Ledger's father says win 'bittersweet'

PERTH, Australia, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The father of Australian actor Heath Ledger says he received the news of his son's posthumous Golden Globe acting award with both elation and sadness.

"Bittersweet" was how Kim Ledger of Perth, Australia, described his family's feelings at the seeing Heath Ledger being awarded the Best Supporting Actor prize at Sunday's 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., for his role as The Joker in "The Dark Knight."

Heath Ledger died Jan. 22, 2008, in New York from what was determined to be an accidental overdose of prescription medications.

Speaking to Australia's Channel 9, Kim Ledger said, "(I feel) elated, fantastic. Bittersweet, but feeling great."

Referring to the standing ovation Heath Ledger's award got from the Golden Globe audience, the actor's father said, "The standing ovation really breaks you up. Just being recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press by his peers, standing like that, it really goes to he heart, doesn't it?"

Of his role as The Joker, Kim Ledger said of Heath, "He just loved it. People have said that it's a dark piece and that brought him down but that just didn't occur ... It was amazing."