Following the death of Heath Ledger, his grieving family was questioned endlessly about the actor's will, which was written before his daughter Matilda was born. Now Ledger's father has publicly declared that every cent of the estimated $20 million estate (originally left to his sisters and parents) would go to Matilda, telling People magazine that was the plan "from the moment my boy passed away." Fox News notes that "Williams' father [Larry Williams, one of......

An “insider” tells the Post that the late Heath Ledger’s ex Michelle Williams is furious with Ledger’s family over the management of his estate. Ledger’s 2003 will, made out before his daughter Matilda was born, bequeathed everything to his father, mother and siblings; Matilda is now considered the beneficiary, but according to the Post, Williams thinks Ledger’s dad Kim will blow his Dark Knight millions before Matilda reaches 18. (Ledger's uncles have claimed Kim Ledger......

Word on Heath Ledger's will has hit the newswire, and according to documents filed in Manhattan Surrogate's Court, he had less than $145,000 in New York assets when he died on January 22nd. The figure includes about $100,000 in bank accounts, a $25,000 Toyota Prius and $20,000 in furniture and fixtures. Those numbers, however, do not reflect the size of Ledger's estate. There may be some property holdings in Australia and money tucked in trusts.......

Sponge Bob! I am your father!, by dcschaub, at flickr Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a shooting on East 169th St. and Franklin Ave. in the Bronx, an aircraft emergency at Laguardia in Queens, and a power outage on Laconia Ave. in the Bronx. The suit about seizing private property for another private owner in the name of public gain will move to the Supreme Court after a 3-judge panel ruled that Bruce Ratner's......

Yesterday, Kim Ledger visited his son's apartment on Broome Street. After Heath Ledger had been found dead in a Soho loft last week, mourners have left letters, flowers and other tributes to the 28-year-old actor. The building staff had collected the items and kept them in the basement; the building super told the Post Kim Ledger said the mementos were "beautiful." Kim Ledger, who spent an hour in the apartment, was accompanied by NYPD detectives......

Photograph of the memorial outside 421 Broome Street taken on Friday by vinnie 716 on Flickr Last night, the G'Day USA Australia Ball was held at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, concluding Australia Week festivities. But the week held sadness, after Australian actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his Soho apartment on Tuesday. At the ball, Australian Counsel-General John Olsen read an unexpected letter from Ledger's father Kim:"Heath is, and always will be, an......

Some more details surrounding Heath Ledger's death have emerged, even though the autopsy is inconclusive for the actor's cause of death. Though CBS 2 initially reported that a rolled up $20 bill in Ledger's SoHo apartment had narcotic residue on it and that cops had found unidentified drug packets, the NYPD now confirms that lab tests found nothing to indicate the bill had been used to snort drugs and that no illegal drugs were......

Photographs outside Broome Street The NYC Medical Examiner's office says Heath Ledger's autopsy is inconclusive, citing the need to more tests. Spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said, "The autopsy is inconclusive and we have to do further testing which includes toxicology and tissue testing. We expect to have results in about 10 days to two weeks." Initial reports suggested pills were found scattered around the actor's body, prompting speculation that Ledger could have committed suicide. Ledger's......

Yesterday afternoon the world learned of Heath Ledger's untimely death. Both old and new media gossiped, rumor-mongered, and pitched their circus tents outside of his building on Broome Street the moment word spread. Sadly, most of his close friends and relatives, including his parents, heard about the tragedy through the newswire. The young actor was embraced as a fairly new resident of New York (first in Brooklyn, then in Manhattan). The NY Times recalls that......

The shocking news of Heath Ledger's death in an SoHo apartment is front page news. The Post uses a lovely photograph of Ledger and ex-fiancee Michelle Williams while the Daily News uses a still from Brokeback Mountain. Both focus on drug-related cause of death, though the News emphasizes it more. Newsday gives more attention to the economy while placing news of Ledger's death in a sidebar (Newsday's readership is more Long Island-based). amNew York uses......

Actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his downtown Manhattan apartment by the police. Some reports say he died from an overdose. UPDATE 5:00PM :According to the NYPD spokesman, Ledger, who was living in an apartment at Broome street, "had an appointment for a massage...The housekeeper who went to let Ledger know the masseuse was there, and found him dead at 3:26 p.m" with "pills strewn all around him." The housekeeper and masseuse tried......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a pedestrian struck on Coney Island Ave. in Brooklyn, a bank robbery on Maiden Ln. and Gold St. in Manhattan, and an amputation at The Public School on Bristol St. in Brooklyn. Get ready for a possible porn release of Amy Fisher, thanks to her boyfriend. He handed over video of the pair to a porn producer during a fight and before the pair reconciled. Neighborhood resistance to the......

