Ledger pills death an 'enduring agony': Father

Heath Ledger’s grieving father said his son’s death by accidental overdose would be an enduring agony for the family and should be a warning to others not to mix prescription drugs.

His comments came after the New York city medical examiner announced that the 28-year-old 'Brokeback Mountain' star died from the effects of taking six types of painkillers and sedatives.

The Australian actor’s body was found on January 22 in his Manhattan apartment.

Ledger’s premature death promoted outpourings of grief from New York to Hollywood, to his home town of Perth, in south-west Australia.

Family members returned home from the US this week and were reportedly planning a private funeral service. His former girlfriend Michelle Williams and the couple’s two-year-old daughter, Matilda, arrived last night to attend the ceremony, newspapers reported.

The West Australian newspaper said the family was hoping to hold a wake on Saturday at Cottesloe Beach, a resort village south of Perth that was a favourite spot of the actor’s.

Kim Ledger, the actor’s father, said in a statement released yesterday that 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,” Mr 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 co-starred 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,” Mr Ledger 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.”

Mr Ledger said the family was profoundly touched and eternally grateful for the expressions of support from all over the world.