The Patriot

Actor Heath Ledger, 27, died this afternoon:

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Actor Heath Ledger is dead, the New York Police Department said Tuesday. The Academy Award nominated actor was 27.

Ledger's housekeeper found him dead in his Manhattan apartment, New York police said.

He died at 3:26 p.m., they said.

The news will label him as the Oscar nominated star of Brokeback Mountain. I will always remember him as the young star, along side Mel Gibson, in the sterling 'The Patriot'

Posthumously, he will be playing 'The Joker' in the latest Batman installment, 'The Dark Knight'