Heath Ledger's
father said his son's death by accidental overdose would
be an enduring agony for the family and should serve as a
warning to others not to mix prescription drugs.
The New York City
medical examiner announced Wednesday that the
28-year-old ''Brokeback Mountain'' star died from the
effects of taking six types of painkillers and
sedatives. His body was found Jan. 22 in his Manhattan
apartment.
Ledger's
premature death promoted outpourings of grief from New York
to Hollywood to his hometown of Perth, a small and
remote city on the verge of the Outback in Australia's
southwest.
Family members
returned home from the United States this week and were
reportedly planning a private service to lay Ledger to rest.
His former girlfriend Michelle Williams and the
couple's two-year-old daughter, Matilda, arrived
Wednesday to attend the ceremony, News Ltd. newspapers
reported.
The West
Australian newspaper reported Thursday that the family was
hoping to hold a wake Saturday at Cottesloe Beach, a resort
village south of Perth that was a favorite spot of the
actor's.
Kim Ledger, the
actor's father, said in a statement released Wednesday
the family was humbled to be ''among millions of people
worldwide who may have suffered the tragic loss of a
child.''
''Few can
understand the hollow, wrenching, and enduring agony parents
silently suffer when a child predeceases them,'' he said.
He said the
toxicology results should ''put an end to speculation''
about the cause of death.
''While no
medications were taken in excess, we learned today the
combination of doctor-prescribed drugs proved lethal for our
boy,'' Kim Ledger's statement said. ''Heath's
accidental death serves as a caution to the hidden
dangers of combining prescription medication, even at low
dosage.''
Family members
attended a memorial ceremony in Los Angeles last weekend,
but the funeral arrangements have been kept a closely
guarded secret.
Among those
reportedly due to attend are Ledger's ''Brokeback Mountain''
co-star Jake Gylenhaal and a former girlfriend, Australian
model Gemma Ward.
Kim Ledger's
statement asked that the family be allowed to grieve without
media intrusion.
Williams, 27, and
Ledger became a couple during the filming of the gay
romance ''Brokeback Mountain'' in which the two costarred as
husband and wife and for which Ledger was nominated
for an Oscar. They later moved to New York, where
their daughter Matilda was born in October 2005.
''To most of the
world Heath was an actor of immeasurable talent and
promise,'' the actor's father said. ''To those who knew him
personally, Heath was a consummate artist whose
passions also included photography, music, chess and
directing.
''We knew Heath
as a loving father, as our devoted son, and as a loyal
and generous brother and friend,'' the statement said.
The family was
profoundly touched and eternally grateful for the
expressions of support that have come from all over the
world, he said. (Min Lee, AP)
