Gifted and talented actor Heath Ledger found dead in New York

Like most, I was stunned to hear of the death of Heath Ledger. I would not say I'm a fan, having seen only a handful of his movies and the TV series he produced before he hit it big, but I liked him.

For many gay men, he'll always be remembered for his haunting performance in Brokeback Mountain, as a gay man unable to come to turns with his sexuality. His role as Ennis Del Mar earned him wide spread praise, that included an Oscar nomination for best actor (and there is some irony, that he dies on the day the 2007 Oscar's were announced).

This summer, in what was probably his biggest film of his career, he'll be seen as The Joker in The Dark Knight, the Batman Begins sequel.

While nothing is confirmed, reports indicate that his death may have been accidental. What that means, I'm unsure, as reports say sleeping pills were strewn around his bed where his housekeeper found him.

There is much more to come from this, I know.

Actress Suzanne Pleshette and "Brady Bunch" actor Allan Melvin die

Do things happen in three's?

It may just be imagination, but tragic things (does it happen with the opposite, three good things?) seem to happen in three's.

Take deaths of Hollywood stars.

This past week, Brad Renfro died.

Over this weekend, Suzanne Pleshette and Allan Melvin passed. Pleshette will be remembered for her role as the voice of reason on the the brilliant Bob Newhart Show, while Melvin played Sam the Butcher on the classic TV series The Brady Bunch and Archie's best friend Barney on All in the Family.

Pleshette was 70, and passed from respiratory failure, while Melvin was 84 and passed from cancer.

Renfro's death reminds me that in Hollywood, being used and thrown out is par for the course

The horror stories of kids who hit it big in Hollywood when they are young and then find out how disingenuous it can be when they grow up are a dime a dozen. Hollywood will eat you up, that's for sure. A cliché, I know, but over the decades, show business has proven that while little kids sell tickets at the box office and bring in ratings on TV, it will abandon you like discarded toy when something better comes along.

Brad Renfro’s death brings to mind the suicide death of actor Jonathan Brandis, or the heroin overdose of Rosanne and Angel actor Glenn Quinn and the many troubled life of Terminator 2 star Edward Furlong. There are many others, to be sure. Most go unnoticed, although there is a former child actor who has an organization to help these troubled young ones.

While Hollywood cannot be blamed for all of his -or that, any actors - problems, it does shine a light into its dark corners. Renfro was a cute kid and became a semi-handsome teen with a ton of rough edges, and he seemed proud of that badboy image he was giving off. He was, in many ways, perfectly cast in Tom and Huck. Jonathan Taylor Thomas was perfect boy next door, one any parent would be proud to have their girls date. And Thomas cultivated that image of the squeaky clean kid, even though he tried to break out of that with his performances as a gay hustler in Speedway Junkies. Thomas also played gay in the Showtime movie Common Ground. Then there was Renfro's Huck Finn, a kid with no past and no future. His dirty, straight hair and sneer made him the image of the kid from other side of tracks. He played into that classic cliché and attracted even more the badboy image.

And Hollywood likes that image and will exploited for all its worth, until the actor does something that causes him or her trouble with the law (just look at the skid that has effected Tom Sizemore over the last few years). Renfro's departure from mainstream film making over the years may be in part his choice, but producers (and their backers) and directors don't like actors with troubles in their private life. Filmmaking is a costly business, and set backs by actors private lives infringing on time clock, causes them not be used again.

Back in 2005, I blogged about Renfro’s arrest and sort of wondered what his ultimate fate would be. I wrote: “I guess, with Brad Renfro, it all comes down to choices. If he chooses to get help, he can overcome the monkey on his back. If he chooses to shrug it off like an old coat, his fate seems to be headed in the direction of Glenn Quinn or even, sadly, Jonathan Brandis.”

Sad. Rest in peace Brad. May you find happiness somewhere over the rainbow, where you could not find it here.