Ledger funeral to be held this weekend

PERTH, Australia, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Only a handful of mourners are invited to Heath Ledger's private funeral in Australia this weekend, Ledger's father Kim told People.com.

The "Brokeback Mountain" and "I'm Not There" star died Jan. 22 in New York of an accidental, lethal mix of prescription drugs. He was 28.

"The funeral will be very, very private," Kim Ledger said. "There will only be 10 people there, which is my immediate family and nobody else."

Until Kim Ledger spoke Saturday morning Australian time, arrangements for the funeral had been kept under wraps.

"It's a pretty sad time. We're finding it difficult to cope by ourselves, let alone to cope with everybody around the world," he said. "We do really appreciate the outpouring and the emotional support from all over the globe, which suffice to say we're luckier than most families -- most families that are in our positions, in our grieving position, don't receive that kind of support."