Heath Ledger in Perth, Western Australia in January 2008 (from Howie_Berlin flickr stream/creative commons)

One of Heath Ledger’s last creative endeavors was a short film/video for Nick Drake’s “Black Eyed Dog.” Ledger admitted to being “obsessed” with Drake, a 1970s folk singer, who also died from a prescription drug overdose at a young age. Ledger was the actor, director and cameraman for this previously little known project. Although Ledger’s death has been ruled an accident, the video has prompted further speculation about his state of mind leading up to the incident.

Folk musician Nick Drake died from an overdose of antidepressants at the age of 26 (from oddsock's flickr stream/creative commons)

According to Defamer.com, before last week the video was only screened twice: “Labor Day weekend at the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle and a second time in October at ‘A Place to Be,’ an event honoring Drake held in L.A.” It was shown again on Wednesday, February 27th on the Australian “A Current Affair.” The clip is below.

Affair reports that the final scene, which is “too graphic for them to broadcast,” depicts Ledger succumbing to the “dog” (Winston’s Churchill’s well-known description of depression) and drowning himself in a bathtub.   The melody itself, however, is quite beautiful and hauntingly complimented by Ledger’s black and white images.

The Black Dog Institution is dedicated to improving the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of mood disorders through educational, research and community-oriented initiatives. takepart and visit their website here.

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