Latest: Heath Found Dead

Heath Ledger was found dead at a downtown Manhattan apartment on Tuesday.

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He was naked in bed with sleeping pills nearby.

The Australian-born actor was 28-years-old. It wasn't immediately clear if Heath had committed suicide.

Accoring to NYPD spokesman Paul Browne he had an appointment for a massage at a residence in the Tony neighborhood of SoHo.

A housekeeper who went to let him know the massage therapist had arrived found him dead at 3:26 p.m.

A large crowd of paparazzi and gawkers gathered outside the building on an upscale block.

Heath's body was still inside, and several police officers guarded the door.

The medical examiner's office planned an autopsy on Wednesday.

Heath was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain, where he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film.

The two had a daughter, Matilda, and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.

Heath most recently appeared in I'm Not There, in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan - as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

Heath had finished filming his role as the Joker this year in The Dark Knight, a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins.