Mourning Ledger: Good Grief or Morbid Obsession?

Jan. 29, 2008 — -- Where were you when Heath Ledger died?

OK, it's not the same thing as where were you when John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King were assassinated, but there are many people who wouldn't hesitate and would volunteer exactly where they were when the 28-year-old actor was found dead of an apparent overdose of prescription medicine.

Which raises the questions, what's the deal with grieving for someone you don't know?

Is leaving flowers outside Ledger's apartment or staying cooped up in your home watching "10 Things I Hate About You" a healthy way to deal with the untimely death of a young talent or is it simply a morbid fixation?

A week after Ledger died in his Soho apartment Wednesday, flowers and bromide-laced letters still form a makeshift shrine outside his home. People flocked to his apartment last Tuesday just to watch his body being removed by the police, snapping photos on their cell phones and calling friends to prove just how close they were to the action.

"People want to be close to major events, no matter how tragic," said Stuart Fischoff, senior editor of the Journal of Media Psychology. "They want to feel like they are participating. They want to create that memory of 'I was there when.' People say, 'I'm a fan and this is how I show my concern for him.' The media makes people more honorable and salient and so we keep hearing outpourings about Ledger from celebrities and regular people want a piece of the action. There is point you have to say, 'Wait a minute, this was not that kind of luminary."

But more than just wanting to be a part of history, some people find that grieving for a celebrity makes them feel better about themselves.

"There are people with histrionic personalities, who like the attention they receive when they're upset," said J. William Worden, a professor of psychology at the Rosemead School of Psychology in California. "People are drawn to tragedy and if they get reenforcement for something, it can escalate and they become more hysterical with the more attention they receive. They like the attention and the hugs, so they might stretch the truth of their involvement or concern."

Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis has twice emotially eulogized Ledger, despite never actually having met him.

In accepting the best actor award for his performance in "There Will Be Blood," Day-Lewis said Ledger was "unique, he was perfect."

Backstage, Day-Lewis told The Associated Press that though he'd never met Ledger, the actor's death was all he had been thinking about recently.

"I thought he was beautiful. I just had a very strong feeling I would have liked him very much as a man," he told the AP. "I admired him very much. I'm absolutely certain he would have done many wonderful things in his life."

In an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's show Friday, Day-Lewis said, "I feel very unsettled at the moment, and I suppose it's because I only just saw the news about Heath Ledger's death. … It seems somehow strange to be talking about anything else. Not that there's anything to say really except to express one's regret and to say from the bottom of one's heart to his family and to his friends that I'm sorry for their trouble."