Does the Joker kill Gambol in The Dark Knight?

Gambol was supposed to be used later on, but the plan was changed at a later point. This is supposedly due to an unfortunate tragedy. Michael Jai White, the actor who played Gambol, gives us his own words about the matter (source from The Hollywood Reporter):

Nolan offered White the role of Gambol — the no-nonsense gangster who signed his own death warrant when he tried to tangle with The Joker, brought to life by Ledger in an Oscar-winning performance.

While never a principal role, Gambol was bigger in the script and during production, White says.

"It was the kind of thing where they had deeper intentions for Gambol; it was a character who was written for future use, I think," he says. "There were other plans to do stuff with that character and some things that were cut out. I think it's because of unfortunately losing Heath Ledger."

Calling it a matter of "tying up loose ends," White says he got why Nolan made the choice in postproduction.

"I think that people can tell by the strange cut that I never shot a death scene," White says. "The character wasn't supposed to be gone. That is something that happened in editing later."

He continues, "You don't see mistakes in a movie of that magnitude. When you see something that is somewhat a mistake or is not clarified, there is something behind that."

Fans may have gone back and forth over how Gambol died, but White says he never gave it a second thought. Once the shock of the moment wore off at the premiere, he was over it, the actor tells THR.

"Being that I have been on both sides of the camera, I understood," White says. "I was as surprised as anybody. The next few moments after Gambol hit the ground, I was in a state of confusion, like 'What the hell happened? I guess I am not coming back.' But, I have a producer's and director's mind-set, so I was able to look at it and think, 'I guess they must have wanted to go this way.'"