Part of Heath Ledger's appeal, to a certain breed of cultural snob, was geographic. The Australian actor, who had come to Hollywood at the age of 19, received less attention from the paparazzi and the entertainment media complex when he crossed to New York. But, in exchange, he gained some cultural cachet.

Not only had Ledger, unusually for an actor made for romantic leads, won credibility by taking on the role of the gay cowboy; he had validated the choice of other actors, and other creatives, to resist the corrupting commercial draw of Los Angeles.

By settling in the most Bohemian borough of New York, Brooklyn, Ledger and his young family even more clearly invited the identification of a creative class that despised Los Angeles, historically, and Manhattan, increasingly, as high real estate prices drove out all but the bankers and lawyers.

Of course, that's not how it ended. After the separation from his wife, Michelle Williams, the Australian actor hit Manhattan clubs such as the quaintly low-ceilinged Beatrice Inn. And he died, in an overpriced Soho that has few remaining artists' lofts, wheeled out past a crowd of paparazzi and cameras much like those he tried to escape in Los Angeles.