Hundreds Gather Before Heath's Private Funeral
While dozens of friends, family members and colleagues paid their respects to Heath Ledger in New York and Los Angeles, hundreds amassed in Australia and thousands of others mourned his loss around the world, only a select few attended the actor to his final resting place.
A large memorial service was held Saturday afternoon at Penrhos College, an exclusive girls' school in the southern Perth suburb of Como, followed by a private funeral at Fremantle Cemetery attended by only 10 people, including Ledger's parents and former fiancée Michelle Williams.
Cate Blanchett, Bryan Brown, Australian Rules football stars Ben Cousins and David Wirrpanda and model Gemma Ward, a reported past love interest of Ledger's, were spotted among the 600 or so mourners entering the school, most of whom were asked to show I.D. before being admitted.
Williams arrived with Ledger's family in one of a convoy of black BMWs at around 12:30 p.m. Two-year-old daughter Matilda Rose was not with her as she walked into the building, arm in arm with Ledger's sister Kate.
Attendees were handed a program reading, "This room is filled with the love we all felt for a great friend who will be missed by all of us. We want to thank those of you who took care of him and participated in his beautiful life."
Parents Kim Ledger and Sally Ledger Bell, Kate Ledger and Blanchett gave eulogies, with Ledger's I'm Not There costar giving "a funny and moving eulogy about their times spent together," one mourner told an Australian wire service.
A selection of Ledger's favorite music, including Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'," Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" and Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here," was played at the beginning of the ceremony.
Those gathered also watched home movies featuring Ledger's family and friends, a video montage featuring Matilda set to Ben Harper's "Happily Everafter in Your Eyes," which he wrote for the child, and clips from Ledger's films.
Members of the media were allowed to photograph the crowd outside, but Kim Ledger requested that they respect the family's privacy, saying at a press conference held earlier in the day that the funeral would be "very, very private. There will be only 10 people, immediate family and nobody else."
"I know that a lot of you have traveled from all around the world to take footage of as much as you can of our ceremony for Heath...It's a pretty sad time. We're finding it difficult to cope by ourselves let alone to cope with everybody around the world," Kim said in explaining why the family's plans were not previously publicized.
But, he said, "We do really appreciate the out-powering and the emotional support from all over the globe, which suffice to say we're luckier then most families—most families that are in our positions, in our grieving position, don't receive that kind of support."
Hundreds of people from all over New York flocked to the Manhattan apartment building where Ledger was found dead on Jan. 22, the result of an accidental prescription drug overdose, to lay flowers, candles, photographs and other tokens at shrines set up in his memory.
And it's unlikely that the actor's burial will put an end to the tributes, career appraisals and other outpourings of grief and appreciation that the 28-year-old's death immediately triggered.
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Ledger's body was reportedly cremated before the private family service, and a wake was scheduled to be held later in the day at the Indiana Tea House, a waterfront restaurant in Cottesloe Beach in western Perth, one of the star's favorite spots.
(Originally published Feb. 8, 2008 at 7:48 p.m. PT)
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