A painting of late actor Heath Ledger has won a prestigious Australian art prize.

The portrait, titled Heath and painted by Ledger’s friend Vincent Fantauzzo, landed the prestigious People’s Choice honour at the Archibald Prize art awards on Friday (09May08) morning.
Ledger sat for the painting just weeks before he died of a drugs overdose in January (08), and the finished artwork sees the actor bare-chested and surrounded by two other whispering versions of himself.

Fantuazzo’s painting came second in the race for the main award - with a picture by Del Kathryn Barton taking the coveted Archibald Portrait Prize.

The artist turned down all offers to buy the picture - which drew record crowds to the exhibition - giving it instead to Ledger’s mother Sally, who decided to donate the canvas to the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

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Michelle Williams’ father has cast doubt on the handling of Heath Ledger’s estate by the late star’s dad Kim, and has called for the family to publicly state the true value of the actor’s personal fortune.

The ‘Brokeback Mountain’ actor left all of his assets to parents Kim and Sally and older sister Kate, having filed his will in Australia in April 2003 - two years prior to birth of his daughter, Matilda, with then-girlfriend, actress Williams.

Kim has since assured that both Williams and two-year-old Matilda will be financially “taken care of”, but Larry Williams wants to know exactly how much Heath was worth at the time of his death.

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A doctor in California and another in Texas are under investigation by federal drug authorities in the matter of Heath Ledger’s’s death, PEOPLE has confirmed.

The Australian actor, 28, was found dead in his downtown New York apartment on Jan. 22. An autopsy whose results were announced earlier this month blamed an accidental mixture of prescription drugs, said New York City’s Chief Medical Examiner.

“We are investigating doctors in Los Angeles and Texas with regard to Ledger’s prescriptions,” the source tells PEOPLE.

However, the source did not say whether any wrongdoing is involved, saying, “We don’t know yet. The agents were there this week, and we are waiting to hear from them.”

The doctors in question are thought to have supplied Ledger with Oxycontin and Vicodin, law enforcement sources tell New York’s Daily News.

At issue is whether or not the powerful painkiller were prescribed legally, says the newspaper.

DEA Subpoenas
The subpoenaing of Ledger’s autopsy results by the Drug Enforcement Administration was reported shortly after the findings of the report were announced. On Feb. 6, it was said that the DEA would look into the source of the actor’s prescriptions.

Besides Oxycodone and Vicodin (also known as Hydrocodone), autopsy results also showed that Ledger’s system contained Diazepam (commonly called Valium), as well as Temazepam, which treats anxiety or sleeplessness; Alprazolam (also known as Xanax); and Doxylamine, a sedating antihistamine often used as a sleeping aid.

On Feb. 9, Ledger’s former girlfriend, Michelle Williams – who is mother of his 2-year-old daughter, Matilda – joined Cate Blanchett, Ledger’s family and hundreds of mourners at a memorial in Australia for the actor. On Jan. 26, a private memorial in Los Angeles was held for close friends and family.
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Brokeback Mountain actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment today, police said.

Ledger, 28, was found by his housekeeper in central Manhattan after a possible drug-related death this afternoon, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

Police officials said they did not suspect foul play and added that pills were found near the body.

The Australian-born actor had an appointment for a massage at the apartment and the housekeeper who went to let him know the masseuse was there found him dead at 3.26pm local time (9.30pm), Mr Browne said.

The Australian-born actor was nominated for an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain.

He had a young daughter Matilda through his marriage to actress Michelle Williams, but they split up last year.

Ledger’s roles include the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in Monster’s Ball and starring roles in A Knight’s Tale and The Patriot.

He was due to appear as the Joker this year in The Dark Night, a sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins.

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Lindsay Lohan ditched snowboarder lover Riley Giles after hooking up with single Oscar-nominated star Heath Ledger, according to reports.

The actress split with Giles - who she met in rehab - last week, supposedly so the actress could concentrate on her career.

But Australian magazine ‘NW’ claims she dumped Giles after meeting Ledger in a New York club over Thanksgiving.

The magazine reports: “Lindsay and Heath hit it off straight away. When she left the club she started texting him straight away and they hooked up a few times while she was still in New York. They were meeting late at night for sex. It was purely physical.”

Ledger has been single since splitting from fiancee Michelle Williams in September.
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