Heath Ledger's star-studded Hollywood memorial
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23152915-5001021,00.html?from=mostpop
By Leah Creighton and wires
February 04, 2008 12:00am
IT READ like the nominations list for Oscars night, but the mega-stars
who gathered in Los Angeles today for Heath Ledger's memorial were
only there to honour one man.
Led by megastar Tom Cruise, his wife Katie Holmes, Sienna Miller and
Ellen DeGeneres, the stars paid tribute to the 28-year-old Oscar
nominee on the lot of Sony studios in Los Angeles, celebrity magazine
People said on it website.
Lindsay Lohan, Josh Harnett and British supermodel Lily Cole were
among the high profile stars photographed arriving at the ceremony.
The hour-long service included five eulogies, one from Ledger's father
Kim and another from his sister Kate, as well as director Todd Haynes,
the Seven Network reported.
See the stars arriving to the memorial here.
Singer Ben Harper performed at the hour long service, and Neil Young's
Old Man played as a slide show was played.
Director Todd Haynes, who directed Ledger in last year's Bob Dylan
film, I'm Not There, spoke at the ceremony.
People said many of those who attended were connected to CAA, the
agency that represented Ledger, or were former co-stars, including
Shannyn Sossamon who starred alongside Ledger in A Knight's Tale.
The ceremony follows a private family memorial a week earlier, which
was also attended by Michelle Williams, Ledger's former fiancee and
mother of his two-year-old daughter Matilda, and another ex-girlfriend
Naomi Watts.
It is expected that Ledger's family will return to their hometown of
Perth with his body early this week.
Ledger, who won acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a
gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain, was found dead in a Manhattan
apartment on January 22.
A post-mortem examination conducted the following day failed to
determine the cause of death, but speculation soon turned to drug
abuse.
Six different anti-anxiety and sleeping prescription drugs were found
in the SoHo apartment, but police said there were no illegal drugs.
However, several media organisations have quoted anonymous sources as
saying Ledger had a drug problem.
Two American television entertainment shows were forced to ditch plans
to air a video showing actor Ledger talking about drug use at a
Hollywood party, following reported pressure from fellow stars.
New York-based publicist Mara Buxbaum, who represented Ledger and
Williams, hit out at tabloid stories about Ledger's death.
"Much of the tabloid reporting is inaccurate,'' Buxbaum said.
"The speculation is heinous. Let this family grieve privately.''
The New York Medical Examiner's Office, responsible for conducting
Ledger's autopsy, says the cause of death is likely to be released
early this week, possibly Tuesday or Wednesday.
The office was awaiting toxicology tests.
Yesterday, a heartbroken Williams made an impassioned plea for privacy
to grieve for Ledger whose spirit, she says, lives on Matilda.
"I am the mother of the most tender-hearted, high-spirited, beautiful
little girl who is the spitting image of her father,'' Williams said
in the statement released to the media yesterday.
"All that I can cling to is his presence inside her that reveals
itself every day.''
Ledger's former school, Guildford Grammar School, has offered to hold
a memorial for Perth's home grown movie star.
Williams and Matilda are expected to fly to Perth for the funeral, as
are Ledger's close Hollywood friends, including Brokeback Mountain co-
star Jake Gyllenhaal, who is Matilda's godfather.
Source: The Sunday Telegraph
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