Beach dip as stars farewell Ledger
It started as a teary farewell but ended in celebration as
Hollywood stars joined Heath Ledger’s family and friends in a
spontaneous sunset dip in memory of the young star.
Actor Rose Byrne was among a group of people who stripped off to
their underwear and jumped into the water late yesterday at Perth’s
Cottesloe Beach, one of Ledger’s favourite hometown spots.
Ledger’s heartbroken former fiancee actor Michelle Williams was
dragged fully-clothed into the surf for the laughter-filled
send-off which came at the end of an emotional day for Ledger’s
mourners.
After attending a memorial service for the late actor at a
private Perth girls’ school, mourners gathered for a wake at the
Indian Teahouse overlooking the famous beach.
And as the sun began to set, the tears gave way to laughter as
some shed their clothes and ran into the water to celebrate the
28-year-old star’s life.
Watching from the building’s balcony was Ledger’s father Kim
Ledger, who at one point gave a thumbs-up to friends and family
below.
It was a fitting end to a sad day in which Hollywood stars
joined family and friends at a moving service for Ledger.
Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett, supermodel Gemma Ward, and
Australian actors including Byrne, Bryan Brown, Michael Caton,
Shane “Kenny” Jacobsen and Joel Edgerton attended the service amid
tight security.
Directors Phillip Noyce and Neil Armfield, footballers Ben
Cousins and David Wirrpanda plus band members from Eskimo Joe, as
well as athletes and politicians also were among the mourners.
In a surprise move, Kim Ledger addressed the media before
leaving home for the memorial, and said the funeral following the
service would be a private family affair.
“There will only be 10 people there, immediate family and nobody
else,” Mr Ledger told reporters before leaving for the
memorial.
“It’s a pretty sad time and we’re finding it difficult to cope
by ourselves, let alone cope with everybody around the world.
“Having said that we do really appreciate the outpouring and the
emotional support from all over the world which, suffice to say,
we’re luckier than most families. Most families that are in our
position, our grieving position, don’t have that kind of
support.”
Mr Ledger, his former wife Sally Ledger Bell, their daughter
Kate Ledger and Michelle Williams, 27, travelled in a convoy to the
memorial service at Penrhos College, a private girls’ school in the
south Perth suburb of Como.
Williams met Ledger in 2004 on the set of their career-changing
film, Brokeback Mountain, for which Ledger was nominated
for an Oscar for his role as a conflicted gay cowboy.
They had a daughter, Matilda, in October 2005, but called off
their engagement last September.
Matilda was not with her mother who, clad in a cream dress,
clung to Ledger’s older sister Kate on their way into the
school.
The service program told mourners: “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.”
Barbara Scott, a WA MP, said the emotional, moving and at times
funny service was a “wonderful tribute” to an outstanding
actor.
“It was a wonderful tribute to a wonderful West Australian, an
outstanding guy with great talent,” Ms Scott told Associated
Press.
Blanchett, who starred in the Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not
There with Ledger “gave a funny, moving eulogy about their
times spent together” in the United States, Ms Scott told AAP.
Kate Ledger spoke beautifully about her childhood with her
younger brother, she added.
Ledger’s parents also paid tribute to their son.
Mourners watched family montages and heard some of Ledger’s
favourite music, including the Bob Dylan song The Times They
Are A-Changin’.
There was also a video tribute to her father from two-year-old
Matilda, News Ltd reported.
Armfield, who directed Ledger in the Australian film
Candy, also spoke at the service.
Ledger’s family and Williams left by a side entrance before
going to Fremantle Cemetery, where it is understood they held a
small, private cremation service ahead of the wake.
The final memorial came after two farewells in Los Angeles, one
a 1,000-strong, star-studded tribute for Ledger.
Ledger was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on January
22.
The New York Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Ledger died from an
accidental overdose of prescription medications, prompting the
actor’s family to issue a warning against mixing prescription
drugs.
Toxicology tests, released in the US on Wednesday, revealed
Ledger had consumed a powerful mix of five prescription painkillers
and anti-anxiety pills and an over-the-counter antihistamine.
AAP
