who has the power and the fortitude needs to stand up and say enough is enough.

All I am trying to say is that these people were blessed, blessed with a gift and wasted it. Many of us "normal" people would have loved to be in the position that they were. Privileged, living the good life and able to affect so many people in so many different ways. Only to take this gift, abuse it and ultimately lose it. Some were suicides, some were "accidental" overdoses, whatever the cause of these deaths, I just can feel sorry for them. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see anyone die, but if you die at your own hand or doing something stupid or reckless, I have no sympathy for you. Some people won't like that statement, but that's why we have freedom of speech.