Earlier this month it was reported that Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams called it quits, and the big question was: will their Boerum Hill home be on the market soon? A resident of that area took the above photo this morning, apparently the house on the corner of Dean and Hoyt Streets is the home of the New Victorian royalty. We wonder if they just Googled "celebrities moving" and that's what came up. Photo......

After years of what seemed like coupled bliss, Heath Ledger proved he could quit someone as he and Michelle Williams have officially split. Sources told People Magazine that "It was rocky for awhile. They did what they could to make it work." Though it was rumored they tied the knot earlier this year in a small ceremony, the two never wore wedding bands and have refused to comment upon whether or not they are married.......

The Observer has an interesting piece on The New Victorians, who are apparently bringing monogomy and early adulthood back. To get a mental image, think: Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger in Boerum Hill, Jonathan Safran Foer and Nicole Krauss in Park Slope and Liv Tyler and Royston Langdon in the West Village. A new breed of 20-somethings in the big city, and apparently this new regime is more into nesting than late nights. The Observer......

The Hawk Is Dying (directed by Julian Goldberger) Paul Giamatti may not look like a movie star but he uses his Ordinary Dude looks to inhabit some pretty compelling shlubs, and his role in the buzzed about flick from the '06 Sundance Film Festival, The Hawk Is Dying, is perhaps his saddest sack to date. Florida auto upholsterer George Gattling's obsessive hobby is to trap and then train red-tail hawks in an attempt to mimic......

As we mentioned yesterday, MTV is sending in their reality crew troops to Brooklyn Tech for a new series. While it's unclear as to how many of the BTHS students actually reside in Brooklyn, with all those kids, who knows who MTV will be documenting "the early years" of. BTHS has some accomplished alum, including Leonard Riggio (Founder of Barnes & Noble), Richard Fariña (writer, folksinger, part of the Dylan crew), Richard LaMotta (Founder......

- $500m spending cap for WTC Memorial? Not likely! - An 81 year old man was attacked and robbed in his Washington Heights apartment building elevator - Fox 5 went on the fritz last night - we think of it as slight justice for Rupert Murdoch effing up the channel 9 schedule - A Bryant Park webcam for those us stuck in our offices to envy those who get to leave - The skatebowl......

It's Oscar Night and Gothamist is here. Tonight, it'll be a joint effort, from our resident film guru Karen Wilson and our resident Oscar freak Jen Chung. We hope you weigh in with what you think! KW: I have my popcorn, my diet coke -- I am ready for the spectacle and the excess. JC: ALL RIGHT! I just took extra Vitamin C - I'm waiting for some food delivery. 6:36PM Isaac Mizrahi has NOT......

As Jon Stewart takes to the stage this Sunday at 8 pm to host the 78th Annual Academy Awards, the movie-lovin' Gothamist will be watching with eager anticipation from our couch. The spectacle, the glamour, the bad musical numbers and cheesy memorial montages -- we love it all. In fact, Gothamist (ie. Jen Chung and movie correspondent Karen Wilson) will be live blogging the ceremony but in the meantime, here's a few predictions for the......

- Check out the on-the-scene photographs of the grilled cheese sandwich eating contest from yesterday in Times Square - The ACS removes a child with a broken leg from his parents - we have a feeling there will be a number of "just in case" measures over the next couple weeks - The floodgates have opened on September 11 air quality lawsuits: A federal judge ruled the EPA "misled" the public about the World Trade......

Gothamist was a bit underwhelmed by this year's Golden Globe nominees, and we were thinking of not liveblogging. But, gosh darn it as we watched the E! preshow and saw the starlets sparkle their way down the red carpet, we realize it was hopeless, so here we are. Let it be known that: - Keira Knightley looks gorgeous in her white Valentino - and there's something surprisingly youthful about the dress, even though there's that......

It's all about Brokeback these days: This morning, Kate Beckinsale, Mark Wahlberg, and Steve Carrell announced the 63rd Annual Golden Globe nominations, and Brokeback Mountain walked away with 7 nominations, including Best Picture (Drama), Director, Actor, Supporting Actress (Michelle Williams). Match Point, the unreleased Woody Allen movie, also got nods in Picture and Director, plus Supporting Actress Scarlett Johnanssen. As for the TV nominations, the ladies of Wisteria Lane took four leading actress nominations, giving......

From Chick Lit to Chick Movie
Gothamist and its readers try to cast The Parker Grey Show.
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