Jack Nicholson Warned Heath Ledger About Ambien
The death of 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger on Jan. 22 brought forth a slew of sympathies from others in the industry.Seventy-year-old Oscar-winning star Jack Nicholson was no exception to that. Only, his expression of sympathy might have been a little more bizarre than the others.
"I warned him about Ambien. I took it once and somebody called me in the middle of the night, and I woke up in my car 50 yards from my house. I almost drove off a cliff. I didn't know where I was."
Nicholson called Ledger's death "tragic news." According to an AOL Entertainment article, Nicholson said, "I warned him about Ambien. I took it once and somebody called me in the middle of the night, and I woke up in my car 50 yards from my house. I almost drove off a cliff. I didn't know where I was."
Nicholson went on to say that "Ambien can get you. Not through excessive use, it's just some people react more strongly than others."
Ledger's Autopsy Report
Ledger died accidentally from abuse of prescription medications, a spokeswoman for the New York City medical examiner said on Feb. 6.According to a New York Times article, the following drugs were found in Ledger's system:
- Oxycodone, the main ingredient in the prescription drug OxyContin
- Hydrocodone, the principal pain reliever in Vicodin
- Diazepam, the generic name for Valium
- Alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax
- Temazepam, which is sold under the brand name Restoril and is often prescribed as a sleep medication
The sleep medication Ambien was not found in Ledger's system at the time of his death. However, before his death he admitted using Ambien to the New York Times. "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger said, according to a USA Today article. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." He said he had taken two Ambien pills, which only gave him an hour of sleep.