I hope there's this much fuss when I die

Heath Ledger is dead. Another promising young actor, gone long before his time. I must admit, I was shocked. More shocked than I usually am when I hear someone younger than me has just passed away. By age 28, Ledger had managed to stack up the kind of film roles that most actors only dream of having, and he made every one of them honest and natural...an ultra rare talent these days.

It will be difficult this summer to watch The Dark Knight, and Ledger's performance as the Joker, and not get that same odd feeling I had when I first saw Brandon Lee in The Crow. Even sadder was the report today that before his death, Ledger had signed on for the next Batman film as well.

However, in the 28 hours since the first report of his death, my shock and sadness has been officially replaced with disgusted rage. No more than three hours after his body was discovered, I heard the first "I guess he finally found out how to quit you" joke from someone on the net. That joke was apparently repeated by John Gibson on Fox News this morning. Gee, to see it as a reposted Myspace bulletin is one thing, but to say it on national TV with a smirk on your face is the sign of the ultimate douchebag.

Even more upsetting was this press release. Yep, the Westboro Baptists are at it again. First, they picketed AIDS victims' funerals, then the funerals of soldiers killed in the Middle East, all because they believe that these people deserved death because our country embraces homosexuality. Now, they plan to protest the funeral of an actor who once portrayed a gay man in a movie we know they never watched. Gee, you know your rage is disjointed when it makes Ann Coulter look focused and reasonable.

So, is this a new sub-category for the Westboro Baptists: Straight actors who played gay? Will they one day be protesting the funerals of Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Steve Zahn, Willem Dafoe, Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis (although, to be fair, his character in the Jackal was bi), Kevin Spacey, William Hurt, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Joe Pesci, Patrick Stewart, Al Pacino, Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., Tobey Maguire, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Matt Damon, The Rock, Jude Law, Michael Caine, Colin Farrell, Forest Whittaker, etc.? Please keep in mind, this list was compiled with help from Internet Movie Database...I'm not a scholar in this field.

Hell, I've often joked about popping open champagne the day both of the Wayans brothers are dead, but I at least have a somewhat logical reason: They not only acted in some of the worst movies ever made, but also wrote and produced them.

And the rumor is that Ledger had pill bottles around his apartment. Does that automatically mean he died of an overdose? No, it doesn't. There was even a report today that a twenty dollar bill found near his body tested negative for cocaine. The autopsy report was inconclusive, and the toxicology report will take at least ten more days. Can we withhold judgment, please? Or, at the very least, stop speculating until all the facts are in? Sweet Jesus, his body hasn't even left the morgue, much less been buried in the ground!

So much for resting in peace!