It's usually a shame when someone dies too early, especially when that someone is as talented as actor Heath Ledger, who was found dead this evening at his New York City apartment.  Ledger gained renown for his roles in "Monster's Ball" and "Brokeback Mountain," but his career was otherwise checkered and piecemeal, with a lot of appearances in generally awful movies.  His history with the sort of genre films that geeks everywhere embrace was, to put it mildly, concerning when Ledger was announced as The Joker in the upcoming Batman film, "The Dark Knight."   

I know I was one of many people to dismiss him when he was cast in the role, thanks in no small part to the six months of awful "Brokeback Moutain" jokes I had to endure.  However, the more I saw Ledger in the Joker makeup, and the more I heard him deliver The Joker's lines, the more I warmed up to him.  I think this trailer below is what finally made me stop with all the reservations and be finally, truly excited about the man behind the makeup. 

RIP, Heath.