Heartbroken

Let’s set aside the whole cliché of movie stars and their tragic death by drugs for a minute and just remember my cowboy.

One summer afternoon in 1979 my mother went outside for a walk, very subdued. John Wayne had just passed away, from cancer, and he was her favorite actor. When I tuned in to check my e-mail this afternoon, I knew just how she felt.

I wouldn’t call Mr. Ledger my “favorite” actor—I don’t really have one of those—but he was on the short list. I’m sort of ashamed to say that, since his level of exposure was roughly on par with and the same caliber as paparazzi coverage of Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton: he was a pretty boy. But the affection I had for him in his roles in “A Knight’s Tale” and “The Patriot” was just all smiles, nothing doting or starstruck. This guy knew what he was doing.

Then came “Brokeback Mountain.”

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-jGxyplQ7dLXEzP9MAuBA7iiPVQ--?cq=1&p=1

This entry was my first impression of “Brokeback,” and probably the best that I can still muster. The movie helped to heal a lot of pain for me, and the actors contributed to that.

For more on my thoughts on Ledger, there is also…

http://jojarden.blogspot.com/2007/12/poet-storyteller-trapeze-artist.html#links

And his portrayal of Bob Dylan.

Farewell, Ennis.