Family Lines Up Ledger Funeral Plans

Arrangements have been completed, but they remain confidential as relatives are en route to NYC

By Gina Serpe Jan 24, 2008 7:15 PMTags

Unlike the massive, impromptu congregation of mourners who assembled outside Heath Ledger's SoHo apartment as news of his death spread earlier this week, the actor's memorial service will be a much more intimate affair.

A spokesman for the funeral home where Ledger's body was brought on Wednesday has announced that memorial arrangements for the star have been completed.

George Amado, the general manager of the Frank E. Campbell funeral home, did not give any details on when or where the service would be taking place, though he said the actor's relatives were expected to touch down in New York on Friday.

"The family doesn't want us to give out any information," he told the Associated Press.

Family members and associates of the onetime Oscar nomine have likewise kept mum, refusing to confirm whether a memorial service would take place in New York or they were simply coming to escort Ledger's remains back to his native Perth, Australia, for burial.

There are currently no plans for a public memorial service in either country.

Already in New York, at the Brooklyn home she once shared with Ledger, is the actor's former fiancée, Michelle Williams, who arrived Wednesday night with two-year-old daughter Matilda from Sweden, where she was filming a movie.

She was joined by her mother, Carla, and best friend Busy Philipps, Matilda's godmother and Williams' former Dawson's Creek costar. Neighbor and fellow actress Keri Russell also stopped by the Brooklyn home early Thursday, dropping off a card with the security personnel stationed outside the building.

Ledger's body was taken to the funeral home on Wednesday night, after being released by the New York Medical Examiner's office. An autopsy on the 28-year-old was deemed inconclusive, and additional tests will be carried out to determine his cause of death.

It's expected to take 10-14 days to complete the investigation.

Prescription drugs, though no illegal ones, were found in the actor's apartment. Police have said there was "no obvious sign of suicide," however, and Ledger's own family called the death "an accident."